Sima Qian "selected two relative paragons of virtue from among this group." Because they were armed, the knights-errant were a potential threat to the social order. Consequently, once the Han dynasty had established itself, it set out on an ultimately unsuccessful campaign to eradicate them.
正因為遊俠以武犯禁，漢朝統一後，為維持社會秩序，遊俠一度被「全力掃蕩」，所謂「漢既統一，誅族遊俠」，但因應時代需求，俠客卻沒有消失。