Law and Politics in Modern China: Under the Law, the Law, and Abo ...

as passing legal regulations and amendments) as was the case in the West. Instead, those holding administrative titles embarked upon a constant negotiation concerning a redefinition of entitlement of their positions, their judicial boundaries, and their rankings.

In early Chinese legal history, administrative positions were repeatedly created, eliminated, reestablished, classified, and reclassified. As rising stars in the legal administrative structure, newly appointed administrators could override the judgements of the established ones. They could disappear just as quickly based on the political whims of the emperor or his bureaucracy. For example, the position of commander in chief (da sima) was created in the late years of the former Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 9). The commander in chief's appointees were either real or nominal regents. When Wang Meng (an illegitimate heir of the crown) occupied the throne (AD 9–23), he designed a strong central government to curb subordinate resentment. He refused to give power to any regent. The position of commander in chief (until AD 51) was stripped of most its power and reduced to the rank of a regular cabinet member. Liu Xiu, the founder of the later Han dynasty (AD 25–220), continued Wang Meng's practice. Although he retained the position of commander in chief, he reduced and limited its responsibilities to general supervision of the officialdom, which did not include responsibility of the military.¹⁹

The legal system of the later imperial period China rarely focused on how to write code, statutes, and regulations, which followed an inherited form. Rather, it was concerned about how to interpret the ancient law, how to apply the law, who would be trusted to administrate the law, and how much power an administrator should be granted in order to not interfere with the ranks of his peers. Emperors often used edicts to alter the jurisdictional boundaries of a particular post or shuffled administrators among the more favourable jurisdictions based upon their personal preferences.²⁰ During the former Han dynasty, the emperor appointed the higher ranking officials from among a list of candidates that the chancellor had proposed. In the later Han dynasty, the emperor may have sought advice from a wider circle; however, he was not bound by these recommendations.²¹