Chapter 44: Criminal Law Chronicles (II)
Amending the law and the related penal provisions may have been a matter of the emperor's words in ancient times.
But even in a country where royal power is supreme, as long as a monarch is not brain-pumping, it is estimated that he will not arbitrarily modify a law or related penal provisions.
For in later history, especially in Chinese history, there is a well-known term that prevents a king from making even intended changes in the law that would be beneficial to the state.
This word is "the immutability of the law of the ancestors".
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In some later views, the immutability of the law of the ancestors was a key factor in the failure of many reforms in Chinese history.
This even appeared in the Westernization Movement:
Cixi's reform of the Westernization movement was in fact selective. In the event of a corresponding change that undermined her own authority, Cixi would undoubtedly choose to obstruct or even prohibit it.
Of course, this ancestral law strictly refers to the previous system, not just the law.
The corresponding record in the Book of Jin and the Criminal Law Chronicles also has a description of this:
Those who are lawful, should be cautious of changes and judge their reasoning. If you do not accept the edict, you should be redeemed for the punishment that is lost without cause. Those who conspire against each other do not know about it, and they should be punished. This is why it has changed. Humility and respect are both thieves. The fight and the blade of the sword in the fire and water, it must not be a play, and the weight of the play is also. Shooting at the path of the human room is not excessive, and it is forbidden to do so. If you kill people in the capital, you should be a thief, and you will be like a thief. Negligence is like a thief, drama is like a fight, fighting and killing and injuring people, it seems to be a mistake, stealing and injuring is like a robber, taking money from people seems to be punished, prisoners are like being impeached, don't listen to reason as if they are indulged, and holding on to questions like fear. Such a comparison is also impermanent.
The five punishments are not simple, they are in the five punishments, the five punishments are not accepted, they are in the five transgressions, the intention is good and the evil is redeemed with gold. Therefore, according to the legal system, the death penalty is only 14 years, the death penalty is no more than 3, the prison is not more than 6, the prison is not more than 5, the accumulation is not more than 11 years old, the accumulation is not more than 1,200, the punishment is only one year old, and the gold is only four taels. The redemption of the month does not count the days, the days are not limited to the month, and the number of years is not doubtful. Do not add unto death, and die unto receive. Those who cannot be counted are counted, and those who are not counted are added. Those who add to the argument will get what they add, and those who are the same will get their roots. If it is not secondary, it is not a general theory. If you sin with others, you will be the same with others, and if you sin with the law, you will be the same with the law. Invasion of life and death should not be prevented from all means, and intimacy with public and private interests should not be taught often. Etiquette and music are worshiped at the top, so the punishment is lowered, and the criminal law is idle at the bottom, so it is the whole law. It is the old respect and humility, benevolence and righteousness, the nine clans, and the king of Daoping.
If a person who has similar circumstances but is charged with similar crimes, if he becomes a robber and does not know that he is dying, he will be afraid of evil words, and he will not be accused of being a thief, but he will be accused of being a thief, and he will be held hostage by robbing his wealth. These six are also famous for their prestige and wealth. That is, not seeking self-satisfaction for receiving demand, what is supervised and then taken as stolen goods, importing and accepting for retention, collecting people's property and accumulating it in the official for unauthorized endowment, and adding Europe to attack it as a humiliation. And so on, all of them are similar to those who use power to gain wealth.
The husband and the executioner, the ruler, the reasoner, the opportunity to intercede, the lover, the messenger of the heart. The heart is moved in the middle, and the form is in the words, and the four branches are in the cause. It is the traitor who is ashamed and red-faced, and the inner horror is lustful. Those who judge the sin should be based on their hearts, judge their feelings, be careful about their affairs, take all things from close to their bodies, and take all things from afar, and then they can be punished. Raise your hands like begging, bow down like grabbing, hold your hands like thanks, imitate your hands like suing, arch your arms like yourself, hold your arms like fighting, be dignified like might, be happy like blessings, be happy and angry, and look like a voice. The treacherous is fierce and weak, waiting to see. If there is a word at the exit, it should be a thief, if there is a ban, it should be a thief, if the happy son kills the angry son, if the angry son kills the happy son, it should be a thief. And so on, self-indulgence cannot be extremely reasonable.
The name of the law is not the main text and is distinct. If he is eighty, he will not kill or injure anyone, that is, he will falsely accuse the rebel of sitting back. At the age of ten, he shall not tell anyone, that is, a slave or a maidservant who defends his lord, and the lord shall kill him. The thieves and burners accumulate in their houses, and steal more than five horses, and abandon the city; The European fatwa is guilty of the same sin, that is, the European parents are not allowed to be punished with the same weight as the doers. If the relics are forcibly taken and begged, there is no text on the law of returning the stolen goods. In the law, all kinds of disrespect, violation of etiquette, and crimes are public and private, and stolen goods are not in the body, all of which are taken according to the severity of the matter, and seek their names by example.
