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Source set · 7 sources ✓ Lesson ready

Should rulers govern by virtue or by strict law?

Confucius, Mencius, Xunzi, Laozi, and the Legalists Lord Shang, Han Feizi, and Li Si give rival answers to how ancient China should be ruled, ending in a Han-era court debate.

Timeline of key events →

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✓ Lesson ready

A ready-to-run lesson for this set: Four Corners: How Should China Be Ruled?. Slides include a hook, one slide per source, directions, a take-a-stand vote, an exit ticket, and a teacher script in the speaker notes.

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1. Hook: what would you do? 3-5 min

You advise a ruler during China’s Warring States period. Seven rival states are at war, and your ruler wants a strong, orderly state. Students in the room keep breaking a rule.

Options: (1) Set a good example and teach them why the rule matters · (2) Make the punishment so strict no one dares break the rule · (3) Get rid of most rules and let people live simply

Then read: Lead them by means of regulations and keep order among them through punishments, and the people will evade them and will lack any sense of shame. Confucius, Analects 2:3 (compiled 5th to 4th century BCE)

2. Main activity: Four Corners: How Should China Be Ruled?

Grouping: Whole class; students move among four labeled corners after each round, then talk with others in their corner

Setup: Post four answers in the corners: A. Rule by virtue and ritual. B. Ministers must correct, or even replace, a bad ruler. C. Rule by strict law and sure punishment. D. Rule as little as possible. After each round, students move to the corner that best answers “How should a ruler govern?” and must name a source.

Materials (printables are in the Lesson Plan Doc)
  • Four corner signs (printable pages in the Lesson Plan Doc)
  • Evidence cards for all 7 sources (printable pages in the Lesson Plan Doc)
  • Recording sheet
  1. Launch 3 min
    Explain the corners. Everyone starts in the corner that matches their hook vote.
  2. Round 1: Virtue 8 min
    Read Confucius and Mencius. Students move, and each corner gives a 30-second reason.
  3. Round 2: Human nature 8 min
    Read Xunzi and the Daodejing. Ask: if people are naturally selfish, what kind of government follows? Move and explain.
  4. Round 3: Law 8 min
    Read Lord Shang and Han Feizi. Explain that the state of Qin used Legalist ideas to unify China in 221 BCE. Move and explain.
  5. Round 4: The debate continues 8 min
    Read the Salt and Iron debate (81 BCE), where Confucian scholars and Han officials argued over government monopolies and defense. Final move.
  6. Discuss and exit ticket 10 min
    Ask: Which approach would work best in peace? In war? Then students complete the exit ticket.

Take a stand: How should a ruler govern?

  • A. By virtue and ritual (Confucius, Xunzi)
  • B. With ministers who correct, or replace, a bad ruler (Mencius)
  • C. By strict law and sure punishment (Lord Shang, Han Feizi)
  • D. As little as possible (Laozi, Daodejing)

3. Pacing options

15-minute bell-ringer

  • 3 min Hook: scenario and Confucius
  • 8 min One round only: compare Confucius with Han Feizi, then move to a corner
  • 4 min Exit ticket question 1

Full 50-minute lesson

  • 4 min Hook: scenario and Confucius
  • 3 min Launch the corners
  • 32 min Four rounds of sources and moves, 8 minutes each
  • 6 min Discussion
  • 5 min Exit ticket

4. Exit ticket

  1. Which corner did you end in, and which source put you there? Explain in two sentences.
  2. Xunzi was a Confucian, but Han Feizi was his student. How might Xunzi’s view of human nature have led toward Legalism?

5. Differentiation

Support

  • This set has no Adapted Docs yet; read key passages aloud or chunk them for struggling readers.
  • Read each pair of quotes aloud before students move.
  • Give students the recording sheet with the corner letter already listed for each source.
  • Word bank: virtue, ritual, humaneness, Legalism, Daoism, monopoly, Warring States.

