The Book of Lord Shang: Unveiling Ancient China's Ruthless Path to Power and Its Ongoing Suffering

hi thank you for watching dig into to China I'm dong Shan if you have not done so already please subscribe to my channel thank you very much to comprehend the enduring dominance of centralized authoritarian feudal rule by Emperors in ancient China for Millennia and the roots of the ongoing enslavements and the suffering of the Chinese people one must explore the pages of the book of Lord Shan Shang jinu the book of Lord Shan pen by Shan Yang serves as a compilation of legalist ideology predominantly discussing the governing principles for Kings shang's prescription for Imperial governance can be succinctly summarized as advocating for a strong State through the deliberate weakening of the popul according to the book of Lord Shan it deposits a fundamental contradiction between the state and its citizens if the people hold significant power the state tends to be weakened to fortify the state shangyang argues that it is imperative to diminish the strength of the populace in pursuit of strengthening the Ching State as outlined in the book The ruler of Ching must actively take measures to weaken the citizen how does shangyang proposed Kings should act in the book of Lord Shan shangyang introduced the five Arts of governing the people these five Arts are ignorance weakness poverty exhaustion and humiliation let's examine each of these aspects individually to begin with the aim of ignorance is to ensure people remain ignorant devoid of independent thinking blindly obedient and function solely as labor machines according to the book of Lord Shan the role of the populace should be focused on two tasks diligently engaging in farming and the labor during times of peace to generate wealth for the court and during times of War putting forth every effort to eliminate enemies and defend the ruler any actions Beyond these are deemed Superfluous at a certain time Shangy's promise with a standing pole gained considerable ACC claim shangyang directed the installation of a 9 M wooden pole outside the southern gate of the capital coupled with a public commitment anyone capable of transporting the PO to the northern gate would receive a reward of 50 gold coins Spectators were skeptical that such a seemingly straightforward test could earn a substantial reward eventually an individual successfully carried the wooden Pole to the northern gate leading shangyang to promptly fulfill his promise by rewarding the achiever with 50 gold coins upon careful consideration the event of stand a as a promise appears to be disturbingly calculated shangyang deliberately orchestrated an absurd and illogical scenario seemingly to showcase the king's unwavering commitment to its policies in reality it served as a means to assert Authority through a nonsensical situation citizens were expected to unquestionably follow Imperial decrees regardless of the absurdity shang's aim wasn't to cultivate the genuine trust and loyalty but rather to encourage blind compliance the underlying message was that people should execute Imperial orders without hesitation avoiding critical thinking and IR rational judgment therefore Shangy's stand a poll wasn't about building trust instead it undermines the basic rationality of the people urging them to prioritize unquestioning obedience to Imperial policies over independent reasoning at the same time shanyang held view that extensive reading among the populace was Superfluous as it could lead to knowledge of inappropriate matters and subsequent undesirable actions consequently he implemented a ban on a selection of classical philosophical text categorizing fun uh foundational education materials like rituals music poetry and historical records as the primary six parasites deeming them responsible for societal Decay by curtailing access to books shangyang aimed to prevent people from engaging in unfounded speculation and instead focus on agricultural Pursuits furthermore he advocated for the prohibition of confusion Scholars government officials and Scholars from undertaking educational travels actively working to block potential evidence for people to acquire knowledge and information the second aspect of the five odds of controlling the people is weakness this involves systematically ensuring that the populace lacks the capability to resist or pose a threat under objective conditions the principle is based on the idea that absolute violence begets absolute obedience faced with limitations on technological advancements at the time the Imperial Court couldn't rapidly enhance its military strength strength as a result the focus shifted to reducing the minimum level of force among common citizens apart from agricultural tools strict restrictions were imposed on the possession of iron and bronze weapons by the general populace shang's strategy of weakening the people was later Taken to its extreme by Ching Shu hang according to accounts in records of the grand historian annals of Ching Shang after Ching Shang successfully UniFi the Six States He gathered a substantial number of weapons Nationwide melted them down and crafted 12 statues made of metal each weighing 450,000 kilos the third principles of the five Arts of controlling the people is poverty the book of Lord Shan suggests taking away all excess wealth from the people Beyond ensuring their basic survival needs emphasizing the idea that being weal fed and warm leads to lavious desire the book posits that if ordinary individuals are free from concerns about the food and the clothing it may not only diminish their motivation to strive but also give rise to immoral thoughts to implement this shangy Yang's reform established a rigorous and intricate taxation system in Ching both the land rent and the pole taxes combined constitute 2/3 of the annual Harvest according to records in the book of Han during the Ching Dynasty individuals were taxed based on the acreage deemed appropriate by the Imperial Court regardless of the actual amount of land they owned even if Farmers Faced Natural Disasters or adversities resulting in no Harvest from their lands they were still obligated to deliver the specified amount of grain in addition to the relatively stable land rent and pole taxes there exists a miscellaneous tax a temporary Lev contingent on the king's whims for