In 206 B.C. Zi Ying, emperor of the Qin Dynasty, surrendered to Liu Bang. When the latter entered Xianyang, the capital of Qin, he saw that the imperial palace was a splendid edifice filled with treasures and beautiful women. Naturally, he wanted to stay there, but his advisors Zhang Liang and Fan Kuai persuaded him not to wallow in enjoyment and luxury, otherwise he would lose the loyalty of his people. So Liu Bang went back to stay with his army. He summoned the local leaders and elders to him, and said to them: "You all suffered for a long time under the tyranny of Qin. Now I am to rule Guanzhong. I now decree a three-point law: Those who kill shall be executed; those who cause injury shall be punished; and those who steal and rob shall be convicted. All other laws of Qin are abolished." Then the local officials were ordered to spread knowledge of the new law. This was how Liu Bang won the allegiance of the people of Qin.

Later, the phrase "agreeing on a three-point law" came to be used to describe concise and explicit law or rule.