Reforms
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. Under Yang's tenure, Qin quickly caught up with and surpassed the reforms of other states.
After Duke Xiao of Qin, ascended the Qin throne, Yang left his lowly position in the State of Wey (to whose ruling family he had been born, but had yet to obtain a high position in) to become the chief adviser in Qin at Duke Xiao's behest. There his changes to the state's legal system (which were said to have built upon Li Kui's Canon of Laws) propelled the Qin to prosperity. His policies built the foundation that enabled Qin to conquer all of China, uniting the country for the first time and ushering in the Qin dynasty.
He is credited by Han Feizi with the creation of two theories;
- Ding Fa (定法; fixing the standards)
- Yi Min (一民; treating the people as one)
Read more about this topic: Shang Yang
Famous quotes containing the word reforms:
“One of the reforms to be carried out during the incoming administration is a change in our monetary and banking laws, so as to secure greater elasticity in the forms of currency available for trade and to prevent the limitations of law from operating to increase the embarrassment of a financial panic.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)
“Nothing divine dies. All good is eternally reproductive. The beauty of nature reforms itself in the mind, and not for barren contemplation, but for new creation.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“We shall one day learn to supersede politics by education. What we call our root-and-branch reforms of slavery, war, gambling, intemperance, is only medicating the symptoms. We must begin higher up, namely, in Education.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)