instance if the weather favored a Bountiful Harvest the people were expected to contribute an extra share as a gesture to of gratitude for the king's generosity conversely in the event of natural disasters like droughts floods disease or Locust citizens were still obligated to pay additional tax to Aid the government in Canal repairs and addressing urgent needs the central theme of of the book of Lord Shan in the land reclamation addict section can be condensed into one sentence everyone should engage in farming and all other Industries must be eliminated among the abolished Industries Commerce B the brunt for example in terms of tax policies levies on Commodities were heightened resulting in taxes on items like alcohol and a meat being 10 times higher than their production cost this directly contracted the market for goods and even if transactions occurred profits were significantly diluted the fourth principle of the five Arts of controlling the people is exhaustion the specific method involves extracting the physical and mental Vigor of individuals through the Imp impositions of Bome K labor in the decade following the unification of the Six States by the Chin Dynasty numerous colossal projects were swiftly undertake requiring a substantial Workforce historical records indicate that the construction of the Great Wall necessitated the conscription of 400,000 individuals while over 700,000 were enlisted for the building of the Ching Royal Palace large scale mobilization involving tens of thousands of laborers was a common occurrence for projects such as constructing direct roads expressways and water routes Co labor came without any compensation and the citizens often had to provide their own sustainance sustenance and tools furthermore those conscript were predominantly young adults the primary Workforce for their families unable to tend to their own Fields they were compelled to work for the emperor without remuneration for several years those fortunate returned with injuries while the less fortunate met untimely ends the fifth EXP expects of the five ODS of controlling the people is humiliation in contemporary terms it can be compared to Pua but in this context it signifies indiscriminate and systematic humiliation imposed by a powerful state of Paratus on the people as suggest in the book of Lord Shan unearth Ching bamboo slips contain regulations such as Farmers being prohibited from looking around while cultivating refraining from listen to Idol talk and avoiding unnecessary speech citizens were treated as if they were livestock akin to a blindfolded donkey at a grindstone illustrating a dehumanizing perspective if a farmer domesticated the cattle were found to be relatively thin the person could face punishment ranging from minor corporal punishment to severe consequences including loss of life the book of Lord Shan advocates for the obliteration of person space establishing a transparent Society where every individual is subject to the close surveillance of the government and others shangyang introduced a household registration system that promoted Mutual surveillance and a scrutiny among residents reporting wrongdoers was incentivized with substantial rewards while failure to report incurred severe penalties in a group of five if one person was found guilty others were imp licated for example a lack of Bravery in war resulted in execution with repercussions for parents siblings and a spouse the aim of humiliation is elucidated in the book of Lord Shan in the section on weakening the people when people experience degradation and humiliation they prioritize Noble titles when they are weak officials are revealed when impoverished significant rewards are emphasized if individ idual lack personal dignity and feel degraded they seek honor in official titles if spiritually feeble and timid they hold those in Authority in high regard consequently the common people find themselves pleading before officials simultaneously admiring and fearing them and and striving desperately to enter their ranks we found ourselves compelled to ask what is the ultimate objective proposed by the book of Lord the Shan with such ideological Concepts in the section on governing the people there is a passage that states administer the people with benevolent policies and they will be close to their relatives conversely govern the people with techniques and they will rely on the state from this it can be inferred that the book of Lord strong believes that benevolent policies should not be employed to govern the people otherwise they will only develop close ties with their own relatives and distance themselves from the state the book sets the happiness of the people against the natural interests of the state shangy Yang's ultimate goal is to pursue National strength with little regard for the happiness of the people furthermore he posits that National strength and the well-being of the people are mutually exclusive consequently to fortify the nation he inevitably must undermine the people once the people are weakened the state finds it more manageable to control them in contemporary terms the Dynamics of emotional M manipulation or death of gratitude can ab elucidate this issue to illustrate the concept of a Deb of gratitude consider a scenario where someone is peacefully standing by the shore when suddenly another person kicks them into the water the individual in the water cries out for for help Desperately Seeking assistance eventually the perpetrator extends a helping hand and rescue them back onto the shore from that moment onward the rescued person feels obligated to their savior the rescued individual is then expected to Express gratitude comply blindly and become psychologically subservient to the rescue does this scenario sound familiar in today's workplaces and Families instances of emotional manipulation are still prevalent the theory presented in the book of Lord Shan can be linked to pushing all the people into the water and occasionally throwing in some sustance sustenance gradually those fortunate enough to receive sustenance will develop a sense of gratitude over time they may even forget what it's like to be on dry land as if they were born in the water for this group occasional Provisions are sufficient to content them and they no longer Harbor dreams of returning to the shore in essence the book of Lord