Legalism - 法家

The Legalist school most famous proponent and contributor was Han Fei Zi (韓非子) who proposed the following three tools for a ruler to govern his subjects:

Fa 法; literally "law or principle": The law code must be clearly written and made public. All people under the ruler were equal before the law. Laws should reward those who obey them and punish accordingly those who dare to break them. Thus it is guaranteed that actions taken are systematically predictable. In addition, the system of law ran the state, not the ruler, a statement of rule of law. If the law is successfully enforced, even a weak ruler will be strong.

Shu 術; "method, tactic or art": No one can fathom the ruler's motivations, and thus no one can know which behaviour might help them getting ahead; except for following the 法 or laws.

The Legalists emphasized that the head of state was endowed with the "mystery of authority” and as such his decisions must always command the respect and obedience of the people. The state (country) comes first, not the individual. The emperor’s very figure brought legitimacy. In emphasizing the power of rulership, Legalists sought to devalue the importance of the charismatic ruler. Skillful rulers hid their true intentions and feigned nonchalance. To ensure that all of his words were revered, the wise ruler kept a low profile. Thus, theoretically, by cloaking both his desires and his will, the Emperors checked sycophancy and forced his subject to heed his dictates.

Shi 勢; "legitimacy, power or charisma": It is the position of the ruler, not the ruler himself or herself, that holds the power. Therefore, analysis of the trends, the context, and the facts are essential for a real ruler.

One of the first adopters of Legalism was the statesman Shang Yang who advocated the belief that all people are fundamentally flawed and humanity was selfish and evil, therefore harsh punishments are required to keep them in order. Shang Yang became prime minister of the Qin and transformed the state into a vigorously regulated machine, the sole purpose of which was the elimination of all rivals. Shang Yang swept away the aristocracy and implemented a meritocracy – those who achieved could reach high places and birth privilege was reserved exclusively for the ruler of the state. Previously the army had been controlled by nobles and constituted of feudal levies. Now generals could come from any part of society, provided they had sufficient skill. In addition, troops were highly trained and disciplined. In this way Qin become the most powerful state in China before it eventually brought all of the six other states together (Qi, Chu, Han, Yan, Zhao, and Wei) under Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of a unified China.

兵家; School of Military & 縱橫家/纵横家 School of Diplomacy

The Warring States Period saw the introduction of many innovations to the art of warfare in China, such as the use of iron and of cavalry. Near the beginning of the Warring States Period we see a shift from chariots to massed infantry, possibly associated with the invention of the crossbow. This had two major effects. First it led the dukes to weaken their chariot-riding nobility so they could get direct access to the peasantry who could be drafted as infantry. This change was associated with the shift from aristocratic to bureaucratic government. Second, it led to a massive increase in the scale of warfare. The bloodshed and misery of the Warring States Period goes a long way in explaining China's traditional preference for a united monarchy.

The Warring States was a great period for military strategy. The military strategist Sun Tzu is said to have written The Art of War, which is recognized today as the most influential and oldest known military strategy guide. Along with this were other military writings that make up the Seven Military Classics of ancient China: Jiang Ziya's Six Secret Teachings, Sima Rangju's The Methods of the Sima, Sun Bin's Art of War, Wu Qi, Wei Liaozi, Three strategies of Huang Shigong, and Questions and Replies between Tang Taizong and Li Weigong (the last being made approximately 800 years after this era ended).

孙子兵法 – Art of War by Sun zi

知彼知己，百戰不殆；不知彼而知己，一勝一負；不知彼，不知己，每戰必殆
If you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.

“兵者，诡道也。 All warfare is based on deception”.

Indeed, Deception is that Art.

Along with the Strategic school we can mention the School of Diplomacy, as one of main Chinese School of Thought. This school focused on practical matters instead of any moral principle, so it stressed political and diplomatic tactics, and debate and lobbying skill. Scholars from this school were good orators, debaters and tacticians The few principal written records of the School of Diplomacy that exist today are the thirteenth chapter of the 'Book of Gui' or 'Gui Gu-zi', the thirty-third chapter of 'Annals of the Warring States Period' (not about the School of Diplomacy’s followers but primarily the words and actions of its advisors as well as actual combat case studies), the thirty-first chapter of 'Su Zi' and the tenth chapter of 'Zhang Zi'. The seventh chapter of the 'Benjing Yifu' appendix to the 'Gui Gu-zi' describes the mental and moral cultivation methods used by the School of Diplomacy; the 'Benjing' covers the ideas behind the basic guiding principles whilst the 'Yinfu' consists of very mysterious concealed writings. The reader can comprehend these but is unable to discover their essential meaning. The 'Gui Gu-zi' is a book of theory that is complete in every detail and very subtly written, making its ideas hard to express. More importantly the work requires study and use in order to understand the nuances of its meaning. The 'Annals of the Warring States Period' is a well-written rhetorical compendium the words and actions of the strategists of the School of Diplomacy who were all resourceful, intelligent, aware of the actual situation and gifted in the use of language.