Convict Politics (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781316515303)

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.

Author: Liang Cai
ISBN-10: 1316515303
ISBN-13: 9781316515303
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 01/19/2026
Pages: 444
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.67lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 1.00d