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Shang Yang (; c. 390 – 338 BC), also known as Wei Yang () and originally surnamed Gongsun, was a chancellor and of the State of Qin, arguably becoming the "most famous and influential statesman" from the (early) Warring States period. Born in the Zhou Kingdom vassal state of Wey,Antonio S. Cua (ed.), 2003, p. 362, Encyclopedia of Chinese Philosophy [1] "The fifth important legalist, Shang Yang (Wei Yang, c. 390–338 B.C.E.), was born in Wei; his original surname was Gongsun." he migrated to Wei, ultimately finding office in Qin in 359 BCE.
Becoming Qin's chief minister for twenty years, he launched two series of reforms, laying the administrative, political and economic foundations that would eventually enable Qin to conquer the other six rival states, unifying China under centralized rule for the first time under the Qin dynasty. Scholars consider it likely that both he and his followers contributed to The Book of Lord Shang.Pines, Yuri, "Legalism in Chinese Philosophy", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2014 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), 1.1 Major Legalist Texts, http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2014/entries/chinese-legalism/
The winning court debate that saw Shang Yang attain office is purportedly depicted in the first "Revising the Laws" chapter of the Book of Lord Shang, and this chapter is particularly associated with him. The second chapter "Order to Cultivate Wastelands", has also been "overwhelmingly identified" with Shang Yang, at least in modern Chinese and Japanese scholarship.
Shang Yang's deeds are presented in the late pre-imperial Qin state's encyclopedic Lushi Chunqiu, though its opinion of him had already declined. Though ultimately becoming famous (and infamous) more broadly, the Han Feizi, traditionally placed near the end of the Warring States period, is Shang Yang's first preserved reference outside Qin. Traditionally said to precede Han Fei and the Han Feizi, the late Warring States Xunzi is not evidently familiar with Shang Yang, despite Xun Kuang being said to have visited Qin.
The final chapter (26) of the Book of Lord Shang also claims to be a proposal by Shang Yang, though this may have just been a literary device wrapping up the work. It would have been much too advanced to implement in his time, so that Léon Vandermeersch earlier found it difficult to believe it was ever implemented. Given archaeological discovery, Pines affirms it as reflecting the administrative practices of the late pre-imperial to Imperial Qin dynasty. Conforming with knowledge of Qin dynasty governance, it may have been implemented dating back to not long before unification.
At a young age, Gongsun studied law and obtained a position under Prime Minister Shuzuo of Wei (魏, not the same as his birth state). With the support of Duke Xiao of Qin, he left his lowly position in Weipg 79 of Classical China to become the chief adviser in Qin. His numerous reforms transformed the peripheral Qin state into a militarily powerful and strongly centralized kingdom. Changes to the state's legal system (which were said to have been built upon Li Kui's Canon of Laws) propelled the Qin to prosperity. Enhancing the administration through an emphasis on meritocracy, his policies weakened the power of the feudal lords.
In 341 BC, Qin attacked the state of Wei. Gongsun personally led the Qin army to defeat Wei, and eventually Wei ceded the land west of the Yellow River to Qin. For his role in the war, Gongsun received 15 cities in Shang as his personal fief, becoming known as the lord of Shang (Shang Jun) or Shang Yang. Bamboo Annals Ancient Text, Records of Wei According to the Records of the Grand Historian, with his personal connections while serving in the court of Wei, Shang Yang invited Gongzi Ang, the Wei general, to negotiate a peace treaty. As soon as Ang arrived, he was taken prisoner, and the Qin army attacked, successfully defeating their opponents.
Shang Yang oversaw the construction of Xianyang.John Man 2008. p. 51. Terra Cotta Army. Mark Edward Lewis considered reorganization of the military as potentially responsible for the orderly plan of roads and fields throughout north China. This might be far fetched, but Gongsun was as much a military reformer as a legal one.Paul R. Goldin, Persistent Misconceptions about Chinese Legalism. p. 18 [2]
The Shang Yang school of thought was favoured by Emperor Wu of Han,Creel 1970, What Is Taoism?, 115 and John Keay mentions that Tang dynasty figure Du You was drawn to Shang Yang. Arthur F. Wright 1960. p. 99. The Confucian Persuasion
Believing in the rule of law and considering loyalty to the state above that of the family, Yang introduced two sets of changes to the State of Qin. The first, in 356 BC, were-
Yang introduced his second set of changes in 350 BC, which included a new standardized system of land allocation and reforms to taxation.
The vast majority of Yang's reforms were taken from policies instituted elsewhere, such as from Wu Qi of the State of Chu; however, Yang's reforms were more thorough and extreme than those of other states, and monopolized policy in the hands of the ruler. Under his tenure, Qin quickly caught up with and surpassed the reforms of other states.
As human resources was short in Qin relative to the other states at the time, Yang enacted policies to increase its manpower. As Qin peasants were recruited into the military, he encouraged active migration of peasants from other states into Qin as a replacement workforce; this policy simultaneously increased the manpower of Qin and weakened the manpower of Qin's rivals. Yang made laws forcing citizens to marry at a young age and passed tax laws to encourage raising multiple children. He also enacted policies to free who worked in opening wastelands for agriculture.
Yang partly abolished primogeniture (depending on the performance of the son) and created a double tax on households that had more than one son living in the household, to break up large clans into nuclear families.
Yang moved the capital from the city of Yueyang to Xianyang, in order to reduce the influence of nobles on the administration. Xianyang remained Qin's capital until its fall in 207 BC.
Yang was executed by jūliè (: dismemberment by being fastened to five , cattle or horses and being torn to pieces); , Han Feizi, Han Fei 东周列国志, 蔡元放 his whole family was also executed.商君列传, Records of the Grand Historian, Sima Qian Despite his death, King Huiwen kept the reforms enacted by Yang.
A number of alternate versions of Yang's death have survived. According to Sima Qian in his Records of the Grand Historian, Yang first escaped to Wei. However, he was hated there for his earlier betrayal of Gongzi Ang and was expelled. Yang then fled to his fiefdom, where he raised a rebel army but was killed in battle. After the battle, King Hui of Qin had Yang's corpse torn apart by chariots as a warning to others.
Following the execution of Yang, King Huiwen turned away from the central valley south to conquer Sichuan (Shu and Ba) in what Steven Sage calls a "visionary reorientation of thinking" toward material interests in Qin's bid for universal rule.
Hulsewe points out that Sima Tan considered equal treatment the "school of law's" most salient point: "They do not distinguish between close and far relatives, nor do they discriminate between noble and humble, but in a uniform manner they decide on them in law." The Han dynasty adopted essentially the same denominations of crimes, and conception of equality, as Shang Yang set down for Qin, without collective punishment of the three sets of relatives.
Shang Yang appeared to act according to his own teachings, and translator Duvendak (1928) references him as being considered "like a bamboo‑frame which keeps a bow straight, and one could not get him out of his straightness", even if spoken of by some pre-modern Chinese in ill regard with the fall of Qin. Duvendak believed that Shang Yang should be of interest not just to Sinologists, but Western Jurists as well.
Despite traditional history's dim view, Sima Qian recounts the immediate effect of his policies as such: After the had been in effect for ten years, the commoners of Qin were delighted; no one picked up articles lost on the road, there were no bandits or thieves in the mountains, households were well provided for and the people were well off. The commoners were brave in the duke’s battles but cowardly in private feuds and the townships and cities were in good order. (Sima Qian 1994a, 90)
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