1. Deep cultural background
The policy of governing the country is "starting from the Xia Dynasty, and Xinjiang relies on Rong Suo". At the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty, he conquered the Fang State of Shang Dynasty-Tang, where he sealed his brother and established a vassal state. Because the land of the Tang Dynasty was "sealed in the ruins of Xia Dynasty" and "adjacent to Di Dynasty", the Duke of Zhou adjusted measures to local conditions, and in the Letters Patent of Tang Dynasty, he demanded that "the Xia government should be created to make Xinjiang calm down the world", that is, the policy of Xia Dynasty should be continued, and the laws of Rong Emperor should be combined to govern the country and the people. This is Yu Shu's major policy of governing the country. After his father ascended the throne, Shu changed Tang to Jin. It lasted about six centuries from the founding of the People's Republic of China to the division of Sanjin. During this long time, the State of Jin gradually formed a unique regional culture & Jin culture. The cornerstone of this culture is the strategy of governing the country, that is, "starting with Xia politics and conquering Xinjiang with Rong Suo". The establishment of this basic national policy of adjusting measures to local conditions has fundamentally stipulated the development trend of Jin culture, which has made "Jin state not form a strong tradition of patriarchal clan system, but develop a fashion of respecting martial arts, emphasizing law and respecting agriculture." It led to a strong anti-patriarchal tradition in the history of Jin State and set off a vigorous trend of political reform.
Pay attention to laws and regulations and change laws. Attaching importance to laws and regulations and reforming laws is the tradition of Jin State. This tradition can be traced back to the establishment of the Tang Dynasty. The letters patent given by the Duke of Zhou and the letters patent given by the Tang Dynasty are what Confucius said. It is the stipulation of "latitude and longitude, and Qing Dafu keeps his order". From the perspective of political reform, the policy of governing the country in the early Tang Dynasty was the reform of etiquette and law in the early Zhou Dynasty. After the Tang Dynasty, the tradition of emphasizing law reform in the State of Jin was endless. Jin Xiangong and Jin Chen formulated The Scholars. During the reign of Jin Wengong, Minister Guo Yan (Gao Yan and Bu Yan) formulated the "Guo Yan Law" to help Wen Gong reform. Mr. Feng Youlan said: "Qi Huan's hegemony depends on Guan Zhong, and Jin Wen's hegemony depends on Guo Si. In 633 BC, Jin Wengong formulated the "law of staying behind", which, according to Du Yu's point of view, was the "law of repairing uncles". In the sixth year of Zuo Zhuan (before 62 1 year), it was recorded that Zhao Dun (Zhao), the ruling country of the State of Jin, formulated the law of searching for foreigners (also known as Zhao's law) and "it is normal to follow the rules of the State of Jin". "This law is a thorough revision of what Confucius called the law of adherents. The so-called" search for foreign troubles "is also the chaos of the State of Jin. In the 16th year of Zuo Zhuan (the first 593 years), it was recorded that the scholars (Fan Wuzi) "paid great attention to the ceremony to improve the law of the State of Jin", that is, "Fan Wuzi's law". In 573 BC, Shi Wozhuo (Shi Zhenbo) was appointed as a teacher to "practice the method of Fan Wuzi"; There is a new "monk's method". In the fourth year of Jin Pinggong (554 BC), Fan was appointed as a general in charge of the State of Jin. In eight years (the first 550 years), a torture book, namely "Fan's torture book". 5 13 years ago, Zhao Yang, Minister of Jin State, Zhu Dingding and Fan wrote the book of punishment. This is the second time in the history of China that the written law has been published. This tradition of attaching importance to laws and regulations and advocating reform undoubtedly profoundly influenced the legalists in Sanjin. It can be said that the Jin cultural tradition of adjusting measures to local conditions, emphasizing laws and advocating reform is the fertile ground for the legalist thought and legal practice in Sanjin.
