Nine False Accusations out of Ten Charges: A Cause Analysis of Prevailing False Accusations in Qing Dynasty

In Qing Dynasty,a major feature of litigation is that false accusations are pervasive and as the saying goes,there is no accusation without lies. The causes lie in the specific judicial structure of Qing Dynasty in which citizens' strategy behavior interact with officials' strategy behavior,thus resulting in the pervasion of false accusations and becoming an incurable diseasein Qing's judicial system. As for citizens,in response to the judicial administrative mode of punishing the felony and letting go the misdemeanor,to choose false accusations is a strategy to earn the attention and case proceedings from officials; while as for judicial officials,false accusations which should have been severely punished can actually be under disciplined due to officials' evasion of trial liability,which has lowered the risk of citizens to make false accusations and thus has encouraged the occurrence of false accusations.