Those who are rational cannot do the mystery of the subtlety, and those who are lawful, the mystery of reason, cannot be kept in one piece. Or calculate the sin to match the sin, or reduce the sloppy to follow the usual, or to do things to the fullest, or to give up the time, or to push the heavy to prevent it, or to take it lightly. It is advisable for public and private avoidance, except for the change of cutting the weight and lightness, so that the temporary provocation, the use of the law interpreter is secluded in the uncontrolled, and the roots and teeth are taken to the subtlety, so that it is above the machine, weighing the weight is heavier than the high baht, and the examination is similar to joining the army, and then it can be straightened out.
If the man who serves the holy scriptures holds the rope with the sword, the sword will hurt the object in vain, and the rope will be straightened if the rope is played. The evil of the is long, the sin of the beheading is great, the death of the abandonment of the city, the power of the author's punishment, and the false commandment of the redeemer. The king set up these five punishments, so the treasure gentleman forced the villain, so it is a prudent scripture, and it is intended that "Zhou Yi" has a flexible body. If you want to make the outline clear, the outline is clear, the outline is omitted, and the king is far, its purpose is far, its rhetoric, its words are in the middle, and its things are wanton and hidden. The ambition of the world is only loyal, the suspicion of the world is only the text, the love of the world is only far away, the affairs of the world are only great, and the impermanence is only reasonable.
The husband is called the way of punishment, the punishment is called the instrument, and the punishment is called the character. The torturer is the image of the winter shock, the sinner is like the change of the autumn carving, and the redeemer is the defect of the spring sun's repentance. The five punishments are written in chapters, and they are based on each other, and the law is righteous.
The above content illustrates a situation, that is, Sima Yan once intended to make a lenient revision of the harshness of the law, but Zhang Pei thought that such a change was not good, and at the same time adopted a kind of "the law of the ancestors is immutable" to persuade Sima Yan to abandon such an idea.
And it can be said that it is no coincidence that in the ensuing "Lu Ting, the servant of the time, and Zhang Hua, the waiter of the Chinese book, and the table: copying the entries of the capital crimes in the "New Law", and passing them on in the hanging pavilion to show Zhaoshu. "There is an edict to follow.
and Liu Song as a court lieutenant, frequently expressed that it was appropriate to return to corporal punishment, but did not see the province, and said:
In the past, the ministers were physically punished, and they never accumulated years, and they didn't care. The ministers thought that the speaker detained the filial piety of the small benevolence, and lightly violated the punishment of the holy king, which is not more detailed, nothing more than this.
Nowadays, the death penalty is severe, so there are many people who are not killed, and the life punishment is light, so the crime is not forbidden. Therefore, corporal punishment is not used. Now those who are apprentices, those who are like evil and unscrupulous, go to their homes and serve in the valleys, they are hungry and cold, and they are not willing to live, although there are those who are incorruptible, they are all thieves, how can they be traitors and scoundrels by nature! The poor become traitors and thieves, and they are not taken prisoner. If there is no punishment, there is no prohibition of crime, and if there is no punishment, the evil will be rampant. If the law is like this, it is not good enough. It is based on the day of death, the thief is troubled, and the number of deaths is up to ten, and the punishment can be increased, and the age is one year old, which is a lifelong disciple. Self-care and anti-good indefinitely, and the disaster is forced to die, and its will to die and think of theft, it is unstoppable, and it is also so.
In the past, torture was used to stop punishment, but now it is the opposite. Those who have committed serious offenses and have been punished by death for more than three inches shall be punished with a life sentence, and if they are added to one year of age, they shall be sentenced to life as a prisoner. There are many dead people, and they are captives and molested animals. The speaker said that the prisoner must not be pardoned, and the repetition should be pardoned, which is a punishment that does not punish the crime, and the law cannot defeat the traitor. Knowing the law is invincible, getting together and plotting for wrongdoing, the months are different and the years are different. Therefore, since the beginning of the year, the place has been full of treacherous and violent places. The speaker did not think deeply about this, but said that the corporal punishment was in the name of the name, and the thief could not help it?
The corporal punishment of the holy king is far from being reasonable, and it is not to punish him for the pain of being afraid of stripping and cutting, but to remove the tools of evil, so that the husband and the adulterer are useless and reckless, and the adultery is completely unreasonable. The dead are shaved and useless. The thief amputates his hand, and there is no use for the thief. The prostitute cuts his power, and so does the reason. In addition to the source of evil, it is not in vain. After these sentences have been given, they will return home, their parents and wives, and support each other, and they will not leave Tulu. There is the difficulty of today, the creation can be served, the quasi-ancient system, with the appropriate industry, although it has been punished, not for the abandonment, and all the sufferings are plugged, and the way to give birth to the Fu is free.
