Volume 50 Treatises 30: Punishment and Law

志第三十刑法

Treatise 30: Punishment and Law

古之聖人，為人父母，莫不制禮以崇敬，立刑以明威，防閑于未然，懼爭心之將作也。故有輕重三典之異，宮墨五刑之差，度時而施宜，因事以議制。大則陳之原野，小則肆諸市朝，以禦奸宄，用懲禍亂。興邦致理，罔有弗由於此者也。暨淳樸既消，澆偽斯起，刑增為九，章積三千，雖有凝脂次骨之峻，而錐刀之末，盡爭之矣。自漢迄隋，世有增損，而罕能折衷。隋文帝參用周、齊舊政，以定律令，除苛慘之法，務在寬平。比及晚年，漸亦滋虐。煬帝忌刻，法令尤峻，人不堪命，遂至於亡。

The sages of antiquity, acting as parents to the people, invariably established ritual to inspire reverence and instituted punishments to make authority manifest. They sought to forestall wrongdoing before it could take shape, dreading the rise of contentious hearts. Hence arose the varying grades of the three great codes and the gradations of the five bodily punishments—mutilation, branding, and the rest—applied as the times required and shaped to the matter at hand. Grave offenders were executed in the open country; lesser ones were put to death in the marketplace and at court—all to ward off treachery and insurrection and to chasten disaster and rebellion. No state has ever been raised to glory or brought to good governance without recourse to such measures. Once innocent simplicity faded and corrupt artifice took hold, punishments multiplied to nine degrees and statutes piled up to three thousand clauses. Even when penalties were as harsh as congealed grease and pulverized bone, people still wrangled over the smallest legal niceties. From the Han through the Sui, successive dynasties revised the code, yet few managed to strike a balanced middle path. Emperor Wen of Sui adopted elements of the Zhou and Northern Qi legal systems to draft his statutes, repealing cruel and oppressive laws in favor of leniency and fairness. By his later years, however, his rule grew increasingly harsh. Emperor Yang was mistrustful and vindictive; his laws were extraordinarily severe. The people could no longer endure their lot, and the dynasty fell.

高祖初起義師於太原，即布寬大之令。百姓苦隋苛政，競來歸附。旬月之間，遂成帝業。既平京城，約法為十二條。惟制殺人、劫盜、背軍、叛逆者死，餘並蠲除之。及受禪，詔納言劉文靜與當朝通識之士，因開皇律令而損益之，盡削大業所用煩峻之法。又制五十三條格，務在寬簡，取便於時。尋又敕尚書左僕射裴寂、尚書右僕射蕭瑀及大理卿崔善為、給事中王敬業、中書舍人劉林甫顏師古王孝遠、涇州別駕靖延、太常丞丁孝烏、隋大理丞房軸、上將府參軍李桐客、太常博士徐上機等，撰定律令，大略以開皇為准。于時諸事始定，邊方尚梗，救時之弊，有所未暇，惟正五十三條格，入於新律，餘無所改。至武德七年五月奏上，乃下詔曰：

When Gaozu first raised his army of righteousness at Taiyuan, he immediately issued orders of clemency and leniency. The people, ground down by the Sui's harsh rule, flocked to join him. Within a matter of weeks he had secured the throne. After pacifying the capital, he promulgated a provisional code of twelve articles. Only murder, robbery, desertion, and treason were made capital offenses; all other punishments were abolished. After taking the throne, he commanded Counselor-in-Chief Liu Wenjing and other learned officials of the court to revise the Kaihuang code, eliminating entirely the burdensome and severe laws of the Daye era. He also drafted fifty-three supplementary regulations, aiming for simplicity and leniency suited to the needs of the day. He soon charged Vice Ministers Pei Ji and Xiao Yu, Grand Judge Cui Shanwei, Attending Gentleman Wang Jingye, Secretariat drafters Liu Linfu, Yan Shigu, and Wang Xiaoyuan, Registrar Jing Yan of Tongzhou, Vice Director of Imperial Sacrifices Ding Xiaowu, former Sui judge Fang Zhou, staff officer Li Tongke of the generalissimo's headquarters, Erudite Xu Shangji of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and others to compile the statutes, taking the Kaihuang code as their general model. Affairs were only just settling and the frontiers remained troubled; pressing urgencies left little time for thorough revision. Only the fifty-three supplementary regulations were corrected and incorporated into the new code; nothing else was changed. In the fifth month of the seventh year of Wude the code was submitted to the throne, and the emperor issued an edict that read:

古不云乎，「萬邦之君，有典有則。」故九疇之敘，興于夏世，兩觀之法，大備隆周。所以禁暴懲奸，弘風闡化，安民立政，莫此為先。自戰國紛擾，恃詐任力，苛制煩刑，於茲競起。秦並天下，隳滅禮教，恣行酷烈，害虐蒸民，宇內騷然，遂以顛覆。漢氏撥亂，思易前軌，雖復務從約法，蠲削嚴刑，尚行菹醢之誅，猶設錙銖之禁。字民之道，實有未弘，刑措之風，以茲莫致。爰及魏、晉，流弊相沿，寬猛乖方，綱維失序。下淩上替，政散民凋。皆由法令湮訛，條章混謬。自斯以後，宇縣瓜分，戎馬交馳，未遑典制。有隋之世，雖云厘革，然而損益不定，疏舛尚多，品式章程，罕能甄備。加以微文曲致，覽者惑其淺深，異例同科，用者殊其輕重，遂使奸吏巧詆，任情與奪，愚民妄觸，動陷羅網，屢聞厘革，卒以無成。

Did not the ancients say, "The ruler of all lands possesses statutes and norms"?" Thus the ordering of the Nine Categories arose in the Xia, and the laws of the two audience halls reached their full development in the great Zhou. Through such means violence is restrained, treachery punished, customs elevated, civilization spread, the people secured, and government established—nothing takes precedence over this. From the turmoil of the Warring States onward, rulers relied on deceit and brute force; harsh regulations and excessive punishments arose in endless succession. When Qin united the realm it destroyed ritual and learning, practicing cruelty without restraint and oppressing the people until the empire was in turmoil and the dynasty fell. The Han, having restored order, sought to reform the old ways. Though they pursued simplified laws and reduced harsh penalties, they still practiced dismemberment and maintained prohibitions as minute as grains of millet. Their governance of the people had not yet reached its full breadth, and the ideal of punishments lying unused could not be realized. By the Wei and Jin dynasties, abuses had accumulated through generations; leniency and severity were applied at cross purposes, and the bonds of governance fell into disorder. Inferiors overawed their superiors, government dissolved, and the people languished. All of this stemmed from statutes that had fallen into confusion and regulations that had become muddled and contradictory. Thereafter the realm was carved into rival domains, armies clashed without cease, and there was no leisure to establish proper institutions. Under the Sui, though reforms were proclaimed, revisions remained unsettled, errors and omissions abounded, and the categories and forms of the code were rarely brought to completion. Moreover, subtle clauses and tortuous applications left readers uncertain of their meaning; disparate cases were lumped under the same category, and magistrates applied them with inconsistent severity. Crafty officials twisted the law at will, while ignorant commoners stumbled unawares into the net of justice. Reforms were repeatedly announced, yet in the end nothing was achieved.

朕膺期受籙，甯濟區宇，永言至治，興寐為勞。補千年之墜典，拯百王之餘弊，思所以正本澄源，式清流末，永垂憲則，貽範後昆。爰命群才，修定科律。但今古異務，文質不同，喪亂之後，事殊曩代，應機適變，救弊斯在。是以斟酌繁省，取合時宜，矯正差遺，務從體要。迄茲曆稔，撰次始畢，宜下四方，即令頒用。庶使吏曹簡肅，無取懸石之多；奏讞平允，靡競錐刀之末。勝殘去殺，此焉非遠。

Having received the Mandate of Heaven in due season, I have brought peace to the realm; ever striving toward perfect governance, I labor whether waking or asleep. I seek to restore canons a thousand years fallen into neglect, to remedy the lingering abuses of a hundred reigns, to rectify the root and clarify the source, to set a standard for purging corruption at its farthest reach, and to establish constitutional norms that will endure as a model for generations to come. I have therefore charged men of talent to revise and complete the code. Yet the tasks of past and present differ, and the forms of law must change with the times. After an age of ruin and disorder, affairs are unlike those of former dynasties; the need is to adapt to circumstances and remedy present abuses. We have therefore weighed what to retain and what to simplify, adapting the code to present needs, correcting errors and omissions, and adhering to essentials. After years of labor the compilation is at last complete. Let it be sent throughout the realm and put into immediate effect. May the offices of clerks be simplified and disciplined, no longer burdened with volumes as weighty as hanging stones; judgments reported to the throne be fair and even-handed, and none wrangle over the pettiest legal niceties. To overcome cruelty and abolish capital punishment—this goal is not far to seek.

於是頒行天下。

The code was then promulgated throughout the empire.

及太宗即位，又命長孫無忌、房玄齡與學士法官，更加厘改。戴胄、魏徵又言舊律令重，于時議絞刑之屬五十條。免死罪，斷其右趾，應死者多蒙全活。太宗尋又湣其受刑之苦，謂侍臣曰：「前代不行肉刑久矣，今忽斷人右趾，意甚不忍。」諫議大夫王珪對曰：「古行肉刑，以為輕罪。今陛下矜死刑之多，設斷趾之法，格本合死，今而獲生。刑者幸得全命，豈憚去其一足？且人之見者，甚足懲誡。」上曰：「本以為寬，故行之。然每聞惻愴，不能忘懷。」又謂蕭瑀、陳叔達等曰：「朕以死者不可再生，思有矜湣，故簡死罪五十條，從斷右趾。朕復念其受痛，極所不忍。」叔達等咸曰：「古之肉刑，乃在死刑之外。陛下于死刑之內，改從斷趾，便是以生易死，足為寬法。」上曰：「朕意以為如此，故欲行之。又有上書言此非便，公可更思之。」其後蜀王法曹參軍裴弘獻又駁律令不便於時者四十餘事，太宗令參掌刪改之。弘獻於是與玄齡等建議，以為古者五刑，刖居其一。及肉刑廢，制為死、流、杖、笞凡五等，以備五刑。今復設刖足，昌為六刑。減死在於寬弘，加刑又加煩峻。乃與八座定議奏聞，於是又除斷趾法，改為加役流三千里，居作二年。

When Taizong ascended the throne, he again charged Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, and the legal scholars and judges with further revision of the code. Dai Zhou and Wei Zheng also argued that the old code was too severe; at that time fifty articles carrying the death penalty by strangulation were under discussion. They were spared execution and instead had their right foot amputated; many who would otherwise have died were allowed to live. Before long Taizong again took pity on their suffering and told his ministers, "Former dynasties long ago abandoned bodily mutilation as punishment. To suddenly amputate a man's right foot—I find this deeply distressing." Remonstrating Counselor Wang Gui replied, "In antiquity bodily punishments were applied to lesser offenses. Your Majesty, pitying the great number of death sentences, established amputation of the foot as an alternative. Those who by statute deserved death now received life. The condemned, fortunate to preserve their lives, would hardly shrink from losing a foot. Moreover, the sight of them would serve as ample warning to others." The emperor said, "I adopted it in the belief that it was lenient, and therefore put it into practice. Yet whenever I hear of it I am filled with compassion and cannot put it from my mind." He also said to Xiao Yu, Chen Shuda, and others, "The dead cannot be restored to life. Seeking to show compassion, I selected fifty capital offenses and substituted amputation of the right foot. Yet when I reflect on the pain they endure, I find it almost unbearable." Shuda and the others all replied, "In antiquity bodily punishments were applied in addition to, not in place of, the death penalty. Your Majesty, by substituting amputation for execution within the category of capital crimes, exchanged life for death—this is surely a lenient measure." The emperor said, "That was my intention, and therefore I wished to put it into practice. Moreover, a memorial has been submitted arguing that this measure is impracticable. Gentlemen, reconsider the matter." Thereafter Pei Hongxian, a legal affairs officer under the Prince of Shu, submitted more than forty objections to provisions of the code ill suited to the times, and Taizong ordered him to participate in their revision. Hongxian thereupon joined Fang Xuanling and others in proposing that in antiquity there were five punishments, of which amputation of the foot was one. When bodily punishments were abolished, death, exile, beating with the staff, and beating with the rod were instituted as five grades to replace the five punishments. To reintroduce amputation of the foot is to create a sixth category of punishment. Sparing offenders from death is an act of leniency, but adding a new punishment only increases severity and complexity. They joined the eight chief ministers in deliberation and reported their decision. The law of amputation was abolished and replaced by exile to a distance of three thousand li with two years of penal servitude.

