Governance of Sage Monarchs:Shang Yang's Thoughts on Rule of Law and Its Internal Logic
In Shang Yang's thoughts,there is a relatively well-developed set of theory on the rule of law:the governance of sage monarchs.It takes sage monarchs as its logical starting point,and leads to the monarchical centralization system.In the legal structure conceived by Shang Yang,laws are the social norm that the monarch,officials and people abide by together,i.e.laws not only govern the people and the officials,but also restrains person will of monarchs.Shang Yang opposed to rule of propriety or that of virtue,but was not averse to rules of morality and he intended to achieve the minimum rule of morality via the rule of law.Shang Yang emphasized ruling for those in power.He developed a legal system featured with heavy and joint punishment and rewarding whistle-blowing.This system was highly operable because he established public credibility through impartially rewarding merit and punishing offenses.However,Shang Yang's thoughts on rule of law failed to institutionalize monarchical inaction,and thus could not prevent institutionally the monarch from undermining rule of law,let alone ensuring the sustainability of it.
Shang YangThe Book of Lord Shangtheory of rule of lawgovernance of sage monarchs
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