Ancient Chinese Legal History Tales

Author: Li Yongbing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1996-12-01
Features: This series originally had 110 topics, covering various aspects of history and culture, jointly published by The Commercial Press, the Central Party School Press, Tianjin Education Press, and Shandong Education Press. Now, the editorial board has reorganized the topics, establishing ten categories: archaeology, history and geography, philosophy, culture, education, science and technology, military, economy, literature and art, and sports, totaling 100 topics, exclusively published by The Commercial Press. Each topic has also expanded from over 50,000 words to approximately 80,000 words, making the content richer and the narrative more detailed. The characteristics of the history of ancient Chinese legal system are very distinct. One characteristic is that ancient Chinese law was subordinate to autocratic monarchy or imperial authority. Ancient China was an autocratic monarchy, where the king or emperor represented the state, with supreme power. The king or emperor held the highest legislative authority. Another characteristic is that it was primarily based on written criminal law. A third characteristic is that after the Western Han Dynasty, law was guided by Confucian thought.