Panchronia

Shang Yang

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Qin statesman and Legalist

c. 390 BC – 338 BC · 52 years · Xianyang (state of Qin) · Asia

Philosophy: Legalism

Chancellor of the state of Qin. His reforms — uniform harsh laws, rewards for farming and military merit, collective responsibility — made Qin the strongest of the states. He was executed after his patron died.

Portrait: Taken by Fanghong · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons

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