Shan envisions a strong Nation not for the protection of its people but for the conquest of other nations this perspective relies solely on military conquest with a narrow understanding of strength dominated by force the objective of a strong nation is to establish an entirely Central ized the society characterized by a vertical societal structure and a monotonous social life all controlled by an absolute Center feudal dynast held on to the governance philosophy outline in the book of Lord Shan as a guiding principle refusing to let it go for over 2,000 years one significant reason for this endurance is the low cost associated with implementing this method of governance addressing the ever increasing needs of the people is a complex challenge but it is comparatively easier to reduce those needs at a low cost in feudal societies where productivity lacked behind and Technology struggle to keep Pace with the growing demands of the population adopting coste effective measures to diminish those demands became a more viable approach furthermore fud rulers were inherently disinclined towards technological progress while subject like medicine astronomy and arithmetic were included in the Imperial examinations during the tong and Song dynasties by the mean and the Ching periods these examinations were strictly confined to the four books and the five Classics the inherent contradiction between technological progress in productivity and the autocratic rule of feudal Emperors was something they found intolerable consequently any signs of develop were promptly suppressed therefore who ultimately reaped the rewards of the ideology championed in the book of Lord Shan was it the shang's aspirations for governance or the feudal Emperors in the beginning driven by his governance Ambitions shangyong upon entering the state of Ching faced an initial lack of hospitality during the first two meetings with Duke sha ofq it wasn't until the third meeting that both part started to establish a connection it was only during the fourth encounter that the Duke Sha of Ching regretted not meeting shangyang early in initial two meetings shangyang attempted to convince Duke Sha of ching with the principles of Imperial governance but Duke sha showed little interest he was indifferent to any form of principle he exclusively sought techniques particularly the technique of enriching the state and a strength in the military Duke sha prioritized practicality emphasizing utility and a martial Spirit Celestial principles had little importance for him his sole Focus was on enhancing the state strength shangyang suggest that to enrich the state strengthening the military and Conquer other nations there was a need for a comprehensive Monopoly control and mobilization of social resource all centrally coordinated by an absolute Authority namely the king of Ching this Viewpoint aligned with the thoughts of the king the strategy of forcefully aligning the will of the entire populace with the goal of making Ching a powerful State could significantly mobilize and control societal resources in pursuit of that objective in Francis fukuyama's the origin of political order it is estimated that the military of the state of Ching successfully mobilized the 8 to 20% of its total population significantly surpassing the Roman Public's 1% and the dalan league of Greece 5.2% and even exceeding early Europe how did shangyang meet his demise Accused by the nobility and distrusted by the successor king huan of Ching shangyang faced execution through the gruesome method of being torn apart by chariots despite shangy Yang's personal downfall and damaged reputation his policies proved successful in Ching ultimately leading to the conquest and unification of the Six States under the Ching Dynasty the Six States in turn experienced their downfall subjecting their common people to even more oppressive regimes marking their own failure can the success of Ching be considered the success of its people what did they gain Collective punishment severe penalties for minor offenses and the risk of enslavements for minor infractions from this perspect perspective it appears that only the royal family of King Ying of Ching emerged Victorious however to consolidate the centralized Imperial power advocated in the book of Lord sha after Ching Emperor II ascended to the throne he executed 12 Prince and had 10 princess torn apart Prince G chose to be buried with Emperor Ching Shang to protect his wife the Ying family was almost entirely eradicated the the ching per second emergence is the soul Victor with a bit more patience and a wait of 2 years we discovered that Ching AR was killed by his unic ja subsequently ja was killed by Ying Ying after Ying Ying ruled as Emperor for for 46 days Lord shangu arrived leading to Yin Ying's demise at the hands of shangi the ultimate outcome of the book of Lord Shang was a collective loss of for all what led to this result shangyang orchestrated a transformation of the Ching State into a formidable power the book of Lord Shan idealized the strength without the regard for civilization the Ching Dynasty emerged as China's first centralized feudal monarchy marking the end of the previous feudal system the primary aim of the book of Lord Shan was National strength in Shangy's perspective the common people were viewed as mere pawns for the mighty and uncivilized Waring States Within disdain disregard and discrimination towards ordinary populace they L an implicit foretelling of his own future fate and the destiny of the burgeoning state of Ching under his ideological influence indeed the book of Lord Shan showed no concern for the well-being of the people its sole Pursuit was the strength of the state it is suppressed individual aspirations all in pursuit of the Ambitions of a singular monarch in such a powerful State genuinely robust what truly defines a strong Nation a weak populace leading to a strong state or a strong populace contributing to a strong State fortunately as individuals of later generations we have witnessed these historical events however do we genuinely comprehend the Lessons Learned in today's world are certain countries still traversing similar Paths of repetition thank you for watching please leave a comment and subscribe to my channel just click the Subscribe button right here I'll See You Again shortly until then be well