The Book of Lord Shang: Difference between revisions

* [[Disproportionate Retribution]]: Intended to make the penalties of lesser crimes so horrible no-one would even contemplate greater crimes. Backfired when tried by the Qin dynasty, where it just created a huge mass of men who suddenly had nothing to lose in backing a rebellion. [[All Crimes Are Equal|There isn't really a way to top (horribly painful) death as a punishment.]]

* [[Dystopia Is Hard]]: The sheer amount of effort required to rigidly control people to the extent posited in the book seems a lot harder than simply keeping them well-fed and happy would be.

* [[Hoist by His Own Petard]]: Shang Yang met his end under a punishment that he himself formulated into Qin law, one reserved for law enforcers who broke the law themselves, when he ended up being accused of treason by the new king of Qin and he and his entire family were sentenced to death. When he tried to hide out in a hotel, he was refused, as the strict laws he had enacted in Qin while in power made it illegal for a hotel owner to admit a guest without proper identification. He was later caught, followed by drawing and quartering by chariot.

: It gets better. There's a theory that one of the main reasons why he was accused of treason was out of revenge by the king for Shang's intransigence in punishing ''him'' for minor offenses when he was still a prince. Publicly whipping your future monarch isn't exactly considered a good idea by most people.