又舊條疏，兄弟分後，廕不相及，連坐俱死，祖孫配沒。會有同州人房強，弟任統軍於岷州，以謀反伏誅，強當從坐。太宗嘗錄囚徒，憫其將死，為之動容。顧謂侍臣曰：「刑典仍用，蓋風化未洽之咎。愚人何罪，而肆重刑乎？更彰朕之不德也。用刑之道，當審事理之輕重，然後加之以刑罰。何有不察其本而一概加誅，非所以恤刑重人命也。然則反逆有二：一為興師動眾，一為惡言犯法。輕重有差，而連坐皆死，豈朕情之所安哉？」更令百僚詳議。於是玄齡等復定議曰：「案禮，孫為王父屍。案令，祖有廕孫之義。然則祖孫親重而兄弟屬輕，應重反流，合輕翻死，據禮論情，深為未愜。今定律，祖孫與兄弟緣坐，俱配沒。其以惡言犯法不能為害者，情狀稍輕，兄弟免死，配流為允。」從之。自是比古死刑，殆除其半。

Moreover, under the old code, when brothers had established separate households they were not liable for one another's hereditary privileges, yet collective punishment still required all to die together, and grandparents and grandchildren were sentenced to confiscation of property. It happened that Fang Qiang of Tongzhou had a younger brother serving as army commander at Minzhou who was executed for treason; Qiang was liable to collective punishment. Taizong once reviewed the prisoners and, pitying those about to die, was visibly moved. Turning to his ministers he said, "That the penal code is still in use reflects the failure of moral transformation to permeate society fully. What crime have these simple men committed, that such heavy punishments are inflicted upon them? This only highlights my own want of virtue. The proper application of punishment requires careful weighing of the gravity of each case before penalties are imposed. How can we fail to examine the root of each case and apply execution indiscriminately? This is not the way to show compassion in punishment and value human life. Rebellion, then, takes two forms: one is raising armies and mobilizing forces; the other is seditious speech in violation of the law. These differ greatly in severity, yet collective punishment condemns all to death alike—how can my conscience accept this?" He then ordered the officials to deliberate the matter in detail. Thereupon Fang Xuanling and others submitted their deliberation: "According to the Rites, a grandson serves as the ritual substitute for his paternal grandfather. According to the ordinances, a grandfather may confer hereditary privilege upon his grandson. The bond between grandfather and grandson is weightier than that among brothers, yet the heavier tie receives exile while the lighter tie receives death. Judged by ritual propriety and human feeling, this is deeply unsatisfactory. Under the present code, grandparents, grandchildren, and brothers alike suffer collective liability and are sentenced to confiscation and exile. Where the offense consists of seditious speech that could do no actual harm, the circumstances are lighter; brothers should be spared death and sentenced to exile—this we deem acceptable." The emperor approved. From this point onward, nearly half the capital offenses of earlier ages were eliminated.

玄齡等遂與法司定律五百條，分為十二卷：一曰名例，二曰衛禁，三曰職制，四曰戶婚，五曰廄庫，六曰擅興，七曰賊盜，八曰鬥訟，九曰詐偽，十曰雜律，十一曰捕亡，十二曰斷獄。有笞、杖、徒、流、死，為五刑。笞刑五條，自笞十至五十；杖刑五條，自杖六十至杖一百；徒刑五條，自徒一年，遞加半年，至三年；流刑三條，自流二千里，遞加五百里，至三千里；死刑二條：絞、斬。大凡二十等。又有議請減贖當免之法八：一曰議親，二曰議故，三曰議賢，四曰議能，五曰議功，六曰議貴，七曰議賓，八曰議勤。八議者，犯死罪者皆條所坐及應議之狀奏請，議定奏裁。流罪已下，減一等。若官爵五品已上，及皇太子妃大功已上親，應議者周以上親，犯死罪者上請。流罪已下，亦減一等。若七品已上官，及官爵得請者之祖父母、父母、兄弟、姊妹、妻、子孫，犯流罪已下，各減一等。若應議請減及九品已上官，若官品得減者之祖父母、父母、妻、子孫，犯流罪已下，聽贖。其贖法：笞十，贖銅一斤，遞加一斤，至杖一百，則贖銅十斤。自此已上，遞加十斤，至徒三年，則贖銅六十斤。流二千里者，贖銅八十斤；流二千五百里者，贖銅九十斤；流三千里者，贖銅一百斤。絞斬者，贖銅一百二十斤。又許以官當罪。以官當徒者，五品已上犯私罪者，一官當徒二年；九品已上，一官當徒一年。若犯公罪者，各加一年。以官當流者，三流同比徒四年，仍各解見任。除名者，比徒三年。免官者，比徒二年。免所居官者，比徒一年。又有十惡之條：一曰謀反，二曰謀大逆，三曰謀叛，四曰謀惡逆，五曰不道，六曰大不敬，七曰不孝，八曰不睦，九曰不義，十曰內亂。其犯十惡者，不得依議請之例。年七十以上、十五以下及廢疾，犯流罪以下，亦聽贖。八十已上、十歲以下及篤疾，犯反逆殺人應死者，上請，盜及傷人，亦收贖，餘皆勿論。九十以上、七歲以下，雖有死罪，不加刑。比隋代舊律，減大辟者九十二條，減流入徒者七十一條。其當徒之法，唯奪一官，除名之人，仍同士伍。凡削煩去蠹，變重為輕者，不可勝紀。

Fang Xuanling and his colleagues, working with the judicial offices, compiled five hundred statutes in twelve sections: General Principles; Palace and Frontier Prohibitions; Official Regulations; Households and Marriage; Stables and Storehouses; Unauthorized Mobilization; Banditry and Theft; Assault and Litigation; Fraud and Forgery; Miscellaneous Statutes; Apprehension of Fugitives; and Trial and Judgment. The five punishments were beating with the rod, beating with the staff, penal servitude, exile, and death. Rod punishments comprised five grades, from ten to fifty strokes; Staff punishments comprised five grades, from sixty to one hundred strokes; Penal servitude comprised five grades, from one year, increasing by half a year at each step, up to three years; Exile comprised three grades, from two thousand li, increasing by five hundred li at each step, up to three thousand li; capital punishment two forms: strangulation and decapitation. In all there were twenty grades of punishment. There were also eight categories of statutory privilege—deliberation, petition, reduction, commutation, and exemption: deliberation for kin, for old associates, for worthies, for ability, for merit, for nobility, for guests, and for diligence. Under the eight deliberations, all capital offenders were required to submit a memorial setting forth the offense and the grounds for deliberation; after deliberation the case was submitted for imperial decision. For exile and lesser offenses, the penalty was reduced by one grade. Officials of the fifth rank and above, relatives within the great-mourning circle of the crown prince's consort, and relatives within the circle of those eligible for deliberation who committed capital offenses were required to submit a petition for imperial review. For exile and lesser offenses, the penalty was likewise reduced by one grade. Officials of the seventh rank and above, and the grandparents, parents, siblings, wives, and descendants of those entitled to petition who committed exile or lesser offenses, each received a reduction of one grade. Those eligible for deliberation, petition, or reduction, officials of the ninth rank and above, and the grandparents, parents, wives, and descendants of those entitled to reduction who committed exile or lesser offenses were permitted to commute their penalties. The commutation rates were as follows: ten strokes of the rod, one jin of copper; increasing by one jin at each step, up to one hundred strokes of the staff, for which ten jin of copper was required. Above this level the rate increased by ten jin at each step, up to three years of penal servitude, for which sixty jin of copper was required. For exile of two thousand li, eighty jin of copper; for exile of two thousand five hundred li, ninety jin of copper; for exile of three thousand li, one hundred jin of copper. For strangulation and decapitation, one hundred twenty jin of copper. Official rank could also be used to offset punishment. When office was used to offset penal servitude, officials of the fifth rank and above who committed private offenses could offset two years of penal servitude with one office; officials of the ninth rank and above could offset one year with one office. For public offenses, one year was added in each case. When office was used to offset exile, all three grades of exile were equivalent to four years of penal servitude, and the incumbent was removed from office. Removal from official registers was equivalent to three years of penal servitude. Dismissal from office was equivalent to two years of penal servitude. Removal from the office then held was equivalent to one year of penal servitude. There were also the ten abominations: plotting rebellion, plotting great sedition, plotting defection, plotting wicked sedition, depravity, great irreverence, unfilial conduct, discord within the clan, unrighteous conduct, and internal disorder. Those who committed any of the ten abominations were ineligible for deliberation, petition, or commutation. Persons seventy years of age or older, fifteen or younger, or suffering from crippling disability who committed exile or lesser offenses were also permitted to commute their penalties. Persons eighty or older, ten or younger, or suffering grave illness who committed rebellion, sedition, or capital murder were required to petition for imperial review; theft and assault were subject to commutation; all other offenses were not prosecuted. Persons ninety or older and seven or younger, though guilty of capital crimes, were not subjected to punishment. Compared with the Sui code, capital offenses were reduced by ninety-two articles and exile converted to penal servitude by seventy-one articles. When office was used to offset penal servitude, only one office was forfeited; those removed from the registers were still conscripted as common soldiers. The simplifications and reductions in severity were too numerous to record in full.

又定令一千五百九十條，為三十卷。貞觀十一年正月，頒下之。又刪武德、貞觀已來敕格三千餘件，定留七百條，以為格十八卷，留本司施行。斟酌今古，除煩去弊，甚為寬簡，便於人者。以尚書省諸曹為之目，初為七卷。其曹之常條，但留本司者，別為《留司格》一卷。蓋編錄當時制敕，永為法則，以為故事。《貞觀格》十八卷，房玄齡等刪定。《永徽留司格》十八卷，《散頒格》七卷，長孫無忌等刪定，永徽中，又令源直心等刪定，惟改易官號曹局之名，不易篇目。《永徽留司格後本》，劉仁軌等刪定。《垂拱留司格》六卷，《散頒格》三卷，裴居道刪定。《太極格》十卷，岑羲等刪定。《開元前格》十卷，姚崇等刪定。《開元後格》十卷，宋璟等刪定。皆以尚書省二十四司為篇目。凡式三十有三篇，亦以尚書省列曹及秘書、太常、司農、光祿、太僕、太府、少府及監門、宿衛、計帳名其篇目，為二十卷。《永徽式》十四卷，《垂拱》、《神龍》、《開元式》並二十卷，其刪定格令同。

They also compiled one thousand five hundred ninety administrative ordinances in thirty scrolls. In the first month of the eleventh year of Zhenguan they were promulgated throughout the realm. More than three thousand edicts and regulations issued since the Wude and Zhenguan eras were reviewed, and seven hundred articles were retained as eighteen scrolls of supplementary regulations for implementation by the originating offices. Weighing past and present practice, complexity and abuse were eliminated; the result was notably lenient, simple, and convenient for the people. Organized under the bureaus of the Department of State Affairs, it initially comprised seven scrolls. Standing regulations retained only by the originating bureau were separately compiled as one scroll of Retained Bureau Regulations. These compiled contemporary edicts and orders as permanent legal norms and precedents. The Zhenguan Regulations in eighteen scrolls were compiled by Fang Xuanling and his colleagues. The Yonghui Retained Bureau Regulations in eighteen scrolls and the Broadly Promulgated Regulations in seven scrolls were compiled by Zhangsun Wuji and others. During the Yonghui era Yuan Zhixin and others revised them, changing only office and bureau titles while leaving the section headings unchanged. The Later Edition of the Yonghui Retained Bureau Regulations was compiled by Liu Rengui and others. The Chuigong Retained Bureau Regulations in six scrolls and the Broadly Promulgated Regulations in three scrolls were compiled by Pei Judao. The Taiji Regulations in ten scrolls were compiled by Cen Xi and others. The Pre-Kaiyuan Regulations in ten scrolls were compiled by Yao Chong and others. The Post-Kaiyuan Regulations in ten scrolls were compiled by Song Jing and others. All were organized under the twenty-four bureaus of the Department of State Affairs. There were thirty-three sections of Forms, organized under the bureaus of the Department of State Affairs and the Secretariat, Court of Imperial Sacrifices, Ministry of Agriculture, Court of Imperial Entertainments, Court of the Imperial Stud, Court of the Imperial Treasury, Court of the Imperial Manufactories, Directorate of Gate Guards, Palace Guards, and Accounts, in twenty scrolls. The Yonghui Forms comprised fourteen scrolls; the Chuigong, Shenlong, and Kaiyuan Forms each comprised twenty scrolls. The process of revision was the same as for the statutes and ordinances.