2. The era of great change
Zhou Ping moved to Luoyi, and the history of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty began. The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period were a period of great social unrest and constant war. About 550 years ago. Compared with the Western Zhou society, the biggest feature of the Spring and Autumn Period was that "the ceremony collapsed and the music was bad." In name, Zhou is still the master of the world, but he has lost his former dignity and authority. "Rites and music were conquered by the emperor" and gradually became "vassals", "doctors" and even "accompanying ministers in state affairs". The ritual system of the Western Zhou Dynasty with the patriarchal clan system as the core completely collapsed. I killed the monarch, the son killed his father, the world crime, the abolition of official positions and other phenomena emerge one after another. Therefore, Sima Qian said that during the Spring and Autumn Period, "thirty-six kings were killed, fifty-two countries were destroyed, and countless vassals could not protect the country." It has become the general trend of social development that the county system replaces the enfeoffment system and the military service system replaces Shi Qingshilu. Due to the use of iron farm tools and the popularization of Niu Geng, private fields are constantly appearing, and the "well field system" is gradually disintegrating. In order to meet the needs of social development, many vassal States promulgated laws to recognize the legitimacy of private land. Qi "does not tax because of the land", Jin "cultivated land", Lu issued the order of "initial tax mu" and so on. In the Spring and Autumn Period, another manifestation of "the collapse of rites and bad music" was the situation in which princes competed for hegemony. The political weakness and economic recession of the Zhou Dynasty have been unable to stop the war between princes. The Battle of the Long Spoon (684 BC), the Battle of the Flood of Chu Song (638 BC), the Battle of Chengpu in Chu Jin (632 BC), the Battle of Xiao in Jin Qin (627 BC), the Battle of Thailand in Jin Chu (597 BC), the Battle of Saddle in Jin Qi (589 BC) and Chu Jin's.
After the Spring and Autumn Period, social changes gradually deepened, and the scale and cruelty of the war were also escalating. It is precisely because the successive wars between governors have become the most representative feature of society that people call the period from the Spring and Autumn Period to Qin Shihuang's unification of the six countries the "Warring States Period". The seven heroes of the Warring States split and confronted each other, attacking each other and fighting endlessly. As far as troops are concerned, Chu soldiers1000000, Wei soldiers 700000, Qiu soldiers 60000, Zhao soldiers 450000, Qi soldiers 700000 and Han Yan soldiers 300000. Compared with the Spring and Autumn Period, the wars in the Warring States Period were not only large in number and scale, but also protracted and suffered heavy casualties. As Mencius said: "Fight for land, kill people and make profits; Fight for the city, kill for the city. "In 262 BC, the battle of Changping broke out between Qin and Zhao, and Zhao stayed in Lian Po for three years. In 260 BC, Zhao surrendered to the Qin Dynasty, and Tian Lei, the general of the Qin State, killed more than 400,000 soldiers. In fact, the cruelty of war has long told people that only when the country is rich and strong and its soldiers are strong can the country be safe. It can be said that the social changes and the requirements of Qiang Bing, a rich country, are another important reason for inducing the ideological practice of the legalists in Sanjin.
3. Special geographical location
"Herodotus, an ancient Greek historian, believes that all history must be studied from a geographical perspective. Geography provides the natural background and stage scene of history and culture, and it is meaningful to link historical facts with it. " Some scholars in China pointed out that during the Warring States period, "the spread and distribution of hundred schools of thought often had its regional characteristics, which can be roughly described as follows: Confucianism and Mohism centered on Lu; Taoism originated from Chu, Chen and Song in the south. Alchemists were also very popular in Yan State and nearby Qi State. Later, Yin and Yang families developed in Qi State. Legalist thought mainly originated from the Sanjin Dynasty. Although we don't agree with the viewpoint of "geographical environment determinism", it is undeniable that the emergence and practice of ideas are closely related to the geographical environment on which people live. There are many reasons why Sanjin became the cradle of Legalism, and geographical location is one of the factors that cannot be ignored. Among the Seven Heroes of the Warring States, Korea, Zhao and Wei are all powerful countries, with Tianqi in the west, Yan in the north and Jingchu in the south. In addition, after the three countries were divided into Jin, the political and military centers of the three countries shifted, making the three countries have almost no natural barriers. The capital of Zhao was originally in Jinyang (now southwest of Taiyuan, Shanxi), and then moved from Zhongmou to Handan. In the early Wei Dynasty, Anyi (now northwest of Xia County, Shanxi Province) was the capital, and in 36 1 year BC, it moved to Daliang (now Kaifeng, Henan Province). Pingyang (now northwest of Linfen, Shanxi) is the capital of Korea, and later Yiyang and Yangzhai moved to Zheng (now Xinzheng, Henan). Topographically, Wei has "a land on all sides, four princes, and all the lines converge, without the hindrance of famous mountains and rivers." ..... Wei's terrain, so the battlefield is also. "Korea and wei. The terrain is "flat and wide" and "surrounded by enemies". "Its potential can be described as dangerous. "Zhao" is "the country of the central government, but the home of miscellaneous people. "... he's a dead man". This is limited to the dangerous terrain, Qin State in chinese odyssey and "Qingji Turbid Water Stream". The Great Wall is a great defense, which is enough to block the terrain of Qi State and form a sharp contrast.
