Siblings Disguised as Rivals: Kindred Relationship Between Confucianism and Legalism Legalism is linked to laws while Confucianism is married to morals. The two are often contrasted with each other in regards to their different means of achieving harmony in society. Legalism, as its name suggests, is very much concerned with achieving order in society through laws. To elaborate, strict rules are supplemented with rewards and punishments—people were given heavy incentives to obey the laws and even heavier penalties for disregarding them (Ebrey Textbook, 36). To the contrary, Confucianism is rooted in the ideal that a just society is in need of a moral ruler who will influence his people to also be moral (Ebrey Textbook, 30). In the midst of analyzing the contrasts between these two schools of thought, however, what we often fail to realize is the similarity underneath. Although the differences between Legalism and Confucianism may seem convincing, upon further analysis, we see that their emergent contradictions is transcended by their parallel, underlying views of the despicable nature of self-conceit, the admirability of humility, and the importance of a minister's allegiance to his superior. There is little question that modesty is a Confucian virtue, and the idea of not exhibiting excessive pride is also present in the Legalistic school of thought. To begin, in Selections From Han Feizi, the Legalistic author denounces society for “having it backwards” by honoring those who are not worth honoring and shaming those who are actually honorable. He condemns the world for revering boastful people as men of endowment (Ebrey Sourcebook, 35). This idea clearly mirrors principles of Confucianism. One of the Confucian qualities of a “gentleman,” a man whose sole concern is The Way, is that he does not worry if other people do not admired him (Ebrey Sourcebook, 19).