The Legalist
►Legalists believed that people existed to serve the state, and that strict laws and harsh punishments were required.
►Legalist
disciples served Shi Huang-di. They utilized Xunzi's thought about the evil nature of humans to increase the authoritarian status of the ruler and constructed rigorous laws.
►The political
centralization of the Qin was supported by statesmen known
as Legalists.
►Shang Yang and other
thinkers argued that the power of rulers should
be absolute.