太宗又制在京見禁囚，刑部每月一奏，從立春至秋分，不得奏決死刑。其大祭祀及致齋、朔望、上下弦、二十四氣、雨未晴、夜未明、斷屠日月及假日，並不得奏決死刑。其有赦之日，武庫令設金雞及鼓于宮城門外之右，勒集囚徒于闕前，撾鼓千聲訖，宣詔而釋之。其赦書頒諸州，用絹寫行下。又系囚之具，有枷、杻鉗、鎖，皆有長短廣狹之制，量罪輕重，節級用之。其杖皆削去節目，長三尺五寸。訊囚杖，大頭徑三分二厘，小頭二分二厘。常行杖，大頭二分七厘，小頭一分七厘。笞杖，大頭二分，小頭一分半。其決笞者，腿分受。決杖者，背、腿、臀分受。及須數等拷訊者，亦同。其拷囚不過三度，總數不得過二百。杖罪已下，不得過所犯之數。諸斷罪而無正條，其應出罪者，則舉重以明輕；其應入罪者，則舉輕以明重。稱加者，就重次；稱減者，就輕次。惟二死三流，同為一減，不得加至於死。斷獄而失於出入者，以其罪罪之。失入者，各減三等；失出者，各減五等。

Taizong also decreed that prisoners detained in the capital were to be reported monthly by the Ministry of Justice, and that from the Beginning of Spring to the Autumn Equinox no death sentences were to be submitted for approval. Death sentences were also prohibited on days of great sacrifice, ritual abstinence, new and full moon, quarter moons, the twenty-four solar terms, days of unbroken rain, nights before dawn, days when slaughter was forbidden, and holidays. On days of amnesty the Director of the Armory set up a golden rooster and drum to the right of the palace gate, assembled the prisoners before the palace, and after a thousand drumbeats proclaimed the edict of release. The amnesty document was promulgated to all prefectures, transcribed on silk and distributed. Restraints for prisoners included cangues, manacles, fetters, and locks, each regulated as to dimensions and applied in graded steps according to the severity of the offense. All beating staffs had their nodes removed and measured three chi five cun in length. Interrogation staffs measured three fen two li in diameter at the large end and two fen two li at the small end. Ordinary execution staffs measured two fen seven li at the large end and one fen seven li at the small end. Rod staffs measured two fen at the large end and one and a half fen at the small end. Rod punishments were administered on the legs in rotation. Staff punishments were administered on the back, legs, and buttocks in rotation. The same rule applied to repeated interrogation by beating. Interrogation by beating was limited to three sessions and two hundred strokes in total. For staff punishments and below, the strokes administered could not exceed the statutory number for the offense. When no statute directly applied to a case, if acquittal was warranted the judge cited a heavier analogous offense to establish the lighter principle; if conviction was warranted, he cited a lighter analogous offense to establish the heavier principle. Where the code specified an increase in penalty, the next heavier grade was applied; where it specified a reduction, the next lighter grade was applied. Only the two forms of capital punishment and the three grades of exile counted as a single reduction; no penalty could be increased to death. Judges who erred in acquitting or convicting were themselves punished according to the offense involved. For erroneous conviction, the judge's penalty was reduced by three grades; for erroneous acquittal, by five grades.

初，太宗以古者斷獄，必訊於三槐九棘之官，乃詔大辟罪，中書、門下五品已上及尚書等議之。其後河內人李好德，風疾瞀亂，有妖妄之言，詔按其事。大理丞張蘊古奏，好德癲病有征，法不當坐。治書侍御史權萬紀，劾蘊古貫相州，好德之兄厚德，為其刺史，情在阿縱，奏事不實。太宗曰：「吾常禁囚於獄內，蘊古與之弈棋，今復阿縱好德，是亂吾法也。」遂斬於東市。既而悔之。又交州都督盧祖尚，以忤旨斬於朝堂，帝亦追悔。下制，凡決死刑，雖令即殺，仍三覆奏。尋謂侍臣曰：「人命至重，一死不可再生。昔世充殺鄭頲，既而悔之，追止不及。今春府史取財不多，朕怒殺之，後亦尋悔，皆由思不審也。比來決囚，雖三覆奏，須臾之間，三奏便訖，都未得思，三奏何益？自今已後，宜二日中五覆奏，下諸州三覆奏。又古者行刑，君為徹樂減膳。朕今庭無常設之樂，莫知何徹，然對食即不啖酒肉。自今已後，令與尚食相知，刑人日勿進酒肉。內教坊及太常，並宜停教。且曹司斷獄，多據律文，雖情在可矜，而不敢違法，守文定罪，或恐有冤。自今門下覆理，有據法合死而情可宥者，宜錄狀奏。」自是全活者甚眾。其五覆奏，以決前一日、二日覆奏，決日又三覆奏。惟犯惡逆者，一覆奏而已，著之於令。

Initially Taizong, recalling that in antiquity capital cases were deliberated by the highest judicial officers, ordered that capital offenses be reviewed by officials of the Secretariat and Chancellery of the fifth rank and above and by the Department of State Affairs. Thereafter Li Haode of Henei, afflicted with mental illness, uttered deluded and seditious words, and the emperor ordered an investigation. Assistant Grand Judge Zhang Yungu memorialized that Haode showed clear signs of epilepsy and was not liable under the law. Drafting Attending Censor Quan Wanji impeached Yungu, alleging that while serving as prefect of Xiangzhou—where Haode's elder brother Houde was also prefect—Yungu had shown partiality and submitted a false memorial. Taizong said, "I once detained a prisoner, and Yungu played chess with him. Now he indulges Haode again—this subverts my laws." Yungu was thereupon executed at the Eastern Market. The emperor soon regretted his decision. Regional Commander Lu Zushang of Jiaozhou was also executed in the court hall for defying an imperial order, and the emperor again repented. He issued a regulation requiring three re-submissions for all death sentences, even when immediate execution was ordered. Shortly thereafter he told his ministers, "Human life is of the utmost weight; once taken it cannot be restored. In the past Wang Shichong executed Zheng Ting and afterward repented, but the order of reprieve arrived too late. This spring I executed in anger a prefectural clerk who had embezzled a small sum, and soon regretted it. All such errors stem from insufficient deliberation. Recently, though three re-submissions were required, all three were completed in a moment, leaving no time for reflection. Of what use is such a formality? Henceforth five re-submissions shall be required over two days in the capital; prefectures shall require three. Moreover, in antiquity the ruler withdrew music and reduced his meals on days of execution. My court has no standing musical establishment, so I know not what to withdraw, yet I abstain from wine and meat at my meals. Henceforth the Imperial Kitchen shall be notified, and on days of execution no wine or meat shall be served. The Inner Music Academy and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices shall suspend instruction on such days. Moreover, judicial offices rely chiefly on the letter of the law. Though circumstances may warrant compassion, officials dare not deviate from the statute, and strict adherence to the text may produce injustice. Henceforth the Chancellery shall review cases where the statute requires death but circumstances warrant mercy, recording the facts and memorializing the throne." From this time a great many condemned prisoners were spared. The five re-submissions were to be made one and two days before the execution, with three additional submissions on the day of execution. Only offenders guilty of wicked sedition required a single re-submission; this was written into the ordinance.

太宗既誅張蘊古之後，法官以出罪為誡，時有失入者，又不加罪焉，由是刑網頗密。帝嘗問大理卿劉德威曰：「近來刑網稍密，何也？」德威對曰：「律文失入減三等，失出減五等。今失入則無辜，失出則便獲大罪，所由吏皆深文。」太宗然其言。由是失於出入者，令依律文，斷獄者漸為平允。十四年，又制流罪三等，不限以里數，量配邊惡之州。其後雖存寬典，而犯者漸少。

After Zhang Yungu's execution, judges took acquittal as a warning to themselves. Erroneous convictions went unpunished, and the net of justice grew increasingly tight. The emperor once asked Grand Judge Liu Dewei, "The net of justice has grown tighter of late. Why is this?" Dewei replied, "The code reduces the penalty for erroneous conviction by three grades and for erroneous acquittal by five grades. Today erroneous conviction goes unpunished, while erroneous acquittal incurs severe penalty. Officials therefore apply the law with maximum severity." Taizong approved his reasoning. Judges who erred in acquitting or convicting were thereafter required to follow the statute, and judicial decisions gradually became more equitable. In the fourteenth year the three grades of exile were reformed: distance in li was no longer specified; offenders were assigned according to the severity of frontier prefectures. Thereafter, though lenient laws remained in force, offenders gradually diminished.

高宗即位，遵貞觀故事，務在恤刑。嘗問大理卿唐臨在獄系囚之數，臨對曰：「見囚五十餘人，惟二人合死。」帝以囚數全少，怡然形於顏色。永徽初，敕太尉長孫無忌、司空李勣、左僕射于志寧、右僕射行成、侍中高季輔、黃門侍郎宇文節柳奭、右丞段寶玄、太常少卿令狐德棻、吏部侍郎高敬言、刑部侍郎劉燕客、給事中趙文恪，中書舍人李友益、少府丞張行實、大理丞元紹、太府丞王文端、刑部郎中賈敏行等，共撰定律令格式。舊制不便者，皆隨刪改。遂分格為兩部：曹司常務為《留司格》，天下所共者為《散頒格》。其《散頒格》下州縣，《留司格》但留本司行用焉。三年，詔曰：「律學未有定疏，每年所舉明法，遂無憑准。宜廣召解律人條義疏奏聞。仍使中書、門下監定。」於是太尉趙國公無忌、司空英國公勣、尚書左僕射兼太子少師監修國史燕國公志寧、銀青光祿大夫刑部尚書唐臨、太中大夫守大理卿段寶玄、朝議大夫守尚書右丞劉燕客、朝議大夫守御史中丞賈敏行等，參撰《律疏》，成三十卷，四年十月奏之，頒於天下。自是斷獄者皆引疏分析之。永徽五年五月，上謂侍臣曰：「獄訟繁多，皆由刑罰枉濫，故曰刑者成也，一成而不可變。末代斷獄之人，皆以苛刻為明，是以秦氏網密秋荼，而獲罪者眾。今天下無事，四海乂安，欲與公等共行寬政。今日刑罰，得無枉濫乎？」無忌對曰：「陛下欲得刑法寬平，臣下猶不識聖意。此法弊來已久，非止今日。若情在體國，即共號癡人，意在深文，便稱好吏。所以罪雖合杖，必欲遣徒，理有可生，務入於死，非憎前人，陷於死刑。陛下矜而令放，法司亦宜固請，但陛下喜怒不妄加於人，刑罰自然適中。」上以為然。永徽六年七月，上謂侍臣曰：「律通比附，條例太多。」左僕射志寧等對：「舊律多比附斷事，乃稍難解。科條極眾，數至三千。隋日再定，惟留五百。以事類相似者，比附科斷。今日所停，即是參取隋律修易。條章既少，極成省便。」

When Gaozong ascended the throne, he followed the Zhenguan precedents and strove to show compassion in the administration of justice. He once asked Grand Judge Tang Lin how many prisoners were detained. Lin replied, "There are somewhat more than fifty prisoners; only two merit the death penalty." The emperor, pleased that the number of prisoners was so low, showed his satisfaction openly. At the beginning of the Yonghui era the emperor charged Grand Preceptor Zhangsun Wuji, Minister of Works Li Ji, Vice Directors Yu Zhining and Xing Cheng, Attendant-in-ordinary Gao Jifu, Vice Directors Yu Wenjie and Liu Shi, Assistant Director Duan Baoxuan, Vice Director of Imperial Sacrifices Linghu Defen, Vice Director of Personnel Gao Jingyan, Vice Director of Justice Liu Yanke, Attending Gentleman Zhao Wenke, Secretariat drafter Li Youyi, Assistant Director Zhang Xingshi of the Court of Imperial Manufactories, Assistant Grand Judge Yuan Shao, Assistant Director Wang Wenduan of the Imperial Treasury, Bureau Director Jia Minxing of the Ministry of Justice, and others to compile the statutes, ordinances, regulations, and forms. Provisions of the old code found inconvenient were revised or deleted. The supplementary regulations were divided into two parts: routine bureau affairs became the Retained Bureau Regulations, and regulations applicable empire-wide became the Broadly Promulgated Regulations. The Broadly Promulgated Regulations were distributed to prefectures and counties; the Retained Bureau Regulations were kept by the originating offices for their own use. In the third year an edict declared, "Legal studies lack an authoritative commentary, leaving candidates for the legal examinations without a standard of reference. Let scholars versed in the law be summoned to prepare commentaries on each article and submit them for imperial review. The Secretariat and Chancellery were charged with supervising and approving the work." Thereupon Wuji, Duke of Zhao and Grand Preceptor; Li Ji, Duke of Ying and Minister of Works; Xu Zhining, Duke of Yan, Left Vice Director of the Secretariat and supervisor of the national history; Tang Lin, Minister of Justice; Duan Baoxuan, Chief Judge of the Court of Judicial Review; Liu Yanke, Right Vice Director of the Secretariat; Jia Minxing, Vice Censor-in-Chief; and others jointly drafted the Statutory Commentary in thirty scrolls, submitted it in the tenth month of the fourth year, and had it promulgated throughout the realm. Henceforth, all who adjudicated cases cited the commentary in their analysis. In the fifth month of the fifth year of Yonghui, the emperor told his ministers: "Prison cases and lawsuits abound, all because punishments are misapplied. As the saying goes, punishment means a settled judgment—once rendered, it must not be altered. In later ages, judges took harshness for clarity; thus the Qin wove its laws tight as autumn bitter herb, and multitudes were condemned. Now that the realm is untroubled and the four seas at peace, I wish to join you in practicing lenient governance. Are there no wrongful applications in today's punishments?" Wuji answered: "Your Majesty wishes the penal code to be lenient and fair, yet your officials still fail to grasp your intent. These abuses of the law have persisted for a long time; they did not begin only today. If one sought the welfare of the state, all would call him a fool; if one pursued harsh textual penalties, he was hailed as a capable official. Thus though an offense merited beating, they would push for penal servitude; though logic allowed sparing a life, they pressed for death—not from personal hatred, but to trap the accused in a capital sentence. When Your Majesty shows mercy and orders release, the courts should press their petitions as well; if Your Majesty does not capriciously vent favor or wrath upon others, punishments will naturally be balanced." The emperor agreed. In the seventh month of the sixth year of Yonghui, the emperor told his ministers: "The statutes rely too heavily on analogical application, and the articles are too numerous." Left Vice Director Zhining and others answered: "The old statutes relied heavily on analogical judgment, which made cases somewhat difficult to understand. The statutory articles were extremely numerous, numbering as many as three thousand. Under the Sui they were revised again, leaving only five hundred articles. Similar cases were adjudicated by analogical application of the relevant articles. The code now in force was revised with reference to the Sui statutes. With so few articles and chapters, the code is far more convenient and economical."

