Abstract:
Legalism and system of civic servants offered a cultural basis for the appearance of merciless officials in the Han Dynasty, while the special historical background, especially the political demand in the reign of Emperor of Wu, provided historical conditions for their rise. The governing style of the merciless officials differed completely from Confucians in later days, and was not in conformity with the general character of Chinese traditional legal culture. However, killing and punishment to establish authority didn’t always mean wantonly violating national law and decrees, so the performance of merciless officials was just closely associated with the character and features of law and decrees of the Han Dynasty. Thus the rise and fall of merciless officials in the Han Dynasty dynamically mirrored the development and change of current legal culture, and presented the process of shaping of Chinese orthodox legal thought.
