Shang Yang (about 395 BC-338 BC) was a statesman, reformer, thinker and representative of Legalism in the Warring States Period. Born in Wei State, Shang Yang is a descendant of the king of Wei State. Her surname is Gongsun, so she is also called Wei Yang and Gongsun Yang. Later, in a war, he won the position of Shangyi, so he was also called Shang Yang. Shang Yang is a very capable man, and his tough politics may seem a little cold to later generations, but the world has always had different opinions on him, but there are many criticisms.
Historians usually call Shang Yang inherently mean. Sima Qian wrote in Records of the Historian Biography of Shang Jun that Tai Shigong said, "Shang Jun, who is humble, traces his desire to be filial, and holds the theory of floating as the quality, not his nature." What's more, punishing the son of God, bullying Wei Jiangang, and ignoring Zhao Liang's words are enough to discover Shang Jun's small kindness. Zi Tongjian once commented: "Shang Jun is particularly despicable. He is in a world of war and attack. The world is easy to bully, but he still dare not forget to believe in animals and their people. The situation is the master of the four seas. " "It is also true that everyone mentioned the meanness of Shang Yang. At that time, a man named Zhao Liang also pointed out that Shang Yang's "punishing the prince and injuring the people with military punishment is also a grudge", pointing out that under Shang Yang's cruel criminal law, it will inevitably cause people's dissatisfaction. But did Shang Yang really have no influence on Qin?
When Shang Yang was young, he was very interested in spelling the names of criminals. It is said that his teacher is Li Kui. As a representative figure of pre-Qin legalists, Shang Yang studied under the guidance of his own talents and served as an official in Wei. Uncle CuO knew that Shang Yang was a talented person, so he suggested to the monarch of Wei that if he wanted to use Shang Yang, he must be reused. If he doesn't use Shang Yang, he must be killed to avoid future trouble. Weighing the pros and cons, Shang Yang defected to Qin Xiaogong.
In 362 BC, Qin Xiaogong stepped onto the stage of history. As soon as he came to power, he told the world to recruit talents. Seeing the recruitment notice, Shang Yang rushed to Qin with his resume. It is said that the interview was very unsatisfactory. Shang Yang was interviewed by Qin Xiaogong three times. For the first time, Shang Yang went to the State of Qin with his teacher Li Kui's Fa Jing, and lobbied Qin Xiaogong in the way of the emperor, leaving Qin Xiaogong in a fog.
Qin Xiaogong didn't understand the meaning of Shang Yang, so he was excluded. After the failure of the first interview, Shang Yang adjusted his strategy and prepared to impress Qin Xiaogong with the theory of kingly way, which also had little effect and was once again criticized by Qin Xiaogong. For the last time, Shang Yang explained how to make Qiang Bing rich with his overbearing theory, which completely touched Qin Xiaogong. They talked about it for several days, and Shang Yang was finally admitted to the State of Qin.
In 359 BC, encouraged by Shang Yang, Qin Xiaogong came up with the idea of political reform. It was Shang Yang who pushed him out of the step of political reform. Shang Yang took that step for Qin Xiaogong and took the blame for Qin Xiaogong. Before carrying out the political reform, Qin Xiaogong presided over a meeting in the State of Qin. All the participants are representatives of nobles and royalty. They had a heated argument with Shang Yang, arguing that "if we don't govern the world together, the country will be lawless. Shang Yang's impassioned statement left the opposition speechless, holding back his anger at Shang Yang and unwilling to watch him implement the new law.
Clear rewards and punishments are naturally the most advantageous weapon for a law or reform. The first person who underwent the operation was Prince Ying Si. According to historical records, "The prince broke the law. Wei Yang said: "If the law doesn't work, you should commit it from above. "Prince Jiang Fa. Prince, your heir is not allowed to be punished. Punish his son Fu Gongzi and his teacher Gong. Tomorrow, the Qin people all want to make it. " When the prince was young, he broke the law. Because he was the heir, he was not punished. He punished the prince's teacher, Gong Sun Jia. Everyone heard that even the prince dared to punish him, so he dared not break the law easily. Ten years after its promulgation, the national strength of the country has been improved.
Shang Yang was talented, which really promoted Qin, but he was stingy and greedy, which was a typical example of great success.