The conception of state management of legists and the doctrine of heaven in the period and warring states

The article is devoted to the concept of governance developed by legists in the Chunqui period (VIII-V cent. BC) and Zhangguo (V-III cent. BC). This concept is discussed in the context of the doctrine of the Heaven and the Heavenly mandate. The article analyzes the legists’ attitude to religious beliefs, to the Heaven as a supreme deity, that was considered a divine guarantee of China Zhou state power Chou Vans. The reasons of decline in the authority of the Heaven as the supreme deity, as well as skeptic attitude of legists to the theory of the Heavenly mandate. The special attention is paid to Guan Zhong’s activities, the founder of Legism, who as first counselor of the ruler of the kingdom of Qi embodied the basic principles of the concept of public administration Legism in practice. The article also discusses the principles of public administration by Shang Yang, whose reforms have greatly contributed to the formation of the Qin empire, modeled on the concept of legist of state governance.