龍朔二年，改易官號，因敕司刑太常伯源直心、少常伯李敬玄、司刑大夫李文禮等重定格式，惟改曹局之名，而不易篇第。麟德二年奏上。至儀鳳中，官號復舊，又敕左僕射劉仁軌、右僕射戴至德、侍中張文瓘、中書令李敬玄、右庶子郝處俊、黃門侍郎來恆、左庶子高智周、右庶子李義琰、吏部侍郎裴行儉馬載、兵部侍郎蕭德昭裴炎、工部侍郎李義琛、刑部侍郎張楚、金部郎中盧律師等，刪緝格式。儀鳳二年二月九日，撰定奏上。先是詳刑少卿趙仁本撰《法例》三卷，引以斷獄，時議亦為折衷。後高宗覽之，以為煩文不便。因謂侍臣曰：「律、令、格、式，天下通規，非朕庸虛所能創制。並是武德之際，貞觀已來，或取定宸衷，參詳眾議，條章備舉，軌躅昭然，臨事遵行，自不能盡。何為更須作例，致使觸緒多疑。計此因循，非適今日，速宜改轍，不得更然。」自是，《法例》遂廢不用。

In the second year of Longshuo, when official titles were changed, an edict directed Yuan Zhixin, Director of Penal Affairs, Li Jingxuan, Vice Director, Li Wenli, Grand Master of Penal Affairs, and others to revise the regulations and forms, changing only bureau names while leaving the chapter sequence intact. It was submitted in the second year of Linde. During the Yifeng era, when official titles were restored, another edict charged Liu Rengui, Left Vice Director; Dai Zhide, Right Vice Director; Zhang Wenguan, Palace Attendant; Li Jingxuan, Grand Counselor; Hao Chujun and Li Yiyan, Attendants of the Heir Apparent; Lai Heng, Vice Director of the Imperial Secretariat; Gao Zhizhou, Left Attendant of the Heir Apparent; Pei Xingjian and Ma Zai, Vice Directors of Personnel; Xiao Dezhao and Pei Yan, Vice Directors of War; Li Yichen, Vice Director of Works; Zhang Chu, Vice Director of Justice; Lu Lüshi, Section Director of the Treasury; and others with revising and compiling the regulations and forms. On the ninth day of the second month of the second year of Yifeng, the revised code was completed and submitted. Earlier, Zhao Renben, Vice Director of Detailed Punishments, had compiled three scrolls of Legal Precedents for use in adjudication, and contemporary opinion regarded the work as a reasonable compromise. Later, when Emperor Gaozong reviewed it, he found the verbose text cumbersome. He therefore told his ministers: "Statutes, commands, supplementary regulations, and forms are the universal norms of the realm—not something a sovereign as mediocre as I could devise. All were established during the Wude era and refined since Zhenguan—sometimes settled by imperial decision, sometimes shaped through collective deliberation. The articles were fully set forth and the standards clearly marked; in practice one follows them and can scarcely exhaust their scope. Why must we compose further precedents, only to breed doubt at every turn? This inertia is nothing new; the course must be changed at once and must not continue." From that point the Legal Precedents were abandoned and no longer used.

則天臨朝，初欲大收人望。垂拱初年，令熔銅為匭，四面置門，各依方色，共為一室。東面名曰延恩匭，上賦頌及許求官爵者封表投之。南面曰招諫匭，有言時政得失及直言諫諍者投之。西面曰申冤匭，有得罪冤濫者投之。北面曰通玄匭，有玄象災變及軍謀秘策者投之。每日置之於朝堂，以收天下表疏。既出之後，不逞之徒，或至攻訐陰私，謗訕朝政者。後乃令中書、門下官一人，專監其所投之狀，仍責識官，然後許進封，行之至今焉。則天又敕內史裴居道、夏官尚書岑長倩、鳳閣侍郎韋方質與刪定官袁智弘等十餘人，刪改格式，加計帳及勾帳式，通舊式成二十卷。又以武德已來、垂拱已前詔敕便於時者，編為《新格》二卷，則天自製序。其二卷之外，別編六卷，堪為當司行用，為《垂拱留司格》。時韋方質詳練法理，又委其事于咸陽尉王守慎，又有經理之才，故《垂拱格》、《式》，議者稱為詳密。其律令惟改二十四條，又有不便者，大抵依舊。

When Empress Wu assumed the regency, she initially sought to win broad popular support. In the first year of Chuigong, she ordered copper cast into suggestion boxes with doors on all four sides, each painted according to its directional color, together forming one chamber. The eastern side was called the Box for Extending Grace; those submitting encomia or petitions for office and rank sealed their memorials and deposited them there. The southern side was called the Box for Soliciting Remonstrance; those wishing to speak on the merits and failings of current policy or to remonstrate directly deposited their submissions there. The western side was called the Box for Stating Grievances; those who had suffered wrongful conviction deposited their petitions there. The northern side was called the Box for Communicating Mysteries; those reporting celestial omens, natural disasters, or secret military plans deposited their submissions there. Each day the boxes were set out in the court hall to receive memorials from across the realm. Once the boxes were in place, unscrupulous persons sometimes used them to attack private matters and slander court policy. Later one official each from the Secretariat and Chancellery was assigned to supervise submissions; petitioners were still required to identify themselves, and only then was sealed submission permitted—a practice that continues to the present. Empress Wu also ordered Pei Judao, Grand Counselor; Cen Changqian, Minister of the Summer Office; Wei Fangzhi, Vice Director of the Phoenix Pavilion; and more than ten revision officials including Yuan Zhihong to revise the regulations and forms, adding accounting and audit forms; together with the old forms, the result was twenty scrolls. She also compiled edicts and orders from the Wude era through the period before Chuigong that remained useful into two scrolls of New Supplementary Regulations, for which Empress Wu herself wrote the preface. Beyond these two scrolls, six more were separately compiled for use by the respective offices, titled the Chuigong Retained Bureau Regulations. At the time Wei Fangzhi was thoroughly versed in legal principles and entrusted the work to Wang Shouzhen, Commandant of Xianyang, who also had a gift for administration; commentators therefore praised the Chuigong Regulations and Forms as thorough and meticulous. Of the statutes and commands, only twenty-four articles were revised; where difficulties remained, the old provisions were largely retained.

然則天嚴于用刑，屬徐敬業作亂，及豫、博兵起之後，恐人心動搖，欲以威制天下，漸引酷吏，務令深文，以案刑獄。長壽年有上封事言嶺表流人有陰謀逆者，乃遣司刑評事萬國俊攝監察御史就案之，若得反狀，斬決。國俊至廣州，遍召流人，擁之水曲，以次加戮。三百餘人，一時並命，然後鍛煉曲成反狀。乃更誣奏云：「諸道流人，多有怨望。若不推究，為變不遙。」則天深然其言。又命攝監察御史劉光業、王德壽、鮑思恭、王處貞、屈貞筠等，分往劍南、黔中、安南、嶺南等六道，按鞫流人。光業所在殺戮。光業誅九百人，德壽誅七百人，其餘少者不減數百人。亦有雜犯及遠年流人，亦枉及禍焉。時周興、來俊臣等，相次受制推究大獄。乃于都城麗景門內，別置推事使院，時人謂之「新開獄」。俊臣又與侍御史侯思止王弘義郭霸李敬仁、評事康暐衛遂忠等，招集告事數百人，共為羅織，以陷良善。前後枉遭殺害者，不可勝數。又造《告密羅織經》一卷，其意旨皆網羅前人，織成反狀。俊臣每鞫囚，無問輕重，多以醋灌鼻。禁地牢中，或盛之於甕，以火圍繞炙之。兼絕其糧餉，至有抽衣絮以啖之者。其所作大枷，凡有十號：一曰定百脈，二曰喘不得，三曰突地吼，四曰著即承，五曰失魂膽，六曰實同反，七曰反是實，八曰死豬愁，九曰求即死，十曰求破家。又令寢處糞穢，備諸苦毒。每有制書寬宥囚徒，俊臣必先遣獄卒，盡殺重罪，然後宣示。是時海內懾懼，道路以目。麟台正字陳子昂上書曰：

Yet Empress Wu was severe in applying punishments. After Xu Jingye's rebellion and the uprisings in Yu and Bo, fearing popular unrest, she sought to control the realm through terror and gradually brought in cruel officials, pressing for harsh textual penalties in criminal investigations. In the Changshou era a sealed memorial reported that exiles in the Ling region were secretly plotting rebellion. She sent Wan Guojun, a Penal Affairs Assessor acting as Investigating Censor, to investigate on the spot, with orders to behead any who showed evidence of treason. Guojun reached Guangzhou, summoned all the exiles, drove them to the water's edge, and executed them one by one. More than three hundred were killed at once; only afterward were confessions of rebellion forged through torture. He then submitted a false memorial stating: "Exiles in various circuits mostly harbor resentment. Unless thoroughly investigated, rebellion will not be far off." Empress Wu strongly approved his report. She also ordered Liu Guangye, Wang Deshou, Bao Sigong, Wang Chuzhen, Qu Zhenyun, and others, acting as Investigating Censors, to divide among the six circuits of Jiannan, Qianzhong, Annam, Lingnan, and elsewhere to investigate and interrogate exiles. Wherever Guangye went, he slaughtered. Guangye executed nine hundred, Deshou seven hundred, and the others, though fewer, still killed no less than several hundred each. Miscellaneous offenders and exiles from years past were also wrongly swept up in the slaughter. At the time Zhou Xing, Lai Junchen, and others were successively ordered to investigate major cases. They established a separate Office of Investigation Commissioners inside Lijing Gate in the capital, which people of the time called the "Newly Opened Prison." Junchen also joined with the Attending Censors Hou Sizhi, Wang Hongyi, Guo Ba, and Li Jingren and the Assessors Kang Wei and Wei Suizhong to recruit several hundred informants, who together fabricated charges to entrap the innocent. Those wrongly killed in this way were beyond counting. He also compiled a one-scroll Manual for Informing and Fabricating Charges, whose whole purpose was to ensnare the accused and weave confessions of treason. Whenever Junchen interrogated prisoners, regardless of the severity of the offense, he often poured vinegar into their nostrils. In underground dungeons he sometimes placed them in jars and roasted them with fire all around. He also cut off their rations, until some were reduced to stripping wadding from their clothing to eat. The great cangues he devised numbered ten in all: Fixing the Hundred Vessels; Cannot Breathe; Earth-Shaking Roar; Put It On and Confess; Lost Soul and Gall; Truth Is Rebellion; Rebellion Is Truth; Dead Pig's Distress; Seek Immediate Death; and Seek Ruin of the Family. He also made them sleep amid filth and subjected them to every form of torment. Whenever an imperial edict pardoned prisoners, Junchen would first send jailers to kill all those convicted of serious crimes, and only then announce the edict. At that time terror gripped the realm; on the roads people dared only exchange glances in silence. Chen Zi'ang, Rectifier of the Archives, submitted a memorial stating:

臣聞古之禦天下者，其政有三：王者化之，用仁義也；霸者威之，任權智也；強國脅之，務刑罰也。是以化之不足，然後威之，威之不足，然後刑之。故至於刑，則非王者之所貴矣。況欲光宅天下，追功上皇，專任刑殺以為威斷，可謂策之失者也。

I have heard that those who governed the realm in antiquity pursued three policies: kings transformed it through benevolence and righteousness; hegemons awed it through authority and stratagem; powerful states coerced it through punishments. When transformation proved insufficient, they turned to awe; when awe proved insufficient, they turned to punishment. Thus punishment was not what true kings valued. How much less fitting, then, to seek to illuminate and settle the realm and match the achievements of the August Ancestor, yet rely exclusively on killing as the instrument of authority—this may be called a failure of policy.

