Tag Archives: qi

Great Ideas of the Zhou – Legalism

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Legalism, an ancient Chinese Philosophy: WH 1st period S2

Episode 9: Great Ideas of the Zhou: Legalism

Foundations of Eastern Civilization

Dr Craig Benjamin (2013)

Film Review

In this lecture, Benjamin explores how the Qin Dynasty unified China at the end of the Warring States Period (480-256 BC) and used Legalism. A system of very strict legal codes, they imposed it not only in their own state of Qi, but also in the states they conquered.

The third major philosophy to come out of the Warring States Period,* Legalism taught that human beings were born evil and would only behave ethically if forced to by the state. Harsh Legalist punishments included enslavement, mutilation, branding the face, amputation of hands or feet, exile to the steppes, castration, strangulation, beheading and slow slicing (death by 1,000 cuts).

The Legalists also imposed collective punishment on villages, neighborhoods and families, although individuals could escape punishment (and be rewarded) if they informed on their neighbors.

The Legalist system calls for these punishments to be implemented by the state, rather than the ruler (who is subject to the same laws as his subjects). This system initially proved extremely effective in crushing dissent under the Qin Dynasty.

The Confucians rejected Legalism, arguing it was better to achieve ethically appropriate behavior by reaching collective agreement of what was socially appropriate.

Legalism influenced governance in other Asian societies, with Singapore continuing to run a quasi-legalistic society into modern times.**

The two main political advisors who helped implement Legalism were Shang Yan (390-338 BC) and Han Feizi (280-233 BC). The Qin nobility despised Shang (in part owing to his insistence that bureaucrats be subject to the same laws as commoners) and eventually had him executed.

Han Feizi served as advisor to Qin Shi Huang, who would become China’s first emperor. Owing to Han’s tendency to favor brutal suppression of dissent over ethics, he is frequently compared to Machiavelli. He was eventually imprisoned and poisoned by a rival.

Legalism, along with Confucianism and Daoism eventually made their way to Europe via Jesuit priests during the Renaissance. The Western emphasis on individualism contrasts sharply with the Eastern emphasis on collective welfare and limited the impact  of Chinese philosophies in the West.

*The other two were Confucianism and Daoism. See Great Ideas of the Zhou: Confucianism and Great Ideas of the Zhou: Daosim

**Caning is still used as criminal punishment in Singapore.

Film can be viewed free with a library card on Kanopy.

https://www.kanopy.com/en/pukeariki/video/5808628

A Natural Way – Traditional Medicine and Natural Healing

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A Natural Way – Traditional Medicine and Natural Healing

Directed by Josh Bradley (2011)

Film Review

This documentary explores the history of Eastern medicine, with a primary focus on Indian, Tibetan, and Chinese traditional medicine. All three put primary emphasis on restoring balance (between Yin and Yang and the five elements of earth, fire, water, wind, and space). The epidemic of chronic illnesses with no known Western cure has sparked a large interest in Eastern medicine throughout the industrial world.

In India yoga, mediation, and controlled breathing heal via restoring mental balance. In contrast, Indian Ayruvedic medicine uses diet and herbs to restore the body’s free flow of prana or life energy (known as chi or qi in Chinese medicine).

Tibetan medicine, which traces its origin to India and Buddhism, is also based on restoring free flow of prana. A Tibetan practitioner diagnoses the specific imbalance by questioning patients about their symptoms and diet and examining pulses their (for 60+ factors) and tongue. Treatment consists mainly of herbs grown in the high Tibetan Himalayas, though some herbs are imported from Chinese and Indian lowlands.

The vast majority of the film is devoted to Chinese medicine, which has the longest recorded history. The first Chinese medical textbook, The Yellow Emperor Inner Cannon, appeared in the first century BC. Its remedies rely on a vast array of herbs, insects, and animal parts.*

Chinese medicine also boasts a variety of healing disciplines, including “bonesetting,” which exerts heavy pressure on acupuncture points to relieve musculoskeletal pain; acupuncture, which employs needles and “cupping” at acupuncture points to establish free flow of chi; Tai Chi, a practice derived from the martial art Qigong that uses controlled breathing and slow coordinated movements to unblock chi; and daoyin, a more refined form of Tao Chi which is more effective for specific symptom relief.

The film includes a visit to two acupuncture clinics, and a large factory that mass produces herbal remedies for domestic use and global export.

*Including bat shit. Since China made them a protected species, bat body parts are no longer used as remedies. However according to filmmakers, their poo works just as well.

**Cupping is a form of traditional Chinese medicine that places warm suction cups on key acupuncture points.

Anyone with a public library card can view the film free via the Kanopy film service. Type “kanopy” and the name of your library into your search engine.