1
刑法志 〈（案：《刑法志序》，《永樂大典》原闕。）〉
Treatise on Punishment and Law (Note: The preface to the Treatise on Punishment and Law was originally missing from the Yongle Encyclopedia.)〉
2
梁太祖開平三年十一月，詔太常卿李燕、御史蕭頃、中書舍人張兗、戶部侍郎崔沂、大理卿王鄯、刑部郎中崔誥，共刪定律令格式。 四年十二月，宰臣薛貽矩奏：「太常卿李燕等重刊定律令三十卷，式二十卷，格一十卷，並目錄一十三卷，律疏三十卷，凡五部一十帙，共一百三卷。 敕中書舍人李仁儉詣閣門奉進，伏請目為《大梁新定格式律令》，仍頒下施行。」 從之。 〈（原註：是時，大理卿李保殷進所撰《刑律總要》十二卷。）〉
In the eleventh month of the third year of Kaiping, Emperor Taizu of Liang ordered Grand Master of Splendid Happiness Li Yan, Censor Xiao Qi, Secretariat Drafter Zhang Chong, Vice Minister of Revenue Cui Yi, Minister of Justice Wang Shan, and Director of the Bureau of Punishments Cui Gao to revise the statutes, ordinances, formats, and regulations together. In the twelfth month of the fourth year, Chief Minister Xue Yiju reported: "Grand Master of Splendid Happiness Li Yan and his colleagues have newly printed and fixed the statutes in thirty scrolls, formats in twenty, regulations in ten, a table of contents in thirteen, and the statutory commentary in thirty—five parts in ten fascicles, one hundred and three scrolls in all. We ask that Secretariat Drafter Li Renjian be sent to present them at the Palace Gate, and that they be titled The Newly Fixed Statutes, Ordinances, Formats, and Regulations of Great Liang and promulgated for enforcement. The court approved. (Original note: At this time Minister of Justice Li Baoyin presented the twelve-scroll General Essentials of Penal Law that he had compiled.)〉
3
唐莊宗同光元年十二月，御史臺奏：「當司刑部、大理寺本朝法書，自朱溫僭逆，刪改事條，或重貨財，輕入人命，或自徇枉過，濫加刑罰。 今見在三司收貯刑書，並是偽廷刪改者，兼偽廷先下諸道追取本朝法書焚毀，或經兵火所遺，皆無舊本節目。 只定州敕庫有本朝法書具在，請敕定州節度使速寫副本進納，庶刑法令式，並合本朝舊制。」 從之。 未幾，定州王都進納唐朝格式律令，凡二百八十六卷。 二年二月，刑部尚書盧價奏，纂集《同光刑律統類》凡一十三卷，上之。
In the twelfth month of the first year of Tongguang, Emperor Zhuangzong of Tang received a memorial from the Censorate: "The law books of our bureau, the Ministry of Justice, and the Court of Judicial Review—ever since Zhu Wen's usurpation—have had their articles revised, sometimes treating property crimes more harshly than loss of life, sometimes indulging personal bias and imposing punishments arbitrarily. The penal codes now in the archives of the three offices are all versions the usurping court had revised; that court had also ordered the circuits to seize and burn our dynasty's law books, and what survived the wars no longer preserves the original section headings. Only the edict archive at Dingzhou still holds our dynasty's law books intact. We ask that the military governor of Dingzhou be ordered to copy and submit duplicates at once, so that penal statutes, ordinances, and formats may again follow our dynasty's former system. The court approved. Soon afterward Wang Du of Dingzhou submitted the Tang regulations, formats, statutes, and ordinances—two hundred and eighty-six scrolls in all. In the second month of the second year, Minister of Justice Lu Jia reported that he had compiled the thirteen-scroll Tongguang Comprehensive Categories of Penal Statutes and submitted them to the throne.