臣伏睹陛下聖德聰明，遊心太古，將制靜宇宙，保乂黎民，發號施令，出於誠慊。天下蒼生，莫不懸望聖風，冀見神化，道德為政，將侍于陛下矣。臣聞之，聖人出，必有驅除，蓋天人之符，應休命也。日者東南微孽，敢謀亂常。陛下順天行誅，罪惡咸伏，豈非天意欲彰陛下威武之功哉！而執事者不察天心，以為人意，惡其首亂唱禍，法合誅屠，將息奸源，窮其黨與。遂使陛下大開詔獄，重設嚴刑，冀以懲奸，觀於天下。逆党親屬及其交遊，有涉嫌疑，辭相連及，莫不窮捕考校，枝葉蟠拿。大或流血，小禦魑魅。至有奸人熒惑，乘險相誣，糾告疑似，冀圖爵賞，叫于闕下者，日有數矣。于時朝廷徨徨，莫能自固，海內傾聽，以相驚恐。賴陛下仁慈，憫其危懼，賜以恩詔，許其大功已上，一切勿論。人時獲泰，謂生再造。愚臣竊以忻然，賀陛下聖明，得天之機也。不謂議者異見，又執前圖，比者刑獄，紛紛復起。陛下不深思天意，以順休期，尚以督察為理，威刑為務，使前者之詔，不信於人。愚臣昧焉，竊恐非五帝、三王伐罪吊人之意也。

I humbly behold Your Majesty's sage virtue and intelligence, your heart set on the ways of high antiquity, intent on settling the cosmos in tranquility and protecting the people, issuing commands from sincere conviction. All the people under heaven look up to your sage influence, hoping to witness divine transformation; rule by virtue awaits Your Majesty. I have heard that when a sage appears, purging must follow—it is the accord of Heaven and man, responding to a glorious destiny. Recently a petty rebel band in the southeast dared to plot rebellion. Your Majesty followed Heaven in executing punishment, and all guilt was subdued—is this not Heaven's intent to display your martial power and merit! Yet those in charge failed to discern Heaven's intent, treating it as mere human will; they hated the ringleaders who stirred rebellion and spread calamity, held that the law warranted execution, and sought to still the source of treachery and exhaust their factions. Thus they caused Your Majesty to open wide the edict-prisons, reimpose harsh punishments, and display stern retribution to the realm. Relatives of rebels and their associates, whenever suspicion attached or testimony linked them, were hunted to the end, examined and tortured; every branch and leaf of the conspiracy was seized. In major cases blood was shed; in minor ones the condemned were punished as though to subdue demonic spirits. Wicked men, deluding others, seized opportunities to accuse one another, reporting suspected cases in hopes of rank and reward; several such petitioners cried out at the palace gates each day. At that time the court was restless and could not secure itself; throughout the realm all listened in dread, frightening one another. Thanks to Your Majesty's benevolence and pity for their terror, you granted a gracious edict providing that all whose complicity fell short of the closest conspiracy—including even distant kinship ties—would go unpunished. People at the time found relief and spoke of being given life anew. This foolish subject inwardly rejoiced, congratulating Your Majesty on your sage clarity in seizing Heaven's opportune moment. I did not expect counsellors with dissenting views to cling again to the former course; lately criminal cases have proliferated once more. Your Majesty has not deeply pondered Heaven's intent in this glorious season, but still takes investigation as governance and terror through punishment as the task, causing the former edict to lose credibility among the people. This foolish subject is blind, and I secretly fear this is not the intent of the Five Emperors and Three Kings in punishing the guilty and comforting the people.

臣竊觀當今天下百姓，思安久矣。曩屬北胡侵塞，西戎寇邊，兵革相屠，向曆十載。關、河自北，轉輸幽、燕；秦、蜀之西，馳騖湟、海。當時天下疲極矣！重以大兵之後，屬遭凶年，流離饑餓，死喪略半。幸賴陛下以至聖之德，撫寧兆人，邊境獲安，中國無事，陰陽大順，年穀累登，天下父子，始得相養矣。揚州構禍，殆有五旬，而海中晏然，纖塵不動，豈非天下蒸庶厭凶亂哉？臣以此卜之，百姓思安久矣。今陛下不務玄默，以救疲民，而又任威刑以失其望，欲以察察為政，肅理寰區。愚臣暗昧，竊有大惑。且臣聞刑者，政之末節也。先王以禁暴厘亂，不得已而用之。今天下幸安，萬物思泰，陛下乃以末節之法，察理平人，愚臣以為非適變隨時之義也。頃年以來，伏見諸方告密。囚累百千輩。大抵所告，皆以揚州為名，及其窮竟，百無一實。陛下仁恕，又屈法容之，傍訐他事，亦為推劾。遂使奸臣之党，快意相讎，睚眥之嫌，即稱有密。一人被告，百人滿獄。使者推捕，冠蓋如市。或謂陛下愛一人而害百人，天下喁喁，莫知寧所。

I secretly observe that the people of the realm today have long yearned for peace. Formerly they suffered northern barbarians invading the frontier and western tribes raiding the borders; war consumed them for nearly ten years. From Tong Pass and the Yellow River northward, transport lines ran toward You and Yan; west of Qin and Shu, supply lines raced toward the Huangshui and the western sea. At that time the realm was utterly exhausted! Compounded by the aftermath of great armies, they then suffered famine years; wandering in exile and starvation, nearly half the people died or were lost. Fortunately, through Your Majesty's supreme sage virtue in comforting and settling the myriad people, the borders were secured, the central provinces untroubled, yin and yang greatly accorded, and harvests abundant year after year—the fathers and sons of the realm at last could sustain one another. When Yangzhou stirred rebellion, it lasted nearly fifty days, yet the realm remained calm and undisturbed—is this not because the people loathe violent disorder? From this I infer that the people have long yearned for peace. Your Majesty does not practice quiet governance to relieve a weary people, yet again relies on harsh punishments and thereby forfeits their trust, aiming to rule through relentless scrutiny and impose stern order across the realm. Your humble servant is dull of mind and privately greatly perplexed. Moreover, I have heard that punishment is the last resort of governance. Former kings wielded them only to restrain violence and set disorder aright, turning to them when they had no choice. Now the realm is fortunately at peace and all things yearn for tranquility, yet Your Majesty applies last-resort measures to scrutinize ordinary people—your servant believes this fails the principle of adapting to the times. In recent years I have observed secret denunciations arising everywhere. Prisoners have accumulated by the hundreds. For the most part the accused were charged with ties to Yangzhou, yet when cases were fully investigated, scarcely one in a hundred proved true. Your Majesty, being benevolent and forgiving, would bend the law to spare them, yet side denunciations of other matters were still pursued and prosecuted. Thus factions of treacherous ministers gratified themselves in mutual vengeance; a trifling grudge was instantly reported as a secret accusation. When one person was accused, a hundred filled the prisons. Pursuing envoys swarmed the roads, officials' caps and carriage covers thick as a marketplace. Some said Your Majesty would spare one man yet harm a hundred; the realm murmured in fear, uncertain where safety lay.

臣聞自非聖人，不有外患，必有內憂，物理自然也。臣不敢以古遠言之，請指隋而說。臣聞長老云：隋之末世，天下猶平。煬帝不恭，窮毒威武，厭居皇極，自總元戎，以百萬之師，觀兵遼海，天下始騷然矣。遂使楊玄感挾不臣之勢，有大盜之心，欲因人謀，以竊皇業。及稱兵中夏，將據洛陽，哮寔之勢傾宇宙矣。然亂未逾月，而頭足異處。何者？天下之弊，未有土崩，蒸人之心，猶望樂業。煬帝不悟，暗忽人機。自以為元惡既誅，天下無巨猾也，皇極之任，可以刑罰理之。遂使兵部尚書樊子蓋專行屠戮，大窮黨與，海內豪士，無不罹殃。遂至殺人如麻，流血成澤，天下靡然思為亂矣。於是蕭銑、硃粲起于荊南，李密、竇建德亂于河北。四海雲搖，遂並起而亡隋族矣。豈不哀哉！長老至今談之，委曲如是。

I have heard that short of being a sage, if there is no external threat there will be internal troubles—such is the way of things. I dare not speak from remotest antiquity; permit me to take the Sui as my example. I have heard elders say that in the Sui dynasty's final years the realm was still at peace. Emperor Yang was irreverent, exhausting all severity and martial force, weary of dwelling at the imperial summit; he personally assumed command of the main army and paraded a million troops on the Liao coast—and the realm at last grew restive. This enabled Yang Xuangan to wield disloyal power, harbor the heart of a great rebel, and seek through conspiracy to seize the throne. When he raised arms in the central plains and was about to seize Luoyang, his roaring momentum seemed ready to overturn heaven and earth. Yet within a month of the rebellion his head and body lay in different places. Why? The realm's sickness had not yet reached total collapse; the common people still hoped to live and work in peace. Emperor Yang failed to understand, blindly ignoring the mood of the people. He believed that once the chief villain was dead no great scoundrels remained, and that imperial rule could be maintained through punishment alone. Thereupon he had Fan Zigai, Minister of War, carry out wholesale slaughter and exhaustively pursue associates; eminent men throughout the realm none escaped ruin. It reached the point where men were killed like hemp stalks and blood formed marshes; the whole realm turned to thoughts of rebellion. Then Xiao Xian and Zhu Can rose in southern Jing, and Li Mi and Dou Jiande stirred rebellion in Hebei. Turmoil swept the four seas; they rose together and destroyed the house of Sui. Is it not lamentable! Elders speak of it to this day in just these terms.

觀三代夏、殷興亡，已下至秦、漢、魏、晉理亂，莫不皆以毒刑而致敗壞也。夫大獄一起，不能無濫。何者？刀筆之吏，寡識大方，斷獄能者，名在急刻。文深網密，則共稱至公，爰及人主，亦謂其奉法。於是利在殺人，害在平恕，故獄吏相誡，以殺為詞。非憎於人也，而利在己。故上以希人主之旨，以圖榮身之利。徇利既多，則不能無濫，濫及良善，則淫刑逞矣。夫人情莫不自愛其身，陛下以此察之，豈非無濫矣！冤人籲嗟，感傷和氣；和氣悖亂，群生癘疫；水旱隨之，則有凶年。人既失業，則禍亂之心怵然而生矣。頃來亢陽愆候，雲而不雨，農夫釋耒，瞻望嗷嗷，豈不由陛下之有聖德而不降澤於人也？儻旱遂過春，廢于時種，今年稼穡，必有損矣。陛下可不敬承天意，以澤恤人？臣聞古者明王重慎刑罰，蓋懼此也。《書》不雲乎，「與其殺不辜，寧失不經。」陛下奈何以堂堂之聖，猶務強國之威。愚臣竊為陛下不取。

From the rise and fall of the Three Dynasties through Xia and Yin down to Qin, Han, Wei, and Jin, none failed to bring ruin through cruel punishment. When great trials are launched, abuse cannot be avoided. Why? Petty clerk-officials know little of broader principle; those skilled at deciding cases win renown for harsh urgency. When legal language grows dense and snares tighten, all praise it as supreme fairness; even the sovereign deems it faithful to law. Thus profit lay in condemning men to death and harm in leniency; prison officers warned one another to speak always of execution. It was not hatred of people, but profit for themselves. Above they sought to match the sovereign's intent; below they pursued personal advancement. Once the pursuit of profit spread, abuse became inevitable; when the innocent were swept up, cruel punishment ran rampant. No one fails to cherish his own life; if Your Majesty governs through such scrutiny, can abuse be avoided? The wronged cry out in lament, damaging harmonious qi; when harmonious qi turns perverse, pestilence afflicts all living things; floods and drought follow, bringing famine years. When people lose their livelihoods, the heart of calamity and disorder stirs awake. Recently drought brought clouds without rain; farmers laid down their plows and looked up in hunger—is this not because Heaven withholds its blessing despite Your Majesty's sage virtue? If drought persists past spring and planting is missed, this year's harvest will surely suffer. Should Your Majesty not reverently heed Heaven's intent and show compassion to the people? I have heard that enlightened kings of old weighed punishment carefully—surely they feared this. Does not the Book of Documents say: "Better to err through irregular leniency than to execute the innocent"?" How can Your Majesty, in such majestic sagehood, still pursue the awe of a strong state? Your humble servant privately believes Your Majesty should not choose this path.