Now it is advisable to take the death penalty lightly, and replace the three offenses with corporal punishment for the fugitive and fornicatory. If he is under the age of three and has already been punished with a cane, it is appropriate to limit the number of his fines so that there is a permanent limit, and this must not be reduced. He who has a suitable weight is also appointed as an officer. Those who should be punished at the age of four or five shall be flogged to a hundred, and then they will be punished for a while, so that each of them will have a difference, and they will not return to work. Then the punishment will not be resurrected, and the prisoner will not be resurrected, and the remnant will be a poke, and he will be admonished for life. When a man sees his pain, he fears it and does not transgress, and he will be many times greater. And those who are evil are punished with them, and they are removed from the tools of evil, and all those who have been punished are good men, and they are all their brothers and sisters who are traitors, and they are condemned to live in the poor land where they will die!
In the past, the ministers often served left and right, and they heard the edict, saying that corporal punishment should be used, and things were convenient for government. May Your Majesty believe in the judgment of solitary opinion, so that those who are capable can do it in the holy mind. than filling in the ravine, hoping to see peace. "Zhou Li" three pardons and three forgiveness, given to the old and young mourning, Qianli is not a caught, this is not for the evil, so the criminal law is against the relinquishment. As for those who are not of this race, crimes will be punished without forgiveness, and this government is also reasonable. In the Hereafter, there will be many difficulties in the future, and because of the forgiveness and untying of the knot, the right will be done, and the sinners will not be forgiven. So far, he has been accumulating many prisons with his crimes, and he has been scattering them with forgiveness, and he has been imprisoned more and more with forgiveness. For the original reason, there is no need for internal punishment. This is a corporal punishment, not in vain, and if it is evil, it will be rapid. Go to these two ends, the prison is not complicated, so there is no way to get a few pardons, and it is better in the form of government.
Sparse, but not provincial.
From the above, it can be seen that the discussion about the resumption of "corporal punishment" in the Sima Yan period has once again become a matter that ends without a problem.
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In the life of Emperor Hui, the government was out of the group, and every time there was a suspicion of prison, each had his own personal affairs, the criminal law was uncertain, and the prison lawsuits were complicated. Shangshu Pei said to Chen Zhi:
There are many things in the world, and they are not under the control of one department; the feelings of the middle talent are easy to disturb, and they will be determined after relying on the Heng system. The first king knew that it was so, and it was to divide the duties of the party and make it accurate. The quasi-bureau is established, each in charge of its own affairs, the punishment and reward are commensurate, and the severity is the same, so the subordinates are always listening, and the officials are also safe. The old palace Yeling Temple has a change of water and fire damage, and then Shangshu is going to go by himself, which is not this, it is just a matter of Lang Lingshi. The punishment is added to each of them and has a permanent sentence.
Go to Yuankang for four years, after the strong wind, there are several roof tiles in the temple to fall, so as not to be too often Xunyu. At that time, he was condemned by a strict edict, and he did not dare to be righteous. However, the meaning of inside and outside is that the matter is light and responsible, which is contrary to the norm. There will be a strong wind in February of the fifth year, and the Lord will be afraid of the past. On the first three days of the minister's new worship of Shangshu, this Cao Shangshu was ill, and the power and order were both issued and Lantai was followed. The Lord is looking at the unrighteous ones who are looking at the Adong, and seeking the unrighteous ones of the Sowa, and they will have fifteen small evils on the upper tiles. Or the beginning of the tile is evil, the cover is not enough, the wind rises in a hurry, the Taiwan officials go further, too often according to the line, not enough to get the week, the documents have not arrived, they compete to ban. The ministers are both out of power and temporary, and they will return it, and they will no longer have to be poor. And Ben Cao insisted on it, but he couldn't stop asking. The ministers are relieved, and the lord is afraid of blame, does not obey the words of the ministers, forbids too often, and revives the prison.
In the former Han Dynasty, there were people who robbed the temple and jade rings, and Emperor Wen wanted to punish the clan, and he was sentenced to death, saying: "If you invade the Changling Tomb, why do you add it?" The Great Jin Dynasty is vertically systematic, deep but far away, the mountains and tombs are not sealed, the gardens are not decorated, the tombs are not graves, the same as the mountain soil, it is to save its old grass in the hills, so that Qi is in the Central Plains. Although the tomb is dignified, only the destruction of the clan, this classical also. If you commit a crime and lose the way of respect, you can stop the crime.