4
周太祖廣順元年六月，敕侍御史盧億、刑部員外郎曹匪躬、大理正段濤同議定重寫法書一百四十八卷。 先是，漢隱帝末，因兵亂法書亡失，至是大理奏重寫律令格式、統類編敕，凡改點畫及義理之誤字凡二百一十有四，以晉、漢及國初事關刑法敕條，凡二十六件，分為二卷，附於編敕，目為《大周續編敕》，命省、寺行用焉。 〈（《宋史》：盧億，周初為侍御史，漢末兵亂，法書亡失，至是大理奏重寫律令格式、統類編敕，乃詔億與刑部員外曹匪躬、大理正段濤同加議定舊本，以京兆府改同五府，開封、大名府改同河南府，長安、萬年改為次赤縣，開封、浚儀、大名、元城改為赤縣，又定東京諸門薰風等為京城門，明德等為皇城門，啟運等為宮城門，升龍等為宮門，崇元等為殿門，廟諱書不成字，凡改點畫及義理之誤字二百一十有四。 又以晉、漢及周初事關刑法敕條者，分為二卷，附編敕，目為《大周續編敕》。 詔行之。）〉
In the sixth month of the first year of Guangshun, Emperor Taizu of Zhou ordered Attending Censor Lu Yi, Vice Director of the Bureau of Punishments Cao Feigong, and Senior Rectifier Duan Tao of the Court of Judicial Review to deliberate together and rewrite the law books in one hundred and forty-eight scrolls. Earlier, at the end of the Han reign of Emperor Yin, the law books had been lost in the wars. The Court of Judicial Review now memorialized for a rewrite of the statutes, ordinances, formats, comprehensive categories, and compiled edicts, correcting two hundred and fourteen mistaken characters in form or meaning, and gathering twenty-six edict articles on penal law from the Jin and Han periods and the founding of the state into two scrolls appended to the compiled edicts under the title Great Zhou Supplementary Compiled Edicts, with orders for the ministries and courts to put them into use. (History of Song: Lu Yi served as Attending Censor in early Zhou. At the end of Han the law books were lost in the wars, and when the Court of Judicial Review memorialized for a rewrite of the statutes, ordinances, formats, comprehensive categories, and compiled edicts, the court ordered Yi, Vice Director Cao Feigong of the Bureau of Punishments, and Senior Rectifier Duan Tao to revise the old text together. Jingzhao Prefecture was raised to rank with the Five Prefectures; Kaifeng and Daming were made equivalent to Henan Prefecture; Chang'an and Wannian became secondary red counties and Kaifeng, Junyi, Daming, and Yuancheng became red counties. The gates of the Eastern Capital were classified—Xunfeng and the like as capital-city gates, Mingde as imperial-city gates, Qiyun as palace-city gates, Shenglong as palace gates, and Chongyuan as hall gates. Taboo forms for temple names were written incompletely. In all, two hundred and fourteen mistaken characters in form or meaning were corrected. Edict articles on penal law from the Jin and Han periods and early Zhou were also divided into two scrolls, appended to the compiled edicts under the title Great Zhou Supplementary Compiled Edicts. An edict ordered them promulgated.)〉
5
二年二月，中書門下奏：「準元年正月五日赦書節文，今後應犯竊盜贓及和奸者，並依晉天福元年已前條制施行。 諸處犯罪人等，除反逆罪外，其餘罪並不籍沒家產、誅及骨肉，一依格令處分者。 請再下明敕，頒示天下。」 乃下詔曰：「赦書節文，明有厘革，切慮邊城遠郡，未得審詳，宜更申明，免至差誤。 其盜賊，若是強盜，並準自來格條斷遣； 其犯竊盜者，計贓絹滿三匹已上者，並集眾決殺，其絹以本處上估價為定，不滿三匹者，等第決斷。 應有夫婦人被強奸者，男子決殺，婦人不坐； 其犯和奸者，並準律科斷，罪不至死。 其餘奸私罪犯，準格律處分。 應諸色罪人，除謀反大逆外，其餘並不得誅殺骨肉、籍沒家產。」 先是，晉天福中敕，凡和奸者，男子婦人並處極法，至是始改從律文焉。
In the second month of the second year, the Secretariat reported: "Under the amnesty edict of the fifth day of the first month of the founding year, theft and consensual adultery are hereafter to be punished under the rules that applied before the first year of Tianfu of Jin. Except for rebellion and treason, offenders everywhere are not to have their property confiscated or their kin executed, but are to be punished solely under the regulations and ordinances. We ask that a clear edict be issued again and promulgated throughout the realm. The throne then issued an edict: "The amnesty