China is a unitary multinational country from the ancient time, so unification has always been the mainstream. Each dynasty made strict laws to punish splitting activities in history. In ancient China, the rebellion was attributed to the "thief", and the law of the thief was mentioned in the legislation and was severely punished in the system, especially rebellion, treason, and defecting to the enemy were the major targets. Feudal rulers often branded those who rebelled against them as traitors and heretics from Qin dynasty. It belonged to capital felony in Northern Qi Law. Tang dynasty legislated ten vices accusation to crack down on splitting activities. From then on, the following dynasties of China improved the laws to penalize those who attempted to split the country. The crimes of"the thief" (including stealing, robbery and revolt, etc.) are two different concepts in traditional Chinese society. They are not only the criminal accusation, but also the political requirement of national sovereignty and unification. Studies on the political significance of"the thief"benefit the development of criminal law in current Chinese society.%中国自古就是一个统一的多民族国家，统一是中国历史发展的主流，历史上各朝各代都制定出严厉的法律来反对、打击盗贼。中国古代把叛逆行为归于“盗贼”，盗贼律在立法上被提到重要地位并在制度上从严惩处，尤其是“谋危社稷”中的“谋反”、“谋叛”、“谋大逆”历来是“盗贼”罪的打击重点。从春秋战国时期《法经》对盗贼罪的规定到秦汉时期的“大逆不道”，从北齐时期的“重罪十条”到隋唐时期的“十恶”之条，直至宋代的《盗贼重法》，表明盗贼罪在中国古代的政治意义逐渐强化。盗和贼在中国古代法律中是两个不同的概念，也不仅仅单指一个刑事罪名，而是有维护国家主权和统一的政治需要。考察古代中国盗贼罪的政治意义，对当今刑法建设仍有启发和借鉴作用。
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