ABSTRACT
The Legalists exert continuing and far-reaching effects on the political and social development of China. Their tenets gave direction to institution building and state building during the two thousand years of imperial China. Furthermore, their doctrines also informed the political processes of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), especially under the rule of Mao Zedong. The ancient Legalist tenets and modern orthodox Marxism-Leninism are congruent in some significant ways. Both share in the totalitarian belief of state domination over almost all aspect of social life, and the totalitarian praxes to maintain that domination. The legacy of the ancient Legalists provided fertile soil for the successful transplantation of Marxism-Leninism into China. It is an inheritance from their ancestors that may well continue to haunt the Chinese people for some time to come.
