Lawyer - Houka

A school of thought from the Warring States period in China. It refers to a group of politicians and thinkers who advocated a law-based government of rewarding and punishing the meritorious, eliminating the traditional rituals that recognized the privileges of the aristocracy, concentrating power in the monarch, and enriching the country and strengthening its military. Based on a view of humanity that says that human nature is to like profit and hate harm, they advocated controlling subjects by applying the law with rewards (profits) and punishments (harm) without considering education. In contrast to the narrow territorial rule of Confucianism through the influence of virtue, rule by uniform application of the law was suitable for governing a wide territory, and matched the trend of unified control of the entire country and centralization of power. The Han dynasty, which followed the Qin dynasty, is said to have been a Confucian state, but in reality it was a Legalist government. Legalists also advocated the superiority of the whole over the individual, the country over the family, and the monarch over the subjects. Famous thinkers include Shang Yang, who inherited the legal thought of Li Si, Shen Buhai, who excelled in the study of art, Shen Dao, who placed importance on momentum, and Han Fei, who synthesized the ideas of the above three. His works that remain include "Shangjunshu" ("Shangzi"), "Shenzi", "Han Feizi", and "Guanzi".

[Takio Sawada]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、戦国時代の諸子百家の一派。法を基準として信賞必罰の政治を行い、旧来の貴族の特権を認める礼を排除して権力を君主に集中し、富国強兵を図ることを主張する一連の政治家、思想家をさす。利を好み害を悪(にく)むのが人間の本性だとする人間観にたち、教化を考えずに賞（利）と罰（害）を伴う法の適用による臣民の統御を唱えた。儒家(じゅか)の徳による感化の狭い領域支配に対して、法の一律的適用の支配は広範な領域の統治に適したもので、全国の統一的支配、中央集権化の時代の趨勢(すうせい)に合致した。秦(しん)の後の漢(かん)代は儒教国家だとされるが、実質は法家的政治が行われた。また法家は、個に対する全体、家に対する国、臣民に対する君主の優位を主張する。思想家として有名なのは、李悝(りかい)の法思想を継承した商鞅(しょうおう)、術の考察に優れた申不害(しんふがい)、勢を重視した慎到(しんとう)、以上の三者の考えを総合した韓非(かんぴ)などがいる。著作は『商君書』（『商子』）、『慎子』、『韓非子』、『管子』などが現存する。

［澤田多喜男］

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