A Tentative Explanation of Changes of"Trust"between the Han and the Tang Dynasty:A Study Centered on Contracts and Pardons
The military conquest of nomadic groups and the impact and infiltration of their culture had led to significant differences in the overall social and cultural environment of ancient China at various historical periods,which shape the temperament,concepts,and spiritual world of people in different times,producing different lifestyles and behavior patterns,eventually externalizing them into contracts and their practice.From the Han Dynasty to the Sui and Tang Dynasties,the trust relationship between people of Chinese folks showed a deterioration trend as a whole.In this process,the content and terms of the contract had become increasingly detailed and rich.At the same time,the status and authority of the law had also undergone corresponding changes,becoming the most important means of constructing and maintaining transaction order,and reshaping trust relationships between people.Therefore,in the Tang Dynasty,when the unified dynasty of the Central Plains was reestablished,the government took various measures to establish legal credibility.