The Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States defines legalism as a pejorative descriptor for “the direct or indirect attachment of behaviors, disciplines, and practices to the belief in order to achieve salvation and right standing before God”, emphasizing a need “to perform certain deeds in order to gain …

What might be some disadvantages of legalism? too much government power. innocent people punished.

It is quite obvious that legalism put the need for order above all human concerns, therefore in a way instilling fear into society so all rules were obeyed.

Definition. Legalism in ancient China was a philosophical belief that human beings are more inclined to do wrong than right because they are motivated entirely by self-interest and require strict laws to control their impulses. It was developed by the philosopher Han Feizi (l. c. 280 – 233 BCE) of the state of Qin.

Legalism is based on the viewpoint that in order for a ruler to maintain order in society, people must obey a set of strict laws and those in authority (the rulers and government officials). If humans followed these rules, philosophers argued, then the state and its authority would be strengthened.

Legalists believed that harsh punishments would frighten people away from committing crimes. The Legalist laws listed thousands of crimes. At this time, most Chinese people could not read. They often did not know they had done something wrong until they were arrested.

The Legalists advocated government by a system of laws that rigidly prescribed punishments and rewards for specific behaviours. They stressed the direction of all human activity toward the goal of increasing the power of the ruler and the state.

1.2 Historical Context. Legalism is just one of the many intellectual currents that flourished in China during the three centuries prior to the imperial unification of 221 BCE. This period, often identified as the age of the “Hundred Schools” was exceptionally rich in terms of political thought.

Legalism. During the Warring States Period of Chinese history, from 475 to 221 BCE, what we now think of today as China was divided into seven competing nations. Legalism promotes the notion of strict law and order and harsh, collective punishments, ideas that influenced Qin Shi Huangdi’s despotism and centralized rule …

Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism were the three main philosophies and religions of ancient China, which have individually and collectively influenced ancient and modern Chinese society.

Yamato dynasty

Louis XIV

What are the longest-lasting empires, governments, or nations?

• The Pandyan Empire (1850 years)
• Byzantine Empire (1123 years)
• Silla (992 years)
• Ethiopian Empire (837 years)
• Roman Empire (499 years)
• San Marino (415+ years)
• Aboriginal Australian Cultures (50,000 years)

The Mongol Empire existed during the 13th and 14th centuries and it is recognized as being the largest contiguous land empire in history.

Genghis Khan founded the Mongol Empire and became one of the most feared conquerors of all time.

Finally, in 476, the Germanic leader Odoacer staged a revolt and deposed the Emperor Romulus Augustulus. From then on, no Roman emperor would ever again rule from a post in Italy, leading many to cite 476 as the year the Western Empire suffered its deathblow.

Officially, there are no empires now, only 190-plus nation-states. Yet the ghosts of empires past continue to stalk the Earth.

The Suez Crisis confirmed Britain’s decline as a global power, and the transfer of Hong Kong to China in 1997 marked for many the end of the British Empire. Fourteen overseas territories remain under British sovereignty.

The federal government of the United States has never referred to its territories as an empire, but some commentators refer to it as such, including Max Boot, Arthur Schlesinger, and Niall Ferguson.

Because empires are large and complex, when historians talk about the fall of an empire, they are typically talking about a long process rather than a single cause! Some of the broad factors that historians use to help explain imperial collapse are: Economic issues. Social and cultural issues.

Barbarian kingdoms had established their own power in much of the area of the Western Empire. In 476, the Germanic barbarian king Odoacer deposed the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire in Italy, Romulus Augustulus, and the Senate sent the imperial insignia to the Eastern Roman Emperor Flavius Zeno.

New groups rose up on the edges while the center lost its power. These two factors of cost and cohesion fed off each other in a way that sped up the empire’s collapse.

Global history has taken a boost from the current conflicts, protests and riots against corporate globalisation, and the threat of worldwide terrorism against the West. These events fit into a global pattern of the rise and fall of societies, that can be traced back to ancient times.