The Influence of Confucian Nomocracy Ideology on the Chinese Ancient Criminal Law

It is agreed in the judicial circle that the Chinese ancient laws were dominated by punishments added to the combination of all other laws.China's legal history is,actually,a history of criminal law and the Chinese ancient legal thought is mainly the thought of criminal law.But on the other hand,in ancient China,the Confucian nomocracy ideology of Virtue first,Punishment second had a great influence on the develop-ment of the Chinese ancient criminal law.This paper describes the main content of the Confucian nomocracy ideology and points out that many Confucian ethics were introduced into criminal law and became legal prin-ciples,producing profound influence on the legislation,judicature and law abiding.