Zhou Dynasty Legalism

The first emperor of China accomplished many great feats by implementing radical and innovative ideas and abandoning the traditional ways of thought. During his reign, government and public affairs underwent massive reconstruction. Formerly a feudal state during the Zhou Dynasty, the different regions fell victim to one of the largest and most aggressive military conquests by the Qin Armies and became the largest Chinese dynasty to ever exist. Thus, a nation unified under the philosophy of Legalism was born. After adopting and concentrating on one extinguished the social class of Confucianist scholars and their educational material. After his centralization, he was assisted by the three ministries of civil authority, military authority, and …show more content…
This was a social reform that helped keep the emperor's rule absolute and undeniable. The emperor also introduced a version of Bao-jia, a community-based law enforcement program which helped him carry out his stringent penal code, which contrasts with the former social concept of filial piety. He also slaved the abundant labor of peasant to develop his major construction projects like the Great Wall, Grand Canal, and his national road system. Even though, they made trade and travel easier, his projects plunged China into poverty because it created such a heavy economic burden, shortening agricultural production and natural resource reserves. However, he compensated for his mistakes in his extravagant enterprises by revolutionizing the standard systems of measure and currency. His common theme of consolidation did not exclude commercial activity. Most manufacturing was owned by a government monopoly because private commercial activities had inflexible regulations that drowned out local merchants who were considered scum by Qin Shi Huangdi. As stated before, a profuse amount of development occurred during the Qin Dynasty and almost all of it can be attributed to the first great emperor of