As a solution to this problem, the Legalists believed that the only way of making humans behave morally was through habituation and harsh punishment. Therefore, the ruler had to be picked based on establishing order and persevering it. This is evident when Li Ma explains that, "for the Chinese Legalists, the ruler is a sage, who succeeds in improving the lot of mankind people accept the power of one who improves their daily life; they thus accord him legitimacy. " Hence, legalist philosophy proposed that the country could only function efficiently when the laws were applied. Legalism is still an essential part of many cultures in all parts of the world. This philosophy, even though not named "Legalism " is used to keep order in society today and punishment and reward is still engaged upon the actions. .
Legalism was slowly abandoned while the rise of Confucianism came to light. Confucianism was a philosophy which proposed that one must acquire a culture of empathy and love for all of humanity. Their beliefs were comprised of compassion, righteousness, and happiness all together forming one unity. The founder of the philosophy, Confucian, proposed that, "It was the responsibility of all individuals to subordinate their own interests and aspirations to the broader needs of the family and the community. This was significant because it placed love in one's heart and assisted individuals in becoming the ideal human being. Confucian felt that, "human heartedness consists in loving others and that benevolence is an inherited tendency. He perceived benevolence as seeds, like apple seeds, which after being sown, will sprout and grow. " This renders the idea that an individual uses oneself as a role model to standardize one's behavior in relative to others around them. To further emphasize this central theme the Golden rule of Confucianism stated, "do not do unto others what you would not wish done to yourself.