The Political One: Unity, Monarchism, and Social Engineering

Abstract The statement “Oneness brings orderly rule; doubleness brings chaos” (一則治, 兩則亂) became the bottom line of political thought of the Warring States period. This article traces the formation of this peculiar consensus in favor of unity of decision-making within a political entity and, ultimately, in All-under-Heaven. It explores the historical backdrop for the valorization of oneness and analyzes different arguments – historical, ritual, metaphysical, and administrative – in favor of unity of command and of all-encompassing political unification. I suggest that the broad endorsement of the term “one” in the Warring States-period philosophical discourse may be a by-product of this ubiquitous quest for political unity.