The Failure of the Qin Dynasty and the Political Philosophy of the Early Han Dynasty examines the political lessons and ideological shifts of the period. It emphasizes the important role that the ideas of the Six Families played in this process.
After ending the chaos of the Warring States period, the Qin reorganized and sought to control ideas. For Li Shi, a powerful man at the time, knowledge of history was a mere tradition, and scholarship was a source of controversy over laws and institutions. Yi’s views stemmed from his intention to maintain the Qin’s centralized power by rejecting all heterogeneous ideas and consolidating control under a unified ideology. This temporarily weakened the atmosphere of the Warring States period’s “Shunzhi,” which uncritically absorbed other ideas and demonstrated a unified academic framework. Qin’s policy stifled thought diversity and creativity, which ultimately led to rigidity throughout society.
The challenge for early Han thinkers was to analyze the causes of the Qin’s demise and propose a plan for stable governance based on them, and to overcome the attitudes of the ruling powers of the time, who revered the dominance of power. After the founding of the Han dynasty by Han Emperor Liu Bei, the rulers of the early Han dynasty learned from the Qin’s failures and sought a more flexible and inclusive political philosophy. One of the most prominent thinkers to emerge from this process was Yuchi (陸賈).
He was the heir to Sun Tzu’s scholarship and wrote the Analects in response to the Han dynasty’s need for a governing strategy. In the book, he blamed the Qin for its short life on the abuse of harsh punishments, rule by law alone, the pride and extravagance of the monarch, and the appointment of unwise men, and sought to convince Han of the importance of knowledge and scholarship by pointing out the harms of the Qin’s control of ideas. In particular, he emphasized that Qin’s excessive legalistic policies had provoked a backlash from the people. He proposed two concepts: tongmul, which encompasses all things in the world, including astronomy, geography, and human affairs, in accordance with the natural laws of history; and tongchang, which is an insight into the process of historical change that allows one to take action according to the situation and not adhere to existing rules. Understanding that the manifestation of Tongtong and Tongbyeon in the world of politics is righteousness, he affirmed the creation of power by force, but proposed a royal politics for the maintenance and expansion of power, and attempted to combine Confucian ideology and practical politics to realize righteousness.
In order to realize justice, Yi embraced other ideas as long as they remained within the bounds of Confucianism. He drew on the Taoist martial law and the authority of the courtiers, centered on Confucianism, which emphasized the politics of edification with a focus on decorum and order. For him, martial law meant the result of a peaceful rule by lightening punishments and emphasizing the discipline of monarchs, and authority was different from the original because it was directed at promoting the stability of political power through the appointment of wise subjects.
Although Yi’s ideas were excessively flexible, which led to problems of ideological identity, they were unifying ideas that pointed out that the destiny of heaven was determined by the political actions of the monarch and emphasized the realization of righteousness. His ideas contributed to ushering in the era of Confucian independence after the Han emperor. His ideas were not merely theoretical arguments, but also important guidelines for actual political operations. This is credited with making Han politics more stable and sustainable, as opposed to Qin’s policies.
Yuk’s integrative approach also had a profound impact on later thinkers. In particular, his method of applying realpolitik through the harmonization of Confucian central ideas with other schools of thought became an important benchmark in setting the policy direction of the Han Dynasty. These contributions have left a lasting mark on Chinese thought and political history.
