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Convict Politics

  • Nyhet

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

Inbunden, Engelska, 2025

Av Liang Cai, Indiana) Cai, Liang (University of Notre Dame

2 129 kr

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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

  • Utgivningsdatum2025-12-31
  • FormatInbunden
  • SpråkEngelska
  • Antal sidor320
  • FörlagCambridge University Press
  • ISBN9781316515303