On the Monarch and Reflections on Machiavellism from the Oriental Perspective

Abstract

Machiavelli, a famous Italian politician, stated that as long as the final aim is proper, a king can use whatever means despicable in order to achieve the supreme position. His thought is summed up as Machiavellianism later. His point of view fits into the dominion strategy of Feudal Chinese Emperor, which can be concluded as confucianism and legalism. Through the analysis of Machiavellianism from the oriental perspective, we find that the art of imperial rule whether western or eastern happen to share the same view. Through out the history of ancient China, analogous to Machiavellianism, Legalism had been proved useful in rule since early. Moreover, different from the west, Chinese dominator used confucianism ethics on the surface for morale, and applied legalism in practice.