In the past eight years, the slave listened to the teaching and accused Zhou Long of burning grass, and the court lieutenant played the clan dragon, and one family of eight people was killed. Will be overturned, and then be spared. The examination is reasonable, the pre-training, and the situation is serious. In August of this year, the tomb of Jing Yizhi was cut off by seven inches and two points, Situ Taichang, running the road, although the governor is small, and the impeachment is unpredictable, disturbing and driving, each competing to avoid the burden, and now it is too often forbidden to solve the problem. Recently, there was a fire in the Taizhu Department, burning three and a half houses. The office is in the north of the temple, and the passage is within the heavy wall, which is also extinguished, and is frequently asked by the edict. The lord used edicts to make frequent inquiries, so he reprimanded Shangshu for not doing the case, prohibiting it, and exempting Shangshu, all of which were outside the law.
The text of the criminal book is limited, and there is no way to violate it, so there is a system of temporary punishment, and it is true that it cannot all be followed. As for these, they are all excessive, and every time they are persecuted, they cannot be reasoned, and they draw a virtue for the Holy Pilgrimage, and they damage the hope of the ministers of worship. The ministers foolishly thought that the grass and trees on the tomb should not be punished with the same production and different punishments. According to the impeachment, there should be a fixed standard, and the burden should be heavy, and the style will be lost. Or because of the rest, it is necessary to tolerate the shallowness and depth.
Although there is this table, the song is still not stopped. When Liu Song was the third prince's book, he said:
Since modern times, there have been many different ways of teaching, and the orders are very different. The minister is now preparing to take charge of the sentence, thinking about his worries, and being cautious.
The ministers steal and subdue only His Majesty is in charge, and every time he is good, the story is beggar, and the rules are not straight; Those who are law-abiding are determined to do their best to take reason as the law, and if they seek perfection from above, then they will be able to follow the Lord's permission, and the law will not be complete. The essay on the penal book must have the judgment of obedient listening, and the upper is at the end of the song, so the person who is in charge of the peace can be cited because the text can be cited, and there are two ends. It is a multi-door law, and if the orders are different, the officials do not know what to guard, and they do not know what to avoid. Because of the many ways of the law, the traitor and the hypocrite sell their affections, and what they want is shallow and deep, and the judgment is inconsistent, so it is difficult for the superior to be examined, so the matter is the same, the prison is uneven, and the law is harmed.
The ancients had a saying: "The person is in charge of the details, and the government is famine; "If you are a good person, you will be hurt by the law, so his politics is also short. The importance of the period, although not tired of feelings, into the text, then follow the line, so its affairs are also reasonable. Those who are good at using the Fa will endure the judgment of disobedience and not get tired of listening, although the severity is not allowed to the hearts of the people, if it is not feasible, the Fa will be straight. and the division of kings and ministers, each with its own division. The law must be obeyed, so the master is ordered to keep the text; the reason is poor, so the minister is relieved; when the time is appropriate, the people's sovereignty is decided. The master keeps the text, if the deacons of the release are peaceful, if the minister is released, if the Gongsun Hong breaks the prison of Guo Jie, if the sovereignty of the people is decided, if the Han ancestor kills the Ding Gong. Everything in the world is self-reliant, so it is not similar to this, and it is not allowed to be arbitrarily discussed, and the rest are engaged in by law. Then the law is believed in the subordinates, people are not confused, officials do not tolerate treachery, and they can speak and govern. The main track of the people is to blame the group, and the ministers and officials keep their own affairs, and the law is the same.
The ancients once said: "Those who are good at government look at people to teach." "Look at people and set up teachings, and the law is also said. He also said: "It is appropriate at any time", and it is also a matter of time. However, it depends on the person at any time, in a large number of also, and the system of its law. If the law is established, it will be carried out, the faith of the line is like the four times, and the persistence is as firm as a golden stone, how can the officials be within the established system, and it is appropriate to reclaim it at any time, and to guide people to set up teachings, so as to disrupt the government! If you don't do what you want now, you should change it. If it is said to be good, it is not allowed to be systematic, and the use of the priest is out of the weight of the difference. Mrs. Jun is the one who shares the world, and the law is also. It has been decreed that the four seas should not be unbelieved, and only then should the world not be slow, and not to be held accountable for unbelief. And there is a word of foresight, and people cannot be deceived when they encounter it. It doesn't mean that he usually goes against the law and breaks it, and he can't win the wishes of the people.
Judging from the records of the criminal law records of Emperor Hui of the Jin Dynasty, the judicial system at that time could even be called chaotic, and strictly speaking, it could even be regarded as not having a basic sentencing standard......
Zhang Jiashi knows very well what kind of evil consequences this kind of thing will bring, that is, the country's legal authority will eventually become useless.
The Rebellion of the Eight Kings even exacerbated this situation, and the chaos in the war-torn areas at that time, even including the relatively stable area of Qingzhou, and the loss of the authority of the law was also a key point.