clearly revised the law, but we fear that distant border prefectures may not have grasped it fully. It should be clarified again so that no mistake is made. Robbers who commit armed robbery are to be sentenced under the standing regulatory articles; petty thieves whose booty in silk amounts to three bolts or more are all to be executed before the assembled crowd, with valuation at the highest local estimate; when the amount falls short of three bolts, sentence is to be passed by graduated ranks. In cases of forcible violation of a married woman, the man is to be executed and the woman is not punished; consensual adultery is to be sentenced under the statutes, with no capital penalty. All other sexual offences are to be handled under the statutes and regulations. Except for plotting rebellion and great treason, no offender of any kind may have kin executed or household property confiscated. Earlier, a Jin edict of the Tianfu period had imposed the death penalty on both parties in every case of consensual adultery; only now was the law brought back into line with the statutes.
6
世宗顯德四年五月，中書門下奏：「準宣，法書行用多時，文意古質，條目繁細，使人難會，兼前後敕格，互換重疊，亦難詳定。 宜令中書門下並重刪定，務從節要，所貴天下易為詳究者。 伏以刑法者御人之銜勒，救弊之斧斤，故鞭撲不可一日弛之於家，刑法不可一日廢之於國，雖堯、舜淳古之代，亦不能舍此而致理矣。 今奉制旨刪定律令，有以見聖君欽恤明罰敕法之意也。 竊以律令之書，政理之本，經聖賢之損益，為古今之章程，歷代以來，謂之彜典。 今朝廷之所行用者律一十二卷、律疏三十卷、式二十卷、令三十卷、《開成格》一十卷、《大中統類》一十二卷、後唐以來至漢末編敕三十二卷及皇朝制敕等。 折獄定刑，無出於此。 律令則文辭古質，看覽者難以詳明； 格敕則條目繁多，檢閱者或有疑誤。 加之邊遠之地，貪猾之徒，緣此為奸，浸以成弊。 方屬盛明之運，宜伸畫一之規，所冀民不陷刑，吏知所守。 臣等商量，望準聖旨施行，仍差侍御史知雜事張湜、太子右庶子劇可久、殿中侍御史率汀、職方郎中鄧守中、倉部郎中王瑩、司封員外郎賈比、太常博士趙礪、國子博士李光贊、大理正蘇曉、太子中允王伸等一十人，編集新格，勒成部帙。 律令之有難解者，就文訓釋； 格敕之有繁雜者，隨事刪除。 止要諧理省文，兼且直書易會。 其中有輕重未當，便於古而不便於今，矛盾相違，可於此而不可於彼，盡宜改正，無或牽拘。 候編集畢日，委御史臺、尚書省四品以上及兩省五品以上官參詳可否，送中書門下議定，奏取進止。」 詔從之。 自是湜等於都省集議刪定，仍令大官供膳。
In the fifth month of the fourth year of Xiande, Emperor Shizong received a memorial from the Secretariat: "As the throne has directed, the law books have been in force for many years. Their language is archaic and their articles minute and numerous, so that readers struggle to grasp them; edicts and regulations from different periods also overlap and repeat, making reliable application difficult. The Secretariat should be ordered to revise them again, aiming for brevity and essentials so that the whole realm can study and apply them with ease. Penal law is the bridle by which people are governed and the tool by which abuses are cut away. Flogging cannot be relaxed for a day in the household, nor penal law abandoned for a day in the state—even the pure antiquity of Yao and Shun could not achieve good order without it. In obeying the imperial order to revise the statutes and ordinances, we see the sage ruler's intent to temper punishment with compassion and to make the law clear. Books of statutes and ordinances are the foundation of government. Revised by sages through the ages, they form the enduring institutions of past and present and have long been regarded as the constant canon. The court now applies twelve scrolls of statutes, thirty of statutory commentary, twenty of formats, thirty of ordinances, ten of the Kaicheng Regulations, twelve of the Dazhong Comprehensive Categories, thirty-two scrolls of compiled edicts from Later Tang through the end of Han, and the regulatory edicts of the present dynasty. Nothing lies outside these books when cases are decided and punishments fixed. The statutes and ordinances are couched in archaic language that readers struggle to master; the