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<p>The frequent issuance of imperial amnesties, which extensively pardoned offenders, was a unique feature distinguishing early imperial China’s legal practice from that of the rest of the world. In the Western Han&#xa0;西漢 Dynasty, these amnesties were issued frequently—approximately once every two years over its 200-year history—freeing many who had been condemned. Various complex factors contributed to this practice in the Western Han Dynasty. This paper will explore this intriguing phenomenon through a previously ignored lens of utopian discourse. Plato’s <i>Laws</i> delineates a utopia where the primary objective of the lawgivers was the complete virtue of the citizens as a collective (<i>Law</i>s 630c3–6). Confucian thinkers shared a similar vision. Like Plato, Chinese scholars, particularly Confucians, articulated the ideal of a crime-free society as an intellectual foundation to support their teachings and critique contemporary politics. However, their theoretical construct was appropriated by the Han emperors, who embraced this philosophical discourse as both an aspiration and a benchmark for their governance. Self-congratulatory emperors extolled their reigns as golden ages by granting amnesties, thereby temporarily transforming a tainted world plagued by wickedness into a flawless realm devoid of criminals. On the other hand, self-reflective emperors used frequent amnesties to acknowledge their inability to attain ultimate peace, promising a fresh start for their era as a way to secure their legitimacy. The intervention of royal power directly canceled the authority of the law and rendered law enforcement inconsistent. The analysis of the crime-free utopia discourse and its application in Western Han will provoke thought on utopian thinking and its dangerous application in real politics.</p>

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Crime-Free Utopia and Amnesty: Pursuit of a Perfect Society and the Collapse of the Justice System in Early China (202 BCE–9 CE)

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年4月2日

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  • Liang Cai

摘要

The frequent issuance of imperial amnesties, which extensively pardoned offenders, was a unique feature distinguishing early imperial China’s legal practice from that of the rest of the world. In the Western Han 西漢 Dynasty, these amnesties were issued frequently—approximately once every two years over its 200-year history—freeing many who had been condemned. Various complex factors contributed to this practice in the Western Han Dynasty. This paper will explore this intriguing phenomenon through a previously ignored lens of utopian discourse. Plato’s Laws delineates a utopia where the primary objective of the lawgivers was the complete virtue of the citizens as a collective (Laws 630c3–6). Confucian thinkers shared a similar vision. Like Plato, Chinese scholars, particularly Confucians, articulated the ideal of a crime-free society as an intellectual foundation to support their teachings and critique contemporary politics. However, their theoretical construct was appropriated by the Han emperors, who embraced this philosophical discourse as both an aspiration and a benchmark for their governance. Self-congratulatory emperors extolled their reigns as golden ages by granting amnesties, thereby temporarily transforming a tainted world plagued by wickedness into a flawless realm devoid of criminals. On the other hand, self-reflective emperors used frequent amnesties to acknowledge their inability to attain ultimate peace, promising a fresh start for their era as a way to secure their legitimacy. The intervention of royal power directly canceled the authority of the law and rendered law enforcement inconsistent. The analysis of the crime-free utopia discourse and its application in Western Han will provoke thought on utopian thinking and its dangerous application in real politics.