且愚人安則樂生，危則思變。故事有招禍，法有起奸。倘大獄未休，支黨日廣，天下疑惑，相恐無辜，人情之變，不可不察。昔漢武帝時巫蠱獄起，江充行詐，作亂京師，至使太子奔走，兵交宮闕，無辜被害者以萬千數。當時劉宗幾覆滅矣，賴武帝得壺關三老上書，幡然感悟，夷江充三族，餘獄不論，天下少以安耳。臣讀書至此，未嘗不為戾太子流涕也。古人云：「前事不忘，後事之師。」伏願陛下念之。今臣不避湯鑊之罪，以螻蟻之命，輕觸宸嚴。臣非不惡死而貪生也，誠以負陛下恩遇，以微命蔽塞聰明，亦非敢欲陛下頓息嚴刑，望在恤刑耳。乞與三事大夫，圖其可否。夫往者不可諫，來者猶可追，無以臣微而忽其奏，天下幸甚。

Moreover, when ordinary people feel secure they delight in life; when endangered they think of rebellion. Thus policy can summon calamity, and law can breed treachery. If great trials do not cease and their branches spread daily, the realm grows doubtful, innocents fear one another, and shifts in popular sentiment cannot go unobserved. In the time of Emperor Wu of Han the witchcraft trials arose; Jiang Chong practiced fraud and stirred rebellion in the capital, driving the crown prince to flight and bringing arms to the palace gates—the innocent harmed numbered in the tens of thousands. The house of Liu was nearly destroyed; only when Emperor Wu received the memorial of the Elder of Huguan Pass, turned abruptly in realization, exterminated Jiang Chong's clan to three degrees, and ceased the remaining trials did the realm briefly find peace. Whenever I read to this point, I cannot help weeping for Crown Prince Li. The ancients said: "Do not forget past affairs; they are teachers for what follows." I humbly pray Your Majesty will bear this in mind. Now I do not shrink from the boiling cauldron, risking my insignificant life to touch Your Majesty's august presence. It is not that I cling to life and fear death; truly I am bound by Your Majesty's gracious favor and would block your clear judgment with my humble life—I do not ask you to halt stern punishment at once; I ask only for mercy in punishment. I beg leave to consult the Three Chief Ministers on whether this may be done. What is past cannot be changed; what is coming may still be set right—do not disregard this memorial because your servant is insignificant; the realm would be greatly fortunate.

疏奏不省。

The memorial was submitted but ignored.

時司刑少卿徐有功常駁酷吏所奏，每日與之廷爭得失，以雪冤濫，因此全濟者亦不可勝數，語在《有功傳》。及俊臣、弘義等伏誅，刑獄稍息。前後宰相王及善、姚元崇、硃敬則等，皆言垂拱已來身死破家者，皆是枉濫，則天頗亦覺悟。於是監察御史魏靖上言曰：

At that time Xu Yougong, Vice Minister of Justice, often rebutted reports from harsh officials, disputing daily with them in court to clear wrongful abuse; those thereby saved were beyond counting—see the Biography of Xu Yougong. After Lai Junchen, Wang Hongyi, and others were executed, penal trials gradually subsided. Chief ministers including Wang Jishan, Yao Yuanchong, and Zhu Jingze said in succession that since the Chuigong era those who died or lost their families had all been wrongfully punished; Empress Wu herself came partly to realize it. Thereupon Investigating Censor Wei Jing submitted a memorial saying:

臣聞國之綱紀，在乎生殺。其周興、來俊臣、丘神勣、萬國俊、王弘義、侯思止、郭弘霸、李敬仁、彭先覺、王德壽、張知默者，即堯年四凶矣。恣騁愚暴，縱虐含毒，讎嫉在位，安忍朝臣，罪逐情加，刑隨意改。當其時也，囚囹如市，朝廷以目。既而素虛不昧，冤魂有托，行惡其報，禍淫可懲，具嚴天刑，以懲亂首。竊見來俊臣身處極法者，以其羅織良善，屠陷忠賢，籍沒以勸將來，顯戮以謝天下。臣又聞之道路，上至聖主，傍洎貴臣，明明知有羅織之事矣，俊臣既死，推者獲功，胡元禮超遷，裴談顯授，中外稱慶，朝廷載安。破其黨者，即能賞不逾時；被其陷者，豈可淹之累歲。且稱反徒，須得反狀。惟據片辭，即請行刑，拷楚妄加，款答何限。故徐有功以寬平而見忌，斛瑟羅以妓女而受拘，中外具知，枉直斯在，藉以為喻，其餘可詳。臣又聞之，郭弘霸自刺而唱快，萬國俊被遮而遽亡。霍獻可臨終，膝拳于項；李敬仁將死，舌至於臍。皆眾鬼滿庭，群妖橫道，惟徵集應，若響隨聲。備在人謠，不為虛說，伯有晝見，殆無以過。此亦羅織之一據也。臣以至愚，不識大體，儻使平反者數人，眾共詳覆來俊臣等所推大獄，庶鄧艾獲申於今日，孝婦不濫于昔時，恩渙一流，天下幸甚。

I have heard that the bonds of the state lie in the power of life and death. Zhou Xing, Lai Junchen, Qiu Shenji, Wan Guojun, Wang Hongyi, Hou Sizhi, Guo Hongba, Li Jingren, Peng Xianjue, Wang Deshou, and Zhang Zhimò—these were the Four Evils of Yao's age. They indulged brutal folly, unleashed cruelty and poison, envied those in power, and callously abused court ministers; guilt was inflated by whim and punishments altered at will. In their time prisons teemed like marketplaces, and the court communicated only by glances. Then truth could not be obscured; wronged souls found justice; evil met retribution and excess wickedness was punished; Heaven's stern sentence fell upon the leaders of disorder. I observe that Lai Junchen suffered the utmost penalty for framing the innocent, destroying the loyal and worthy, confiscating property to warn the future, and displaying his execution to appease the realm. I have also heard along the roads that from the sage sovereign down to noble ministers all clearly knew cases were fabricated; once Junchen was dead those who pursued the cases were rewarded—Hu Yuanli was rapidly promoted and Pei Tan conspicuously appointed—and court and country rejoiced. Those who broke up their faction were rewarded without delay; yet those they had entrapped—how could they be detained for years? Moreover, when men are called rebels, proof of rebellion must be obtained. On a fragment of testimony alone execution was sought; torture was wantonly applied, and confessions poured forth without limit. Thus Xu Yougong was envied for leniency, and Husheluo was detained over a prostitute—all knew where wrong and right lay; these examples suffice, and the rest need no elaboration. I have also heard that Guo Hongba stabbed himself while shouting in triumph, and Wan Guojun was intercepted and died suddenly. Huo Xianke at his death had his knees drawn up to his neck; Li Jingren near death had his tongue extended to his navel. All were omens of ghosts filling the courtyard and demons warring in the streets, signs gathering in response like echo following sound. They are fully recorded in popular rumor—no idle tale; Bo You's daytime apparition scarcely surpasses them. This too is evidence of fabricated prosecutions. I, in my utmost foolishness, do not grasp the larger pattern; if several reviewers were appointed to reinvestigate the great trials pursued by Lai Junchen and others, perhaps Deng Ai would be vindicated today and the filial widow would not suffer as in former times—grace would flow uniformly, and the realm would be greatly fortunate.

疏奏，制令錄來俊臣、丘神勣等所推鞫人身死籍沒者，令三司重推勘，有冤濫者，並皆雪免。

When the memorial was submitted, an edict ordered a record of those whom Lai Junchen, Qiu Shenji, and others had prosecuted to death with confiscated property, and commanded the Three Offices to reinvestigate; all who had been wrongfully punished were cleared and pardoned.

中宗神龍元年，制以故司僕少卿徐有功，執法平恕，追贈越州都督，特授一子官。又以丘神勣、來子珣、萬國俊、周興、來俊臣、魚承曄、王景昭、索元禮、傅遊藝、王弘義、張知默、裴籍、焦仁亶、侯思止、郭霸、李敬仁、皇甫文備、陳嘉言、劉光業、王德壽、王處貞、屈貞筠、鮑思恭二十三人，自垂拱已來並枉濫殺人，所有官爵，並令追奪。天下稱慶。時既改易，制盡依貞觀、永徽故事。敕中書令韋安石、禮部侍郎祝欽明、尚書右丞蘇瑰、兵部郎中狄光嗣等，刪定《垂拱格》後至神龍元年已來制敕，為《散頒格》七卷。又刪補舊式，為二十卷，頒於天下。景雲初，睿宗又敕戶部尚書岑羲、中書侍郎陸象先、右散騎常侍徐堅、右司郎中唐紹、刑部員外郎邵知與、刪定官大理寺丞陳義海、右衛長史張處斌、大理評事張名播、左衛率府倉曹參軍羅思貞、刑部主事閻義顓凡十人，刪定格、式、律、令。太極元年二月奏上，名為《太極格》。

In the first year of Shenlong under Emperor Zhongzong, an edict posthumously ennobled the late Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Stud Xu Yougong as Regional Inspector of Yuezhou and specially granted one son an office, in recognition of his fair and lenient enforcement of the law. An edict also stripped titles and ranks from twenty-three men—from Qiu Shenji and Laizi Xun through Bao Sigong—who since the Chuigong era had wrongfully executed people. The realm rejoiced. As the dynasty changed hands, edicts entirely followed Zhenguan and Yonghui precedents. An edict charged Chief Minister Wei Anshi, Vice Minister of Rites Zhu Qinming, Vice Director of the Secretariat Su Gui, Bureau Director Di Guangsi, and others to compile edicts issued since the Chuigong Code through the first year of Shenlong into the Dispersed Promulgation Code in seven scrolls. They also revised and supplemented the old administrative formulary into twenty scrolls and promulgated it throughout the realm. At the beginning of Jingyun, Emperor Ruizong again charged ten officials—including Household Minister Cen Xi, Vice Director of the Secretariat Lu Xiangxian, Palace Officer Xu Jian, Bureau Director Tang Shao, Vice Bureau Director Shao Zhiyu, and revision officials Chen Yihai, Zhang Chubin, Zhang Mingbo, Luo Sizhen, and Yan Yizhuan—to revise the codes, formulary, statutes, and ordinances. In the second month of the first year of Taiji it was submitted under the title Taiji Code.

開元初，玄宗敕黃門監盧懷慎、紫微侍郎兼刑部尚書李乂、紫微侍郎蘇頲、紫微舍人呂延祚、給事中魏奉古、大理評事高智靜、同州韓城縣丞侯郢璡、瀛州司法參軍閻義顓等，刪定格、式、令，至三年三月奏上，名為《開元格》。六年，玄宗又敕吏部侍郎兼侍中宋璟、中書侍郎蘇頲、尚書左丞盧從願、吏部侍郎裴漼慕容珣、戶部侍郎楊滔、中書舍人劉令植、大理司直高智靜、幽州司功參軍侯郢璡等九人，刪定律、令、格、式，至七年三月奏上。律、令、式仍舊名，格曰《開元後格》。十九年，侍中裴光庭、中書令蕭嵩，又以格後制敕行用之後，頗與格文相違，於事非便，奏令所司刪撰《格後長行敕》六卷，頒於天下。二十二年，戶部尚書李林甫又受詔改修格令。林甫遷中書令，乃與侍中牛仙客、御史中丞王敬從，與明法之官前左武衛胄曹參軍崔見、衛州司戶參軍直中書陳承信、酸棗尉直刑部俞元杞等，共加刪緝舊格、式、律、令及敕，總七千二十六條。其一千三百二十四條於事非要，並刪之。二千一百八十條隨文損益，三千五百九十四條仍舊不改。總成律十二卷，《律疏》三十卷，《令》三十卷，《式》二十卷，《開元新格》十卷。又撰《格式律令事類》四十卷，以類相從，便於省覽。二十五年九月奏上，敕于尚書都省寫五十本，發使散於天下。其年刑部斷獄，天下死罪惟有五十八人。大理少卿徐嶠上言：大理獄院，由來相傳殺氣太盛，鳥雀不棲，至是有鵲巢其樹。於是百僚以幾至刑措，上表陳賀。玄宗以宰相變理、法官平允之功，封仙客為邠國公，林甫為晉國公，刑部大理官共賜帛二千匹。

