One of the
诸子百家 (Hundred Schools). Key thinkers:
商鞅 (Shang Yang),
韩非 (Han Fei),
李斯 (Li Si). Argued that human nature is self-interested and only strict laws, rewards, and punishments — not Confucian ritual — can hold a state together. Provided the operating manual for Qin's unification of China in 221 BC.
