In the Qin Dynasty(221-207 BC) the main belief system was legalism. The reason for this was because when Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi came into power, he believed in it and thought everybody else should, so he enforced it. Those who did not follow were severely punished.
He believed that all people are bad and every minute of a person’s life needs to be controlled in order for them to be disciplined so they can work hard.
The main point of legalism is that naturally, humans are evil and selfish criminals. If they are not controlled it will lead to a lot of big problems in society. Emperor Qin agreed and therefore made it China’s new belief system and abolished all other beliefs. In order to control his people he established extremely strict laws, rewarded those who followed and punished, or even killed those who didn’t. The laws of legalism were endless and had rules for every little thing.
Another main concept of legalism is not to trust anyone. Han Fei, a Chinese philosopher who practiced legalism once said, “It is dangerous for a ruler to trust others. He who trusts others can be manipulated by others.” This means that because everyone is bad, you cannot trust anyone. If you trust someone you could be controlled by them.
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