Convict Politics

From Utopia to Serfdom in Early China (221 BCE - 23 CE)

Inbunden, Engelska, 2026

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Beskrivning

In this innovative history, Liang Cai examines newly excavated manuscripts alongside traditional sources to explore convict politics in the early Chinese empires, proposing a new framework for understanding Confucian discussions of law and legal practice. While a substantial number of convict laborers helped operate the local bureaucratic apparatus in early China, the central court re-employed numerous previously convicted men as high officials. She argues that convict politics emerged, because, while the system often criminalized individuals, including the innocent, it was simultaneously juxtaposed with redemption policies and frequent amnesties in pursuit of a crime-free utopia. This dual system paralyzed the justice system, provoking intense Confucian criticism and resulting in a deep-seated skepticism toward law in the Chinese tradition, with a long-lasting political legacy.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2026-01-19
Mått:152 x 229 x 25 mm
Vikt:825 g
Format:Inbunden
Språk:Engelska
Antal sidor:444
Förlag:Cambridge University Press
ISBN:9781316515303

Utforska kategorier

Rättshistoria inom Juridik
Asiens historia inom Historia och arkeologi
Östasiatiska religioner inom Filosofi och religion

Mer om författaren

Liang Cai is Associate Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame.

Recensioner i media

'Professor Cai solidifies her position as a leading scholar of ancient legal and political history. Her meticulous research, based on historical texts and excavated documents, brilliantly exposes the cruelty and paradoxes of the 'open prison' that was the Han Empire. The legacy of such systems continues to shape contemporary China.' Anthony J. Barbieri-Low, co-author of Law, State, and Society in Early Imperial China

Innehållsförteckning

Introduction; Part I. Criminalizing the Empire: 1. Convict politics and convict economy: administrative space as open prison in local governments; 2. Convicts as officials: disparities between philosophical ideals and real-world politics; 3. Mutual responsibility system: criminalizing the innocent; 4. Brutal perfectionism: criminalizing job performance and collapse of justice; 5. Performance legitimacy: absolute liabilities, heavy punishments and collective lies; Part II. A Paralyzed Justice System: 'Creating' Unlawful Commoners via Redemption and Amnesty; 6. Redemption: political economy and sacrificed justice; 7. Imperial amnesty: correcting the excessive punishment and regaining loyalty; 8. Universal amnesty: from Utopian dream to His Majesty's splendor; 9. The Body politic and the parents metaphor: universal amnesty and the loss of individual justice; Part III. The Critics and Their Failure in Reform; 10. Technical bureaucrats' law and Confucian virtue: political elites and bureaucratic hierarchy; 11. Tutor to the Crown Prince and Chancellor of the empire: Confucian dream and political reality in Western Han China (206 BCE-9 CE); Conclusion: From philosophical ideals to practical realities.