At the beginning of Kaiyuan, Emperor Xuanzong charged officials including Lu Huaihan, Li Yi, Su Ting, Lü Yanzuo, Wei Fenggu, Gao Zhijing, Hou Yingjin, and Yan Yizhuan to revise the codes, formulary, and ordinances; in the third month of the third year it was submitted as the Kaiyuan Code. In the sixth year Emperor Xuanzong again charged nine officials including Song Jing, Su Ting, Lu Congyuan, Pei Cui, Murong Xun, Yang Tao, Liu Lingzhi, Gao Zhijing, and Hou Yingjin to revise statutes, ordinances, codes, and formulary; in the third month of the seventh year it was submitted. The statutes, ordinances, and formulary kept their former names; the code was titled Post-Kaiyuan Code. In the nineteenth year, Palace Attendant Pei Guangting and Chief Minister Xiao Song, noting that edicts issued after the code often conflicted with its text and proved impractical, memorialized that the relevant offices compile the Post-Code Long-Applicable Edicts in six scrolls and promulgate them throughout the realm. In the twenty-second year, Minister of Revenue Li Linpu received another imperial order to revise the codes and ordinances. After Li Linpu was appointed Chief Minister, he worked with Palace Attendant Niu Xianke, Censor-in-Chief Wang Jingcong, and legal specialists including former Left Brave Guard armory clerk Cui Jian, Weizhou registrar Chen Chengxin on detail assignment to the Central Secretariat, Suanzao district captain Yu Yuanqi on detail assignment to the Ministry of Justice, and others to revise, prune, and collate the existing codes, formulary, statutes, ordinances, and edicts — 7,026 articles in all. Of these, 1,324 articles deemed nonessential were struck entirely. 2,180 were amended as the text required; 3,594 were left unchanged. The compilation totaled twelve scrolls of statutes, thirty scrolls of statute commentaries, thirty scrolls of ordinances, twenty scrolls of formulary, and ten scrolls of the New Kaiyuan Code. They also compiled Categories of Codes, Formulary, Statutes, and Ordinances in forty scrolls, grouped by subject for ease of reference. In the ninth month of the twenty-fifth year it was submitted to the throne; the emperor ordered fifty copies made at the Directorate-General of the Imperial Secretariat and dispatched throughout the realm. That year the Ministry of Justice handed down verdicts nationwide — only fifty-eight capital sentences in all. Vice Minister of Review Xu Qiao memorialized the throne: The Court of Review's prison yard had long been said to carry such a heavy air of death that birds would not settle there — yet now magpies had built nests in its trees. The officials took this as a sign that capital punishment had nearly been abolished altogether, and submitted congratulatory memorials. Emperor Xuanzong, crediting his chancellors with reforming governance and his judges with delivering equitable verdicts, enfeoffed Niu Xianke as Duke of Bin and Li Linpu as Duke of Jin, and granted officials of the Ministry of Justice and Court of Review two thousand bolts of silk between them.

自明慶至先天六十年間，高宗寬仁，政歸宮閫。則天女主猜忌，果于殺戮，宗枝大臣，鍛于酷吏，至於移易宗社，幾亡李氏。神龍之後，後族幹政，景雲繼立，歸妹怙權。開元之際，刑政賞罰，斷於宸極，四十餘年，可謂太平矣。及塚臣懷邪，邊將內侮，乘輿幸于巴、蜀，儲副立于朔方，曾未逾年，載收京邑，書契以來，未有克復宗社若斯之速也。而兩京衣冠，多被脅從，至是相率待罪闕下。而執事者務欲峻刑以取威，盡誅其族，以令天下。議久不定，竟置三司使，以御史大夫兼京兆尹李峴、兵部侍郎呂諲、戶部侍郎兼御史中丞崔器、刑部侍郎兼御史中丞韓擇木、大理卿嚴向等五人為之。初，西京文武官陸大鈞等陷賊來歸，崔器草儀，盡令免冠徒跣，撫膺號泣，以金吾府縣人吏圍之，於朝謝罪，收付大理京兆府獄系之。及陳希烈等大臣至者數百人，又令朝堂徒跣如初，令宰相苗晉卿、崔圓、李麟等百僚同視，以為棄辱，宣詔以責之。朝廷又以負罪者眾，獄中不容，乃賜楊國忠宅鞫之。器、諲多希旨深刻，而擇木無所是非，獨李峴力爭之，乃定所推之罪為六等，集百僚尚書省議之。肅宗方用刑名，公卿但唯唯署名而已。於是河南尹達奚珣等三十九人，以為罪重，與從共棄。珣等十一人，於子城西伏誅。陳希烈、張垍、郭納、獨孤朗等七人，於大理寺獄賜自盡。達奚摯、張岯、李有孚、劉子英、冉大華二十一人，於京兆府門決重杖死。大理卿張均引至獨柳樹下刑人處，免死配流合浦郡，而達奚珣、韋恆乃至腰斬。先是，慶緒至相州，史思明、高秀岩等皆送款請命，肅宗各令復位，便領所管，至是懼不自安，各率其黨叛。其後三司用刑，連年不定，流貶相繼。及王璵為相，素聞物議，請下詔自今已後，三司推勘未畢者，一切放免，大收人望。後蕭華拔魏州歸國，嘗話於朝云：「初河北官聞國家宣詔放陳希列等脅從官一切不問，各令復位，聞者悔歸國之晚，舉措自失。及後聞希烈等死，皆相賀得計，無敢歸者。於是河北將吏，人人益堅，大兵不解。」

From the Mingqing era through the sixty years leading to Xiantian, Emperor Gaozong ruled with generosity and forbearance while power slipped to the inner court. Empress Wu, once enthroned, ruled with suspicion and ruthless bloodshed. Princes and ministers were broken on the rack of her cruel henchmen, until the dynastic succession itself was nearly wrenched from the House of Li. After the Shenlong restoration, the empress's kin again grasped at power; when Emperor Ruizong took the throne in the Jingyun era, Princess Taiping clung to authority at his side. During the Kaiyuan reign, criminal law and the dispensation of reward and punishment rested solely with the emperor — forty years that could truly be called an age of peace. When treacherous ministers and mutinous frontier generals drove the emperor into exile in Ba-Shu and installed the crown prince at Shuofang, the capital was retaken within a single year — a recovery of the dynasty swifter than any recorded since writing began. Yet many officials of both capitals, having been forced to submit to the rebels, now came in droves to the palace to await judgment. The men in charge, however, were bent on imposing harsh sentences to intimidate — they would wipe out entire families to make an example of the realm. Debate dragged on unresolved until the court appointed five commissioners — Chief Censor and Jingzhao Intendant Li Xian, Vice Minister of War Lu Shen, Vice Minister of Revenue and Censor-in-Chief Cui Qi, Vice Minister of Justice and Censor-in-Chief Han Zemu, and Chief Minister of Review Yan Xiang — to serve as the Three Commissions. At first, when Western Capital officials such as Lu Dajun who had fallen into rebel hands returned to the loyal side, Cui Qi drew up a ritual requiring them to remove their caps, go barefoot, beat their breasts, and wail. Gold Guard and prefectural officers surrounded them as they confessed their crimes at court, then they were handed over to the prisons of the Court of Review and the Jingzhao prefecture. When several hundred senior officials including Chen Xilie arrived, they were subjected to the same barefoot humiliation in the hall of audience while Chancellor Miao Jinqing, Cui Yuan, Li Lin, and the rest of the bureaucracy looked on. The court, regarding this as a disgraceful spectacle, issued an edict rebuking the commissioners. Because so many stood accused and the prisons could not hold them all, the court assigned Yang Guozhong's former residence as the venue for interrogations. Cui Qi and Lu Shen largely shaped their judgments to please the throne and pressed for harsh penalties; Han Zemu neither affirmed nor challenged their findings; only Li Xian fought back vigorously. They eventually ranked the proposed offenses in six grades and summoned the bureaucracy to the Ministry of Personnel for deliberation. Emperor Suzong was then governing through harsh penal law, and the senior officials merely murmured assent and affixed their signatures. Thirty-nine officials including Henan Intendant Daxi Xun were deemed to have committed grave offenses and were condemned along with their accomplices. Eleven, including Xun, were executed west of Zi Gate. Seven — Chen Xilie, Zhang Ya, Guo Na, Dugu Lang, and others — were permitted to take their own lives in the Court of Review prison. Twenty-one — Daxi Zhi, Zhang Pi, Li Youfu, Liu Ziying, Ran Dahua, and others — were beaten to death with heavy cudgels at the gate of the Jingzhao prefecture. Chief Minister of Review Zhang Jun was taken to the execution ground beneath the Lone Willow Tree, spared death, and banished to Hepu Commandery — but Daxi Xun and Wei Heng were cut in two at the waist. Earlier, when An Qingxu had reached Xiangzhou, Shi Siming, Gao Xiuyan, and others had all submitted pledges of loyalty and begged for pardon; Emperor Suzong had restored each to office and left them in command of their troops. Now, fearing for their lives, they each led their followers in revolt. Thereafter the Three Commissions continued their prosecutions year after year without resolution, and a stream of exiles and demotions followed. When Wang Yu became chancellor, responding to widespread public outrage, he persuaded the throne to decree that all pending Three Commissions cases be dismissed — a move that won him tremendous goodwill. Later, after Xiao Hua recaptured Weizhou and rejoined the loyal cause, he told the court: "When officials in Hebei first heard the decree pardoning coerced followers such as Chen Xilie and restoring them to office, many regretted having delayed their return and grew uncertain in their conduct. But when word came that Chen Xilie and the others had been executed, they congratulated one another on their shrewd hesitation — and none dared defect back. The Hebei commanders and officials grew only more resolute, and the rebellion dragged on without end."

後有毛若虛、敬羽之流，皆深酷割剝，驟求權柄，殺人以逞刑，厚斂以資國。六七年間，大獄相繼，州縣之內，多是貶降人。肅宗復聞三司多濫，嘗悔云：「朕為三司所誤，深恨之。」及彌留之際，以元載為相，乃詔天下流降人等一切放歸。

Later came men such as Mao Ruoxu and Jing Yu — cruel extortionists who seized power overnight, killing to satisfy their appetite for punishment and squeezing the people to fill the treasury. Over the next six or seven years great trials followed one after another, and the prefectures and districts swarmed with the exiled and demoted. Emperor Suzong, learning how reckless the Three Commissions had become, once lamented: "I was deceived by the Three Commissions — the resentment runs deep." On his deathbed, with Yuan Zai as chancellor, he issued an edict ordering all exiles and demoted officials throughout the realm to be released and sent home.

代宗寶應元年，回紇與史朝義戰，勝，擒其將士妻子老幼四百八十人。上以婦人雖為賊家口，皆是良家子女，被賊逼略，惻然湣之，令萬年縣於勝業佛寺安置，給糧料。若有親屬認者，任還之；如無親族者，任其所適，仍給糧遞過。於是人情莫不感戴忻悅。大曆十四年六月一日，德宗禦丹鳳樓大赦。赦書節文：「律、令、格、式條目有未折衷者，委中書門下簡擇理識通明官共刪定。自至德已來制敕，或因人奏請，或臨事頒行，差互不同，使人疑惑，中書門下與刪定官詳決，取堪久長行用者，編入格條。」三司使，准式以御史中丞、中書舍人、給事中各一人為之，每日於朝堂受詞，推勘處分。建中二年，罷刪定格令使並三司使。先是，以中書門下充刪定格令使，又以給事中、中書舍人、御史中丞為三司使。至是中書門下奏請復舊，以刑部、御史臺、大理寺為之。其格令委刑部刪定。元和四年九月敕：「刑部大理決斷系囚，過為淹遲，是長奸幸。自今已後，大理寺檢斷，不得過二十日，刑部覆下，不得過十日。如刑部覆有異同，寺司重加不得過十五日，省司量覆不得過本日。如有牒外州府節目及於京城內勘，本推即日以報。牒到後計日數，被勘司卻報不得過五日。仍令刑部具遣牒及報牒月日，牒報都省及分察使，各准敕文勾舉糾訪。」

In the first year of the Baoying era under Emperor Daizong, the Uyghurs defeated Shi Chaoyi in battle and captured four hundred eighty of his soldiers together with their wives, children, and elderly dependents. Though these women were counted among the rebel camp, the emperor recognized them as daughters of respectable families who had been seized by force. Moved to pity, he ordered Wanian County to shelter them at Shengye Temple and provide rations. If relatives came forward to claim them, they were free to take them home; Those without kin were free to go wherever they chose, with travel rations provided for the journey. The populace responded with universal gratitude and joy. On the first day of the sixth month in the fourteenth year of the Dali era, Emperor Dezong proclaimed a general amnesty from Danfeng Tower. The amnesty proclamation read: "Where provisions of the statutes, ordinances, codes, and formulary remain unresolved, the Secretariat and Chancellery shall select learned and clear-sighted officials to revise them jointly. Edicts issued since the Zhide era — whether in response to petitions or promulgated ad hoc — conflict with one another and sow confusion. The Secretariat, Chancellery, and revising officials shall adjudicate them carefully and incorporate those suitable for permanent use into the code. The Three Commissions shall comprise one censor-in-chief, one secretariat drafter, and one director of scrutiny, as the formulary prescribes. Each day they shall receive petitions in the hall of audience and conduct investigations and dispositions." In the second year of the Jianzhong era, the commissioners for revising codes and ordinances and the Three Commissions were abolished. Previously the Secretariat and Chancellery had served as the commissioners for revising codes and ordinances, while directors of scrutiny, secretariat drafters, and the censor-in-chief had staffed the Three Commissions. At this point the Secretariat and Chancellery petitioned to restore the former arrangement, with the Ministry of Justice, Censorate, and Court of Review resuming responsibility. Revision of the codes and ordinances was assigned to the Ministry of Justice. An edict of the ninth month of the fourth year of the Yuanhe era: "The Ministry of Justice and Court of Review take far too long to resolve cases involving prisoners — a delay that only encourages criminal impunity. Henceforth the Court of Review's review and adjudication shall not exceed twenty days, and the Ministry of Justice's confirmation shall not exceed ten days. If the Ministry of Justice's review yields a discrepancy, the Court's re-examination shall not exceed fifteen days, and the Ministry's follow-up review shall observe the same deadline. When a case requires dispatch to an outer prefecture or investigation within the capital, the investigating office shall report its findings the same day. Once a dispatch arrives, the office under investigation shall reply within five days. The Ministry of Justice shall record the dates of all outgoing and returning dispatches and report them to the Directorate-General and the separate investigating commissioners, who shall monitor compliance and report any violations."

