Shang Yang

A politician and legalist thinker from the Qin Dynasty during the Warring States period in China. He was also known as Wei Yang or Gongsun Yang because he was a descendant of the royal family of Wei. He first served the Wei Prime Minister Gongshu Zuo (?-361 BC), but after his death he served Duke Xiaodong of Qin (reigned 361-338 BC). He gained Duke Xiaodong's trust and, with his approval, he carried out two major political reforms in 359 and 350 BC, despite strong opposition from the aristocracy. These were known as the "Shang Yang Reforms," ​​and their purpose was to abolish the traditional privileges of the aristocracy and create a centralized political system in which the monarch would use bureaucrats to directly control the people, thereby enriching the country and strengthening its military. This policy was initially successful, and he fought and defeated the neighboring state of Wei, turning the backward state of Qin in the west into a powerful nation, and for his achievements he was given the fief of Shang, given the title of Shang King, and given the surname Shang. Eventually, his forced reforms incurred the deep resentment of the aristocracy, and after Duke Xiaodong's death he was executed by execution by execution of his car. However, the spirit of the new laws that Shang Yang created was passed down to future generations, and is said to have become the basis for Qin's achievement of national unification. He is said to have written "Shangzi" (Book of the Shang King), but many of the chapters are thought to have been written by later Legalists.

[Yukio Ota December 14, 2015]

"Records of the Grand Historian: Biographies" by Sima Qian, translated by Ogawa Kanju et al. (Iwanami Bunko)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、戦国時代の秦(しん)の政治家、法家の思想家。衛の公室の子孫であったため衛鞅または公孫鞅ともよばれた。初め魏(ぎ)の宰相公叔座(こうしゅくざ)（？―前361）に仕えたが、その死後は秦の孝公（在位前361〜前338）に仕えた。孝公の信頼を得、その承認のもとで、貴族層の強い反対を押し切って、紀元前359年、前350年の2回にわたる大政治改革を断行した。いわゆる「商鞅の変法」であり、その目的は、旧来の貴族層の特権を廃し、君主が官僚を使って民を直接支配する中央集権政治の体制をつくり、それによって富国強兵を実現しようとするにあった。この政策はいちおう成功し、隣国の魏と戦って勝ち、西方の後進国の秦を一躍強国にし、その功績によって商の地に封ぜられ、商君と号し、商の姓を名のった。やがて、その強制的改革は貴族層の強い恨みを買い、孝公の死後車裂(くるまざき)の刑に処せられた。しかし商鞅のつくった新しい法の精神は以後も受け継がれ、秦の全国統一達成の基礎になったといわれる。『商子』（商君書）を著したと伝えられるが、多くの篇(へん)は後の法家の手になるものと考えられている。

［太田幸男　2015年12月14日］

『司馬遷著、小川環樹他訳『史記列伝』（岩波文庫）』

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