Abstract: It is a mature thought in Chinese traditional society that the ruling class should apply the law flexibly according to the
needs of realistic politics. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han（汉武帝）, in order to assuage the social problems caused by the
"noninterference governance" in the early Han Dynasty, aggressive measures against imperial, wealthy and aristocratic clans had been
adopted to ensure the social stability and autocratic royalty. The Legalism thoughts and the system of civil officials were the ideological
basis of severe legal punishments and the guarantee of personnel system. However, in later period of Emperor Wu, drastic changes in
the official system had veered the ruling conceptions to a new direction, which finally made the integration of Confucianism and
Legalism as the route of traditional Chinese laws.

Key words: Emperor Wu of the Han, severe legal punishments, thoughts of Legalism, official system, integration of Confucianism
and Legalism