The Book of Lord Shang


The Book of Lord Shang is an ancient Chinese text from the 3rd century BC, regarded as a foundational work of "Chinese Legalism". The earliest surviving of such texts, it is named for and to an extent attributed to major Qin reformer Shang Yang, who served as minister to Duke Xiao of Qin from 359 BC until his death in 338 BC and is generally considered to be the father of that state's "legalism".
The Book of Lord Shang includes a large number of ordinances, essays, and courtly petitions attributed to Shang Yang, as well as discourses delivered at the Qin court. The book focuses mainly on maintaining societal order through a system of impartial laws that strictly mete out rewards and punishments for citizens' actions. The first chapters advise promoting agriculture and suppressing other low-priority secondary activities, as well as encouraging martial virtues for use in creating and maintaining a state army for wars of conquest.

Premodern skepticism

Historically, the Book of Lord Shang's first chapter has been especially associated with Shang Yang, purportedly portraying the court debate that saw Shang Yang gain office. However, in the evaluation of modern translator Yuri Pines, while some of the Book of Lord Shang came from Shang Yang's life time, or shortly thereafter, it likely took over a century to write.
Even in Imperial China, Huang Zhen of the Southern Song dynasty did not believe the work to have been written by Shang Yang himself, with his biography in the Shiji suggesting him to have been a 'more gifted law official' than the Book of Lord Shang. As noted by the early scholarship of J.J.L. Duyvendak, apart from the work's stylistic inconsistencies, most of it would unlikely have been written by Shang Yang himself if, as Sima Qian states, he was executed almost immediately after resigning from office.
References to events from the end part of the Warring State period, and skepticism during the imperial period, contributed to a dismissive attitude toward the work during the Republican period as compared with the Han Feizi, taking the entire work as late.

Textual tradition

Taking Shang Yang as a common referent, it is commonly accepted in modern scholarship that the Book of Lord Shang was produced by Shang Yang and his followers. Together, they are referred to in Chinese-Asian scholarship as "Shang Yang's school", most notably by Malaysian sinologist Zheng Liangshu, or "Qin Legalists", including by Beijing sinologist Lin Cunguang 2014. The term "Shang Yang’s 'school'" has been "hugely popular" since Zheng Liangshu's 1989 work, Shang Yang and His School.
While the work's composite nature contributes to skepticism, Yuri Pines considered it more ideologically consistent than most Warring States texts. He believes that "some chapters were likely penned by Shang Yang himself; others may come from the hand of his immediate disciples and followers", forming a "relatively coherent ideological vision" reflecting the evolution of what Zheng Liangshu dubbed Shang Yang's 'intellectual current', Pines not considering it as self-aware or organized as the Confucians or Mohists.
Like the later Han Feizi, the Book of Lord Shang insists on the anachronism of the policies of the distant past, drawing on more recent history. In comparison with the Han Feizi, though considering them to be "digressions of minor importance", Pines Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy believes the Book of Lord Shang "allowed for the possibility that the need for excessive reliance on coercion would end and a milder, morality-driven political structure would evolve." In Pines opinion, the Han Feizi does not. Without implying any direct connection, Michael Puett and Mark Edward Lewis compared the Rites of Zhou to the "Legalism" of Shang Yang.

Dating

Pines dating for the work's chapters range from 300 BCE to 230 BCE, near the time of the Qin state's unification of China. The work matures philosophically in chapters 6 and 7, becomes more administrative and accommodating in chapter 14, and has its more sophisticated chapters at the end of its work, chapters 24 and 25, with Chapter 26 "reflecting administrative realities from the eve of imperial unification."

Individual chapters

While Shang Yang's reforms included peasant levies, chariots were already being exchanged for primarily infantry even before the Warring States period, in the sixth century b.c., with cavalry becoming only supplemental. Not making use of cavalry, Pines believes that military chapters like 10, 11 and 19 definitely did come from the fourth century B.C..
Guo Moruo believed that Chapter 15 “Attracting the People” makes reference to the Changping campaign of the 47th year of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, 82 years after Lord Shang’ death, so that Guo Muruo believed the Book of Lord Shang was a forgery. Tong Weimin dates it 78 years after Shang Yang, in King Zhaoxiang's reign, arguing that it is a legitimate work of a follower of Shang Yang stemming from Shang Yang favoring immigration.

Doctrine of Names

Following the Han Feizi, discussing Shang Yang and Shen Buhai, the three together were often identified under the Han Feizi's doctrine of Xing-Ming, or "form and name". Nothing would seem to bare out that Shang Yang studied an identical Names doctrine to Shen Buhai and Han Fei, but it does have "Names" doctrines.
Pines considers Shang Yang's primary doctrine to be that of connecting people's inborn nature or dispositions with names. The Book of Lord Shang does not believe that fa laws will be successful without "investigating the people's disposition", recommending enacting laws that allow people to "pursue the desire for a name", namely fame and high social status, or just wealth if acceptable. Ensuring these "names" are connected with actual benefits, it was hoped people would be less likely to commit crimes, and more likely to engage in hard work or fight in wars.
Ming in the work most commonly refers to repute and social status. In Chapter 26 however, it refers to legal codes and, "more frequently, something akin to a proper bureaucratic nomenclature". Making use of the per-imperially rare term mingfen as the "essence of legal and administrative practices", fen refers to such things as "social divisions, distinctions", and individual allotment."

Overview

Pines considered the Shangjunshu probably the earliest text taking the ruler's position as pivotal for the state's well-being. However, the text is largely focused on the relation between the state and society, not 'monarchical power'.
The Book of Lord Shang teaches that "The law is an expression of love for the people... The sage, if he is able to strengthen the state thereby, does not model himself on antiquity, and if he is able to benefit the people thereby, does not adhere to the established rites." As such, the philosophy espoused is quite explicitly anti-Confucian:

Translations

Category:Legalist texts
Category:Chinese law
Category:Qin
Category:Ancient Chinese philosophical literature