Abstract: Though Confucianism was worshipped alone, and turned into a national ideology, the legalists of the Western Han Dynasty were not satisfied with their non-mainstream position, but spared no efforts to fight for the ideological discourse. They criticized that Confucianism is of no use in stabilizing the country and worshipping the monarch, and that the Confucianists possessed no governing capacity and they were morally corrupt. They propagated the necessity of the rule of law, eulogized the legalists of the Pre-Qin Period. In the end, the legalists failed all the same. As for the reason, first of all, the legalists attached great importance to utility, ignoring the kindness. Second, they stressed “enriching the country” and “weakening the people”. Finally, they took other academic schools as enemies so that they could not stand as a united front.

Key words: the Western Han Dynasty, legalist, ideological discourse