regulations and edicts are so numerous that those who consult them may easily go astray. In remote regions, moreover, the greedy and cunning exploit the confusion to commit abuses that gradually become entrenched. In this flourishing age it is fitting to enforce a single uniform rule, so that the people do not fall into punishment through ignorance and officials know what to uphold. We have deliberated and ask to carry out the imperial will by assigning Attending Censor Zhang Chi, Right Vice Director of the Crown Prince's Household Ju Keyou, Palace Attending Censor Shuai Ting, Director Deng Shouzhong of the Bureau of Appointments, Director Wang Ying of the Bureau of Granaries, Vice Director Jia Bi of the Bureau of Seals, Erudite Zhao Li of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, Erudite Li Guangzan of the Directorate of Education, Senior Rectifier Su Xiao, Junior Mentor Wang Shen, and nine others—ten men in all—to compile new regulations and bind them into fascicles. Where statutes and ordinances are obscure, they should be glossed in the text itself; where regulations and edicts are redundant, articles should be cut as the subject requires. The aim is coherent reasoning and concise language, written plainly so that readers can grasp it at once. Where penalties are ill matched, what suited antiquity no longer suits the present, or provisions contradict one another, everything should be corrected without undue constraint. When the compilation is finished, officials of the fourth rank and above in the Censorate and Department of State Affairs and of the fifth rank and above in the Two Departments should review it, the Secretariat should deliberate and fix the text, and a memorial should be submitted for the throne's decision. The edict approved the proposal. Thereafter Chi and his colleagues met at the capital offices to revise the code, and the Court of Imperial Entertainments was ordered to supply their meals.
7
五年七月，中書門下奏：「侍御史知雜事張湜等九人，奉詔編集刑書，悉有條貫，兵部尚書張昭等一十人，參詳旨要，更加損益。 臣質、臣溥據文評議，備見精審。 其所編集者，用律為正； 辭旨之有難解者，釋以疏意； 義理之有易了者，略其疏文。 式令之有附近者次之，格敕之有廢置者又次之。 事有不便於今、該說未盡者，別立新條於本條之下； 其有文理深古、慮人疑惑者，別以朱字訓釋。 至於朝廷之禁令，州縣之常科，各以類分，悉令編附。 所冀發函展卷，綱目無遺，究本討源，刑政咸在。 其所編集，勒成一部，別有目錄，凡二十一卷。 刑名之要，盡統於茲，目之為《大周刑統》，欲請頒行天下，與律疏令式通行。 其《刑法統類》、《開成格》、編敕等，采掇既盡，不在法司行使之限，自來有宣命指揮公事及三司臨時條法，州縣見今施行，不在編集之數。 應該京百司公事，逐司各有見行條件，望令本司刪集，送中書門下詳議聞奏。」 敕宜依，仍頒行天下。 乃賜侍御史知雜事張湜等九人各銀器二十兩，雜彩三十匹，賞刪定《刑統》之勞也。
In the seventh month of the fifth year, the Secretariat reported: "Attending Censor Zhang Chi and eight others, acting on the imperial edict to compile the penal code, have brought every article into systematic order; Minister of War Zhang Zhao and nine others have reviewed the essentials and made further revisions. We have examined the text and find the work throughout refined and thorough. The compilation takes the statutes as its standard; where the wording is obscure, it is explained by the commentary; where the meaning is plain, the commentary is abbreviated. Relevant formats and ordinances follow next, then regulations and edicts that have been abolished or set aside. Where present conditions make an article inconvenient or the explanation is incomplete, new articles are added beneath the original; where the language is profoundly archaic and likely to perplex readers, glosses in red characters are supplied. Court prohibitions and the standing statutes of prefectures and counties are each classified by type and all appended