Rethinking Of Legal Thoughts Of The Legalism

Legal thoughts of the Legalism have been controversial for a long time. Scholars claim the rule of law in China should be contributed to the Legalism, while others criticize it for advocating absolute monarchy. Both views make sense. In fact, legal thoughts of the Legalism, with profound philosophical foundation, have positive as well as negative impact in practice. The focus of this article is to rethink and evaluate the Legalism rationally with historical research method.The first part of this paper defines the Legalism as a school and analyzes the era background. To understand the situation of the society at that time is the precondition of proper evaluation.The second part summarizes legal thoughts of the Legalism systematically. It is a comprehensive theoretical system covering from the law’s concept to the theory of legislation and law-abiding. The society was in severe disorder and traditional social integrating method, Li, no longer works. The society called for the theory that reconstructs order. Against this background, legalism generated. Rethinking and evaluation of legal thoughts of the Legalism must take its mission and purpose into consideration.The third part evaluates legal thoughts of the Legalism and its practice. Comparing to the traditional method, the Legalism provided an efficient way of social integration in social transformation, which avoided the unrest and social rupture. With the autocratic monarchy and administrative bureaucracy, the state developed rapidly. However, the state’s overall control over people contributed to the contradiction between them and the feudal dynasty can be over at any time. The law relied on power and was being manipulated.The fourth part of the paper points out the warning of legal thoughts of the Legalism. The legalism designed many important systems of China, so rethinking of it helps to cleaning up it’s vicious heritage. It will make us have a profound understanding of present problems we confront during the construction of the rule of law in a new transformation. The rule of law needs to face up to its relationship with power, perfect the design of the system of check and balance, and draw strength from the civil society.