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Zhou Dynasty Dbq

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Can you name a country that was in search of an order? Or a country that went through three different orders, trying to find the best Suitable answer? China was that country; back around 2000 B.C.E, When the Zhou dynasty took power in 1122 B.C.E., the notion of the Mandate of Heaven had taken root, as had the idea that the normal and appropriate condition of China was one of political unity. But, by the eight century B.C.E., the authority of the Zhou dynasty and its royal court had substantially weakened, and by 500 B.C.E. any unity that China had earlier enjoyed was gone. (Ways of the World pg.167-169) China was considered as one of the first civilizations, who had a state- building tradition. China was in a period of chaos, growing violence, and disharmony that became known as the age of Warring states. China was in a search for order; an order that would be beneficial to its country and its people. The three answers china went thought were the Legalist answer, the Confucian answer, and the Daoist answer. …show more content…
The Legalist Answer was a practical philosophy know as Legalism. Han Fei was a leading legalist philosopher in legalist. Han Fei and other legalist thinkers believe that the solution to china’s problem was legalism. The principle of legalism was to place strict rules or laws, clearly understanding and strictly enforcement through a system of rewards and punishments to china. Legalists generally entertained a rather negative view of human nature; they believed most people were stupid and shortsighted. Only the state and its rulers could act in their long-term interests. Doing so meant promoting farmers and soldiers, the only two groups in society who performed essential functions, while suppressing merchants, aristocrats, scholars, and other class regarded as

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