to the compilation. The hope is that on opening the case and unrolling the scrolls, no heading is missing and the whole of penal administration, traced to its roots, lies within. The compilation is bound as one work with a separate table of contents, twenty-one scrolls in all. The essentials of penal nomenclature are all gathered here under the title Great Zhou Penal Compendium. We ask that it be promulgated throughout the realm and applied together with the statutes, commentary, ordinances, and formats. The Comprehensive Categories of Penal Law, the Kaicheng Regulations, compiled edicts, and the like have been fully drawn upon and lie outside what the judicial offices enforce on their own. Imperial orders on official business and provisional regulations of the three offices that prefectures and counties now apply are not included in the compilation. Each capital office has regulations now in force for its own affairs; we ask that each office revise and compile them and submit them to the Secretariat for deliberation and report to the throne. The edict approved the proposal, and the work was promulgated throughout the realm. Zhang Chi and the eight other compilers were each rewarded with twenty taels of silver vessels and thirty bolts of mixed silks for their labor in revising the Penal Compendium.
8
唐同光二年六月己巳，敕：「應御史臺河南府行臺馬步司左右軍巡院，見禁囚徒，據罪輕重，限十日內並須決遣申奏。 仍委四京、諸道州府，見禁囚徒，速宜疏決，不得淹停，兼恐內外形勢官員私事寄禁，切要止絕，俾無冤滯。」 三年五月己未，敕：「在京、及諸道州府，所禁罪人，如無大過，速令疏決，不得淹滯。」 六月甲寅，敕：「刑以秋冬，雖關惻隱，罪多連累，翻慮滯淹。 若或十人之中，止為一夫抵死，豈可以輕附重，禁錮逾時。 言念哀矜，又難全廢。 其諸司囚徒，罪無輕重，並宜各委本司，據罪詳斷申奏，輕者即時疏理，重者候過立春，至秋分然後行法。 如是事系軍機，須行嚴令，或謀惡逆，或畜奸邪，或行劫殺人，難於留滯，並不在此限。」
On the day jisi of the sixth month of the second year of Tongguang, an edict ordered: "All prisoners held in the Censorate, the Henan branch secretariat, the cavalry and infantry offices, and the left and right military patrol courts must be sentenced and reported within ten days according to the severity of the offence. The four capitals and the prefectures of every circuit are likewise charged to try and release detained prisoners at once without delay. Officials inside and outside the capital who hold prisoners on private grounds must be stopped, so that no one languishes unjustly in custody. On the day jiwei of the fifth month of the third year, an edict ordered: "In the capital and in every circuit, detained offenders without grave offences are to be tried and released at once and must not be held in prolonged detention." On the day jiayin of the sixth month, an edict stated: "The rule that punishments are carried out in autumn and winter reflects humane concern, yet when crimes involve many persons in succession, prolonged detention becomes the greater worry. If among ten defendants only one man must die, how can the lesser be held with the greater and kept in confinement beyond its proper term? Compassion demands restraint, yet the seasonal rule cannot be abandoned altogether. Prisoners in every office, whether the offence is light or heavy, should be entrusted to their own offices to judge according to the crime and report upward. Light offences are to be tried and released at once; heavy ones are to wait until after the Beginning of Spring and be executed only between then and the Autumn Equinox. Matters of military urgency requiring strict enforcement, plotting wicked rebellion, harboring treachery, or robbery and murder—cases that cannot be delayed—are all outside this limit."
