在古代中国,民事诉讼是一件不经济的事。除非有必要,否则民事诉讼最好不要发生,或者在民事诉讼发生时尽快地终结诉讼程序。这种竭尽全力熄灭诉讼的文化,就是息诉文化。本文旨在展示这一诉讼文化在古代中国的表现形式,并力求找出它形成的缘由。 In ancient China, civil litigation was an uneconomical affair. Unless it is necessary, civil litigation is best not to take place or the litigation process should be terminated as soon as civil litigation occurs. This culture of doing everything possible to extinguish a lawsuit is a matter of interest. The purpose of this article is to show how this litigation culture manifested itself in ancient China and to find out why it formed.