As can be seen from the above, Korea, Zhao and Wei are not only among big countries, but also generally flat and accessible, with few mountains and rivers, which are places where wars frequently occur. In the war of annexation, to win, what is most needed is a strong country and a strong army. To make the country rich and strong and the army strong, we must mobilize the enthusiasm of the broad masses of the lower classes, make farmers actively produce, and make soldiers bravely kill the enemy. Therefore, encouraging "agricultural war" is an effective way to make Qiang Bing rich. Obviously, the patriarchal clan system, which originally focused on maintaining political order, social stability and the interests of the nobility, is difficult to mobilize the enthusiasm of the people and achieve the goal of making Qiang Bing a rich country. The harsh war and the needs of Qiang Bing, a rich country, forced some politicians, strategists and thinkers to answer and try to solve this social problem based on reality, and the Three Jin Legalists came into being. They believe that it is necessary to change the old etiquette system, formulate clear, specific and open written laws, and break the secret penalty tradition of "unknown punishment and unpredictable rights"; Advocate absolute monarchy, "law-based", "rule of law", "replacing punishment with punishment" and "breaking the law and discipline"; Relying on the implementation of the law of reward and punishment and the guarantee of artistic potential. Its starting point is to encourage the "agricultural war", and its goal is to make Qiang Bing rich and invincible in the war, thus ensuring the existence of the country. When Shang Yang reformed, he stipulated: "If you make great efforts in this industry, the cultivator will recover." . Those who are lazy and poor think they will be rewarded. Imperial clan must have military theory, and must not be subordinate. "That is, people who work hard in agricultural production and pay more taxes can be exempted from their own corvee. Anyone who abandons basics or is lazy and becomes poor and unable to pay taxes will be punished by the whole family as an official servant. Imperial clan aristocrats, without military service, will be deprived of knighthood and aristocratic status. Han Feizi said: "The Shang Jun Law says:' Those who cut a song are a product, and those who want to be officials are officials of fifty stones; Those who cut two songs are awarded second class, and those who want to be officials are the officials of the hundred stones. "The move of rank is commensurate with the work of beheading. However, it needs to be clear that the legalist school's "law-based" is actually based on punishment; Legalists' reward and punishment is "nine punishments and one reward", while punishment is heavy punishment; Legalists' "ruling the country according to law" means ruling the country by punishment under absolute monarchy.
4. The influence of different ideas
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, in the face of great social changes, some politicians, military strategists and thinkers put forward their own opinions one after another, and various factions argued fiercely, and it was difficult to refute each other. Sanjin is located in the Central Plains, which is not only a place of war, but also a place where ideas and cultures meet. It is on the basis of learning from others, basing on reality and carrying out creative thinking that the legalists in Sanjin formed a faction. Li Kui (that is, Li Ke) studied under Xia Zi, a disciple of Confucius, but became the main representative of Legalism, which is generally regarded as the ancestor of Legalism in academic circles. Wuqi once worshipped Confucian scholars as teachers, "learning from Ceng Zi" and learning from Xia Zi. At the beginning, Shang Yang was the minister and uncle of Wei Xianggong. Li Kui and Wu Qi's thought and practice of political reform in Wei deeply influenced Shang Yang, and made him form the thought of attaching importance to "law". In fact, his proposition and practice of political reform in the state of Qin was a further development of legalist thought and practice in the early years of Sanjin. Shen Dao's thought originated from Taoism, and he once "learned the moral skills of Huang Lao". His theory of "the monarch's inaction" emphasizes "potential", which obviously inherits the Taoist theory of "governing by inaction" and "fish can't be removed from the yuan, and the weapon of the country can't show people" According to the Records of Historical Records and Lao Zi Han Fei Biography, Shen Buhai's thought is a legalist thought evolved from Taoism. Shen Buhai's thought of attaching importance to "skill" obviously comes from Taoism's "the skill of the monarch". Han Fei is a master of legalist thought and an outstanding representative of legalists in the Sanjin Dynasty. His thought "originated from Huang Lao", critically absorbed the views of Confucianism, Mohism and Legalism (the former legalists), and formed a unique legal thought of "law-based", combining law, potential and technique. Some scholars pointed out: "His ideological origin is quite complicated, that is, it comes from pre-legalists such as Shen Buhai, Shang Yang and Shen Dao, from Mohism, Laozi and Zhuangzi, and from his teacher Xunzi." Although his thoughts come from many schools, they are different from others. It can be said that under the background of "a hundred schools of thought contend", the prevalence and influence of pluralistic thought is another factor in the formation of legalists in Sanjin.
In a word, the profound cultural foundation, the era of great change, the special geographical position and the influence of diverse thoughts have formed a strong joint force, which has promoted the emergence of legalist thought in the Sanjin period.