Legalism
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More on the New Legalists: The Philosophical Problems
Picking up where I left off in the last post, I find various philosophical problems with the New Legalists. I am reading them as nationalists who are appropriating ancient Legalist texts, together with some Taoist volumes, to fashion… Continue reading
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The New Legalists: Distorting Chinese History and Chinese Philosophy for Nationalist Ends
I have stumbled upon a website, The New Legalist, (Chinese version here, with much more stuff) and am dismayed at the distortions I find there. It seems to be the product of people with a fairly… Continue reading
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America: A Legalist Society
Ancient Chinese Legalists, like Han Fei Tzu, had a dim view of human nature. They believed that we are all selfish and venal and that the only way of attaining order and stability in society is through extensive… Continue reading
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Let’s Call A Legalist, A Legalist
Can you catch the implicit cultural assertion in this story? Execution for corruption is proportionate and accords with "China’s national condition," a senior official said Thursday, as a disgraced former party chief from Shanghai, now confirmed to be… Continue reading
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China – Still Legalist?
In January I posted a piece, China: No Longer a Legalist Society, which, perhaps optimistically, suggested that popular resistance to state control of the flow of information, especially in the matter of book banning, pointed to a certain… Continue reading
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Dogs and Legalism
About ten days ago we got a new dog. Larry (he came with that name) is a seven-month old hound-mutt. He’s energetic and smart, and not aggressive toward our other dog, a four-year old beagle-mutt, Rudy (who also… Continue reading
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So…What’s Up With That Book Banning?
A few days ago I posted on the banning of eight books in the PRC, how it resonated with the Legalist practices of the Qin emperor and how the the resistance of some writers suggested that China was… Continue reading
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China: No Longer a Legalist Society
A recent news story reminds us of the essential Legalism – of the Han Fei Tzu lineage – that lies at the heart of the PRC government. But it also shows us how China is no longer a… Continue reading
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Oh Mr. Lee, Your Legalism is Showing…
Tin hat dictator Lee Hsien Loong, fronting for his unable-to-let-go-of-power dad, Lee Kuan Yew, is doing his Legalist dance again. They’ve gone and banned the Far Eastern Economic Review for the unacceptable crime of reporting truthfully about opposition… Continue reading
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Singaporean Legalism
A fairly new blog, A Serial Number on my Vote, has a nice post and some good comments that detail the parallels between PAP leadership in Singapore and classical Legalism (hat tip: Singabloodypore). This adds more specifics to… Continue reading
The Useless Tree 