六年九月，富平縣人梁悅，為父殺仇人秦果，投縣請罪。敕：「復仇殺人，固有彝典。以其申冤請罪，視死如歸，自詣公門，發於天性。志在徇節，本無求生之心，寧失不經，特從減死之法。宜決一百，配流循州。」職方員外郎韓愈獻議曰：

In the ninth month of the sixth year, Liang Yue of Fuping County killed Qin Guo, his father's murderer, and turned himself in at the county magistrate's office to accept punishment. An edict declared: "Vengeance killing is subject to the eternal law. Yet this man came forward of his own accord to declare his grievance and accept judgment, facing death as one might a homecoming — an act born of primal filial instinct. He sought only to fulfill his duty, with no thought of escape; rather than punish too lightly, We choose leniency — commuted from death under special grounds. He shall receive one hundred strokes of the cudgel and be banished to Xun Prefecture." Vice Director of the Office of Army Appointments Han Yu submitted a memorial:

伏奉今月五日敕：復仇，據禮經則義不同天，征法令則殺人者死。禮法二事，皆王教之端，有此異同，必資論辯，宜令都省集議聞奏者。伏以子復父仇，見於《春秋》，見於《禮記》，又見於《周官》，又見於諸子史，不可勝數，未有非而罪之者也。最宜詳於律，而律無其條，非闕文也。蓋以為不許復仇，則傷孝子之心，而乖先王之訓；許復仇，則人將倚法專殺，無以禁止其端矣。夫律雖本于聖人，然執而行之者，有司也。經之所明者，制有司也。丁甯其義於經，而深沒其文於律者，其意將使法吏一斷於法，而經術之士，得引經而議也。《周官》曰：「凡殺人而義者，令勿仇，仇之則死。」義，宜也，明殺人而不得其宜者，子得復仇也。此百姓之相仇者也。《公羊傳》曰：「父不受誅，子復仇可也。」不受誅者，罪不當誅也。又《周官》曰：「凡報仇讎者，書於士，殺之無罪。」言將復仇，必先言於官，則無罪也。今陛下垂意典章，思立定制。惜有司之守，憐孝子之心，示不自專，訪議群下。臣愚以為復仇之名雖同，而其事各異。或百姓相仇，如《周官》所稱，可議於今者；或為官吏所誅，如《公羊》所稱，不可行於今者。又《周官》所稱，將復仇，先告於士則無罪者。若孤稚羸弱，抱微志而伺敵人之便，恐不能自言於官，未可以為斷於今也。然則殺之與赦，不可一例。宜定其制曰：凡有復父仇者，事發，具其事由，下尚書省集議奏聞。酌其宜而處之，則經律無失其指矣。

I respectfully received the edict of the fifth of this month: on the question of revenge, the ritual classics hold that filial obligation is as weighty as Heaven itself, while the legal code declares that one who kills shall die. Ritual and law alike are the twin foundations of royal governance. Where they diverge, reasoned debate is essential — hence the order that the Directorate-General convene for deliberation and report to the throne. I submit that a son avenging his father's murder appears in the Spring and Autumn Annals, the Book of Rites, the Rites of Zhou, and countless other canonical and historical texts — and never once has such an act been condemned and punished. This matter ought to be addressed in the statutes, yet no such provision exists — and this is no accidental omission. The reason, I believe, is that forbidding revenge would wound the filial heart and betray the teaching of the ancient kings; yet permitting it would invite people to take the law into their own hands, with no means to check the violence at its source. Though the statutes derive from the sages, it is the officials who enforce them. What the classics illuminate is meant to guide those same officials. By anchoring the principle in the classics while burying the matter deep in the statutes, the intent is to bind the legal clerks to the letter of the law while allowing scholars of the classics to invoke canonical authority in deliberation. The Rites of Zhou states: "When one kills another justly, forbid revenge upon him; whoever takes revenge shall die." 'Righteous' means 'fitting.' This makes clear that when a man is killed without just cause, his son may take revenge. This concerns private blood feuds among common people. The Gongyang Commentary says: "If the father did not deserve execution, the son may take revenge." 'Did not deserve execution' means the crime did not warrant capital punishment. The Rites of Zhou also states: "Whoever seeks to take revenge must first register his intent with the magistrate; if he then kills his enemy, he is without guilt." This means that one who intends revenge must first declare it to the authorities — only then is he without guilt. Your Majesty now attends to the canon of law, seeking to establish fixed regulations. Out of regard for the strict adherence of officials to the letter of the law, and sympathy for the filial heart, you decline to decide alone and seek counsel from the assembled officials. I am convinced that though all such acts bear the name of revenge, the circumstances differ in each case. Some cases involve private blood feuds among common people, as described in the Rites of Zhou — these may be adjudicated under present law; others involve fathers executed by officials, as the Gongyang Commentary describes — a principle that cannot be applied today. The Rites of Zhou also stipulates that one who registers his intent to take revenge with the magistrate before acting is without guilt. But an orphaned youth, frail and alone, nursing a private vow while waiting for his enemy's moment of vulnerability, may well be unable to declare himself to the authorities — and this cannot serve as a precedent for judgment today. Execution and pardon, then, cannot be governed by a single rule. I propose a regulation: whenever a man avenges his father's murder, the full circumstances shall be submitted to the Ministry of Personnel for collective deliberation and report to the throne. Let each case be weighed on its merits — and neither the classics nor the statutes will lose their proper meaning.

元和十三年八月，鳳翔節度使鄭余慶等詳定《格後敕》三十卷，右司郎中崔郾等六人修上。其年，刑部侍郎許孟容、蔣乂等奉詔刪定，復勒成三十卷。刑部侍郎劉伯芻等考定，如其舊卷。

In the eighth month of the thirteenth year of the Yuanhe era, Military Commissioner of Fengxiang Zheng Yuqing and others completed a thorough revision of the Post-Code Edicts in thirty scrolls, submitted by six revisers including Right Department Director Cui Yan. That same year, Vice Ministers of Justice Xu Mengrong, Jiang Yi, and others were ordered to revise the compilation, producing a new edition of thirty scrolls. Vice Minister of Justice Liu Bochu and others reviewed and ratified the work, preserving the original thirty-scroll format.

長慶元年五月，御史中丞牛僧孺奏：「天下刑獄，苦於淹滯，請立程限。大事，大理寺限三十五日詳斷畢，申刑部，限三十日聞奏。中事，大理寺三十日，刑部二十五日。小事，大理寺二十五日，刑部二十日。一狀所犯十人以上，所斷罪二十件以上，為大。所犯六人以上，所斷罪十件以上，為中。所犯五人以下，所斷罪十件以下，為小。其或所抵罪狀並所結刑名並同者，則雖人數甚多，亦同一人之例。違者罪有差。」二年四月，刑部員外郎孫革奏：「京兆府雲陽縣人張蒞，欠羽林官騎康憲錢米。憲征之，蒞承醉拉憲，氣息將絕。憲男買得，年十四，將救其父。以蒞角牴力人，不敢捴解，遂持木鍤擊蒞之首見血，後三日致死者。准律，父為人所毆，子往救，擊其人折傷，減凡鬥三等。至死者，依常律。即買得救父難是性孝，非暴；擊張蒞是心切，非凶。以髫丱之歲，正父子之親，若非聖化所加，童子安能及此？《王制》稱五刑之理，必原父子之親以權之，慎測淺深之量以別之。《春秋》之義，原心定罪。周書所訓，諸罰有權。今買得生被皇風，幼符至孝，哀矜之宥，伏在聖慈。臣職當讞刑，合分善惡。」敕：「康買得尚在童年，能知子道，雖殺人當死，而為父可哀。若從沉命之科，恐失原情之義，宜付法司，減死罪一等。」

In the fifth month of the first year of the Changqing era, Censor-in-Chief Niu Sengru memorialized: "Criminal cases throughout the realm languish in delay. I request that time limits be established. For major cases, the Court of Review shall complete its review within thirty-five days and report to the Ministry of Justice, which shall submit its findings to the throne within thirty days. For medium cases, the Court of Review shall have thirty days and the Ministry of Justice twenty-five. For minor cases, the Court of Review shall have twenty-five days and the Ministry of Justice twenty. A case involving ten or more offenders and twenty or more adjudicated offenses shall be classified as major. Six or more offenders and ten or more adjudicated offenses shall be classified as medium. Five or fewer offenders and ten or fewer adjudicated offenses shall be classified as minor. When the offenses charged and the penalties imposed were identical, even a large number of offenders were counted as a single case. Violations were punished according to degree." In the fourth month of the second year, Vice Director Sun Ge of the Ministry of Justice memorialized: "Zhang Li of Yunyang County in Jingzhao owed money and grain to Kang Xian, an officer of the Palace Guards. When Xian pressed for payment, Li seized him while drunk and nearly strangled him. Xian's son Maide, aged fourteen, came to rescue his father. Li butted and struggled violently; Maide dared not grapple with him to pull him off, but struck Li on the head with a wooden spade until blood flowed. Li died three days later. By statute, when a son rescues a father under assault and injures the assailant, the penalty for ordinary assault is reduced by three grades. If death results, the ordinary statute applies. Maide's rescue of his father sprang from filial nature, not violence; his striking Zhang Li arose from urgent devotion, not ferocity. At such a tender age, in the fullness of father-son devotion—without the sage influence of your reign, how could a child achieve such a deed? The Royal Regulations state that the principle of the five punishments must weigh father-son affection and carefully measure degrees of severity. The Spring and Autumn Annals teach that guilt is determined by examining the heart. The Book of Zhou instructs that all punishments allow discretionary latitude. Maide has lived under your sage influence from birth and in youth has shown utmost filial devotion. Compassionate pardon rests in your mercy alone. It is my duty to deliberate on punishments and to distinguish right from wrong." An edict declared: "Kang Maide is still a child and understands a son's duty. Though killing a man warrants death, his act on his father's behalf is deeply pitiable. To apply the full penalty for homicide would lose the principle of weighing intent. Hand the case to the judicial offices and reduce the death penalty by one grade."

大和七年十二月，刑部奏：「先奉敕詳定前大理丞謝登《新編格後敕》六十卷者。臣等據謝登所進，詳諸理例，參以格式，或事非久要，恩出一時，或前後差殊，或書寫錯誤，並已落下及改正訖。去繁舉要，列司分門，都為五十卷。伏請宣下施行。」可之。八年四月，詔應犯輕罪人，除情狀巨蠹，法所難原者，其他過誤罪愆，及尋常公事違犯，不得鞭背。遵太宗之故事也。俄而京兆尹韋長奏：「京師浩穰，奸豪所聚。終日懲罰，抵犯猶多，小有寬容，即難禁戢。若恭守敕旨，則無以肅清；若臨事用刑，則有違詔使。伏望許依前據輕重處置。」從之。

In the twelfth month of the seventh year of Dahe the Ministry of Justice memorialized: "We were earlier ordered to review the sixty scrolls of Newly Compiled Regulations and Subsequent Edicts submitted by former Assistant Grand Judge Xie Deng. We examined Deng's submission against principles, precedents, regulations, and forms. Provisions of passing importance, temporary favors, inconsistencies, and copying errors have all been struck or corrected. Complexity was removed and essentials retained, organized by bureau and category, in fifty scrolls altogether. We humbly request that it be promulgated and put into effect." The request was approved. In the fourth month of the eighth year an edict declared that light offenders—apart from grave corruption that the law cannot pardon—were not to be flogged on the back for ordinary errors or routine violations of official duty. This followed a precedent of Taizong. Before long Jingzhao Intendant Wei Chang memorialized: "The capital is vast and crowded, a gathering place for the crafty and powerful. Despite constant punishment offenders remain numerous; the slightest leniency makes them hard to restrain. If I strictly obey the edict, I cannot maintain order; if I apply punishments as circumstances require, I violate the imperial order. I humbly request permission to dispose of cases according to severity as before." The request was granted.

開成四年，兩省詳定《刑法格》一十卷，敕令施行。

In the fourth year of Kaicheng the Secretariat and Chancellery completed the Criminal Law Regulations in ten scrolls, and an edict ordered their implementation.

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