9
天成元年十一月庚申，敕：「應天下州使系囚，除大辟罪以上，委所在長吏，速推勘決斷，不得傍追證對，經過食宿之地，除當死刑外，並仰釋放，兼不許懲治。」 二年春。 左拾遺李同上言：「天下系囚，請委長吏逐旬親自引問，質其罪狀真虛，然後論之以法，庶無枉濫。」 從之。 六月，大理少卿王郁上言：「凡決極刑，合三覆奏，近年以來，全不守此。 伏乞今後前一日令各一覆奏。」 奉敕宜依。 八月，西京奏：「奉近敕，在京犯極刑者，令決前一日各一覆奏，緣當府地遠，此後凡有極刑，不審準條疏覆奏。」 奉敕旨：「昨六月二十日所降敕文，只為應在洛京有犯極刑者覆奏，其諸道已降旨命，準舊例施行。 今詳西京所奏，尚未明近敕，兼慮諸道有此疑惑，故令曉諭。」 十月辛丑，德音：「為政之要，切在無私； 聽訟之方，惟期不濫。 天下諸州府官員，如有善推疑獄及曾雪冤濫兼有異政者，當具姓名聞奏，別加甄獎。」
On the day gengshen of the eleventh month of the first year of Tiancheng, an edict ordered: "Throughout the realm, detained prisoners—except for capital offences and above—are to be investigated and sentenced at once by local chief officials without pursuing collateral witnesses. At every place of lodging along the route, all except those liable to death are to be released, and no punishment is permitted. In the spring of the second year. Left Reminder Li Tong proposed: "Prisoners throughout the realm should be summoned and questioned in person by chief officials every ten-day period, their charges verified as true or false, and only then judged by law, so that no wrongful abuse occurs. The court approved. In the sixth month, Vice Minister of Justice Wang Yu reported: "Whenever the death penalty is imposed, three review memorials are required, yet in recent years this rule has not been observed at all. We ask that henceforth one review memorial be submitted on the day before execution. The edict approved the request. In the eighth month, the Western Capital reported: "Under the recent edict, those sentenced to death in the capital must have one review memorial on the day before execution. Because our prefecture is far away, we are unsure whether the same rule applies here whenever a death sentence is imposed. The imperial response stated: "The edict of the twentieth day of the sixth month applied only to death sentences in Luoyang. The circuits have already received orders to follow the former precedent. The Western Capital's memorial shows that the recent edict is still unclear, and the circuits may share the same doubt; clarification is therefore ordered." On the day xinchou of the tenth month, a gracious edict declared: "The heart of government lies in impartiality; in hearing suits, the sole aim is to avoid abuse. Officials in every prefecture who skillfully investigate doubtful cases, clear wrongful convictions, or otherwise distinguish themselves in office shall have their names reported to the throne for special reward."
