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Analysis Of 'Constructing The Chinese Empire'

Decent Essays

In “Constructing the Chinese Empire”, Professor Scarlett stated that within a legalistic state, the government was run by a strict adherence to the law and that law was “the will of the whole state”. It follows that the emperors duty is to make sure the law is followed. The emperor must rule severely, carrying out the law in the harshest manner, quickly and with a great show of force. (“Three Chinese Philosophies”: 140) The emperor may be a “nice” person, but he also cannot show mercy when judging an offense, rather he must always execute the punishment exactly as it is written. (TCP: 132) He also needs to make sure that the penalties for breaking the law are extreme enough to deter future criminals. If he does these things properly, his

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