ABSTRACT
In the pre-imperial world of ancient China, the acknowledged problem was to end disunity, war, corruption, and insecurity in order to harmonize the world. The official philosophy of Ch’in (Qin), the state that unified China in 221 B.C.E., was Legalism, which affirmed the natural evil of man and the need for strict laws enforced by rewards and punishments, and defined the meaning of “right” as the ruler’s point of view. The Confucian philosophy that replaced (and predated) Legalism in later dynasties affirmed the natural goodness of man, and the need for virtuous men in government who would rule according to moral principles, and the meaning of “right” as a cosmic principle binding on the ruler. Complementing this moral philosophy calling for social action was the philosophy of Taoism, which called for spontaneous behavior, disregard for convention, and a quest for oneness with the flow of nature.
