Conclusion

This book benefits from weaving together intellectual history and political and legal history, illuminating legal practices through the lens of philosophical ideas and re-examining philosophical ideals within the tapestry of historical experience. As the title From Utopia to Serfdom suggests, this approach uncovers profound paradoxes within the political and legal practices of early Chinese empires. Contemporaries keenly observed the hardships these legal practices imposed on the population and called for change. However, reforms either were never initiated or failed to fundamentally alter the core practices. The legal practices of early Chinese empires, which often distorted the concept of justice, were not arbitrarily devised to serve the absolute power of the throne, as some scholars have claimed. Rather, they were frequently grounded in a utopia complex and perfectionism in classical Chinese thought. A deeper exploration of these ideals, along with the evolving notions of justice and sovereignty, is essential to fully grasp their impact on Chinese history, particularly on its political and legal culture and practices.