China & East Asia · c. 390–338 BCE
Shang Yang
Qin minister whose reforms built Qin’s power
Reorganised Qin around farming and war: ranks earned by military merit, households made mutually responsible, and strict laws applied to all. When his patron Duke Xiao died he fell from power; Qin troops killed him, and the new king had his body torn apart by chariots.
Life and thought
Born a noble of the small state of Wey around 390 BCE, Gongsun Yang served the chancellor of Wei before answering Duke Xiao of Qin’s call for able men in 361. With the duke’s backing he remade Qin in two waves of reform: households were grouped in fives and tens and made responsible for each other’s crimes, noble rank was given for heads taken in battle, land and measures were standardised, and counties run by appointed officials replaced hereditary domains. When Duke Xiao died in 338 his enemies accused him of rebellion; Qin troops killed him, and his body was torn apart by chariots.
The Book of Lord Shang, compiled by his followers, starts from the view that people pursue profit and fear punishment, and that a state is strong only through farming and war. Laws must be published, rewards certain and punishments heavy, and they must bind the powerful too: when the crown prince broke the law, Shang Yang punished his tutors. His reforms made Qin the state that would unify China in 221 BCE, and his name became a byword for harsh government.
Works
Shaped
c. 280–233 BCEHan FeiziPrince of Han who synthesised Legalist thoughtMeanwhile, in other traditions
c. 428–348 BCEPlatoSocrates’ student, founder of the Academy, master of the dialoguec. 412–323 BCEDiogenes of SinopeExile from Sinope who lived as a “dog” in Athens384–322 BCEAristotlePlato’s student, Alexander’s tutor, founder of the Lyceumc. 371–287 BCETheophrastusAristotle’s successor at the Lyceum and founder of botanyc. 360–270 BCEPyrrhoFounder of Pyrrhonian skepticism, who went to India with Alexander341–270 BCEEpicurusFounder of the Garden, a philosophical community near AthensOn the record
After Duke Xiao died, Shang Yang “was executed by being torn apart by chariots”.
Sima Qian’s Records of the Grand Historian says Qin troops attacked Shang Yang and killed him at Mianchi in Zheng, and King Hui of Qin then had his body torn apart by chariots as a public warning. Later retellings often say he was torn apart alive.
Sources: Sima Qian, Shiji, chapter 68, “Biography of Lord Shang” (Wikisource) · Wikipedia, “Shang Yang”