Chinese law, Law that evolved in China from the earliest times until the 20th century, when Western socialist law (see Soviet law) was introduced. The oldest extant and complete Chinese law code was compiled in ad 653 during the Tang dynasty. Traditional Chinese law was influenced both by Confucianism, which allowed variability in moral conduct according to status and circumstances, and by Legalist, or Fajia, principles, which stressed reliance on uniform objective standards. The law also was affected by the emperor’s divine role in the universe. The emperor was considered responsible to heaven for any disturbance in the earthly sphere; whenever a disturbance occurred, punishment was considered a means of restoring the cosmic equilibrium. All citizens were obliged to denounce wrongdoers to the local magistrate’s office. The magistrate studied the facts of a case and, using the penal code, determined punishments, including beatings and torture.
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