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Leadership theory of Legalism and

its function in Confucian society

kwang-kuo hwang

T

HIS CHAPTERreorganizes Hanfei’s theory of leadership from

the perspective of social science and explains its implications

in contemporary Chinese society. It begins with a brief biog-

raphy of Hanfei and the origins of his thought. His theory of leader-

ship is then presented as a formal theory and its meanings are explained

in terms of modern organizational theories. Based on Hwang’s ( 1995 ;

2001 ) analysis of the deep structure of Confucianism, a conceptual

framework is proposed to illustrate the dialectical relationship between

Hanfei’s theory and Confucianism. Finally, operation of the firm and

state in Taiwan are used as examples to explain how this conceptual

framework may be used to study Chinese organizational behavior.

Introduction

Among the various Chinese indigenous leadership theories, the impor-

tance of Legalism is second only to Confucianism.Fa Jia(the Legalist

school) emerged during the Warring States Period (403–222 BCE)

and its main thoughts were refined against the cultural background

of Confucianism, although its contents are in direct opposition to

Confucianism in many respects.

During the Han dynasty, Tung Jong-shu (179–104 BCE) proposed

integrating the two systems with the idea of ‘‘making judicial sen-

tence by the Confucian classic ofSpring and Autumn’’^1 and ‘‘utilizing

Legalism as an instrument to consolidate the Confucian social

system.’’ (Chu, 1961 ). Rulers of China began to use Legalist methods

to defend their power and position and to control people, but retained

Confucian doctrine to educate and discipline people. Chinese society

became characterized by the feature of ‘‘Confucianism in public

and Legalism in private.’’ Strictly speaking, there were neither pure

Confucian scholars nor pure Legalists after the Han dynasty; their

philosophies became mixed to some extent.

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