Extension

  • The Qin dynasty used Legalist methods to unify China but lasted only about 15 years. The Han dynasty that followed promoted Confucian learning. What might explain the change?
  • Compare Mencius on removing a bad ruler with John Locke’s idea of the right to resist. How are they similar and different?

Suggested sequence

  1. Selection from the Confucian Analects: On Government
    Document · Columbia University, Asia for Educators · World: Ancient (to 500 CE) · Grades 6-8, 9-12 · ⏱ 15 min
    Translated excerpt: Selection from the Confucian Analects: On Government, with an introduction from Columbia University's Asia for Educators.
    Ask: What gives this ruler or government its authority, according to the source?
    Open with this source to frame the question.
    Original ↗SOAPSToneHIPP / HAPP
  2. Selections from the Mencius: On The Duty of Ministers to Reprove a Ruler
    Document · Columbia University, Asia for Educators · World: Ancient (to 500 CE) · Grades 6-8, 9-12 · ⏱ 15 min
    Translated excerpt: Selections from the Mencius: On The Duty of Ministers to Reprove a Ruler, with an introduction from Columbia University's Asia for Educators.
    Ask: What does this source suggest about the relationship between rulers and the ruled?
    Original ↗SOAPSToneHIPP / HAPP
  3. Selection from the Xunzi: "Human Nature is Evil"
    Document · Columbia University, Asia for Educators · World: Ancient (to 500 CE) · Grades 6-8, 9-12 · ⏱ 15 min
    Translated excerpt: Selection from the Xunzi: "Human Nature is Evil", with an introduction from Columbia University's Asia for Educators.
    Ask: What can this source tell us about life in its time and place?
    Original ↗SOAPSToneHIPP / HAPP
  4. Selections from the Laozi (Daodejing): On Government
    Document · Columbia University, Asia for Educators · World: Medieval (500-1500) · Grades 6-8, 9-12 · ⏱ 10 min
    Translated excerpt: Selections from the Laozi (Daodejing): On Government, with an introduction from Columbia University's Asia for Educators.
    Ask: What gives this ruler or government its authority, according to the source?
    Original ↗SOAPSToneHIPP / HAPP
  5. Selection from the Book of Lord Shang: “Making Orders Strict”
    Document · Columbia University, Asia for Educators · World: Ancient (to 500 CE) · Grades 6-8, 9-12 · ⏱ 10 min
    Translated excerpt: Selection from the Book of Lord Shang: “Making Orders Strict”, with an introduction from Columbia University's Asia for Educators.
    Ask: What does this source suggest about the relationship between rulers and the ruled?
    Original ↗SOAPSToneHIPP / HAPP
  6. Selections from the Han Feizi: Chapter 49, “The Five Vermin”
    Document · Columbia University, Asia for Educators · World: Ancient (to 500 CE) · Grades 6-8, 9-12 · ⏱ 15 min
    Translated excerpt: Selections from the Han Feizi: Chapter 49, “The Five Vermin”, with an introduction from Columbia University's Asia for Educators.
    Ask: What questions would you want to ask the author?
    Original ↗SOAPSToneHIPP / HAPP
  7. A Record of the Debate on Salt and Iron
    Document · Columbia University, Asia for Educators · World: Ancient (to 500 CE) · Grades 6-8, 9-12 · ⏱ 15 min
    Translated excerpt: A Record of the Debate on Salt and Iron, with an introduction from Columbia University's Asia for Educators.
    Ask: What questions would you want to ask the author?
    Close with this source before writing.
    Original ↗SOAPSToneHIPP / HAPP

Culminating writing prompt

Using evidence from at least three sources in this set, write an argument that answers the question: “Should rulers govern by virtue or by strict law?” Cite each source by title, explain how its author, audience, and purpose affect its reliability, and respond to at least one counterargument.

Printable writing sheet (make a copy)

Students can plan with the Claim-Evidence-Reasoning organizer.