Legalism in the Qin Dynasty

During the Qin Dynasty, the main belief system was Legalism. The important texts for Legalism is the Basic Writings. Legalism is a very strict and serious belief system. A couple of the key principles for Legalism is that everybody must be loyal to the ruler, there are clear laws, and clear punishments. If you followed legalism, it was very important to be loyal to your ruler and to never complain about the government. If you broke those rules, there would be harsh punishments and possibly even a death sentence.

It wasn’t only the citizens who had rules to follow. The ruler also has to follow some rules. A few of the rules are, the ruler must never demonstrate or give in feelings of affection, the ruler must trust no one, and the rulers must give harsh punishments, and clear rewards.

Legalism had some cruel effects on people, but there were some good effects. Legalism helped keep the citizens calm and under control. Legalism also forced the citizens to follow the laws and be loyal to their ruler. Legalism was very helpful to the ruler. Legalism wasn’t that much of a popular belief system, but it sure was a very interesting one.