10
長興元年二月，制曰：「欲通和氣，必在伸冤； 將設公方，實資獎善。 州縣官僚能雪冤獄活人生命者，許非時選，仍加階超資註官，與轉服色，已著緋者與轉兼官。」 二年二月辛亥，敕：「朕猥以眇躬，薦承鴻業，念彼疲瘵，勞於寐興。 或慮官不得人，因成紊亂； 或慮刑非其罪，遂至怨嗟。 王化所興，獄訟為本，茍無訓勵，必有滯淹。 近日諸道百姓，或諸多違犯，或小可鬥爭。 官吏曲縱胥徒，巧求瑕釁。 初則滋張節目，作法拘囚； 終則誅剝貨財，市恩出拔。 外憑公道，內循私情，無理者轉務遷延，有理者卻思退縮。 積成訛弊，漸失紀綱。 自今後切委逐處官吏州牧縣宰等，深體余懷，各舉爾職。 凡闕推究，速與剸裁。 如敢茍縱依違，遂成枉濫，或經臺訴屈，或投匭申冤，勘問不虛，其元推官典並當責罰，其逐處觀察使、刺史，別議朝典。 宜令諸道州府，各依此處分，所管屬郡，委本道嚴切指揮。」 八月丁卯，敕：「三京、諸道州府刑獄，近日訪聞，依前禁系人，多不旋決，諸道宜令所在各委長吏，專切推窮，不得有滯淹。」
In the second month of the first year of Changxing, an imperial pronouncement declared: "To spread harmony through the realm, wrongs must be redressed; to uphold public justice truly depends on rewarding the good. Prefectural and county officials who clear wrongful cases and save lives may be selected out of season, advanced in rank beyond quota, granted a change of robe color, and those already wearing scarlet may receive a concurrent appointment. On the day xinhai of the second month of the second year, an edict declared: "We, unworthy in our slight person, have inherited the great enterprise and think constantly of the weary and afflicted, toiling from sleep to rising. We fear that when offices do not obtain the right men, disorder follows; or that when punishment does not fit the crime, resentment and lament follow. Royal transformation rests on lawsuits as its foundation; without instruction and encouragement, delays and detentions are inevitable. Recently among the people of the circuits, some commit many offences and others petty quarrels. Officials bend the rules to indulge their clerks and runners, ingeniously hunting for pretexts. At first they multiply charges and devise ways to detain prisoners; in the end they extort wealth and trade favors for release. Outwardly they invoke public justice while inwardly they follow private feeling: the party without merit sees the case ever delayed, while the party in the right thinks only of giving up. Such abuses pile up until standards are gradually lost. Henceforth we earnestly charge every prefect, county magistrate, and local official to take our intent to heart and perform his proper duty. Where investigation is lacking, cases are to be judged and decided at once. If any official negligently indulges wrongdoing or acts equivocally and thereby causes wrongful abuse, or if a complaint to the Censorate or an appeal through the grievance box proves true on investigation, the original investigating officials and clerks shall all be punished, and the surveillance commissioners and prefects of each place shall be dealt with under court statute. Every circuit prefecture is to handle matters under this rule, and subordinate commanderies are to be placed under strict direction by their circuit. On the day dingmao of the eighth month, an edict ordered: "In the prisons of the three capitals and every circuit, inquiry shows that detainees are still, as before, often not promptly decided. Each circuit should charge local chief officials to investigate with special urgency and allow no delay."
11
四月，前濮州錄事參軍崔琮上言：「諸道獄囚，恐不依法拷掠，或不勝苦致斃，翻以病聞，請置病囚院，兼加醫藥。」 中書覆云：「有罪當刑，仰天無恨； 無病致斃，沒地銜冤。 燃死灰而必在至仁，照覆盆而須資異鑒。 《書》著『欽哉』之旨，『《禮》』標『侀也』之文，因彰善於泣辜，更推恩於扇暍。 所請置病囚院，望依，仍委長吏，專切經心。 或有病囚，當時遣醫人診候，治療後，據所犯輕重決斷。 如敢故違，致病囚負屈身亡，本處官吏，並加嚴斷。 兼每及夏至，五日一度，差人洗刷枷匣。」
In the fourth month, former Recorder Cui Cong of Puzhou proposed: "Prisoners in the circuits may not be tortured according to law, or may die under torture and be reported as having died of illness. We ask that a ward for sick prisoners be established and medicine provided. The Secretariat replied: "When the guilty are punished, they may look to Heaven without complaint; but to die without illness is to go to the grave bearing a grievance. To rekindle dead ashes requires supreme benevolence; to illuminate an overturned basin requires extraordinary discernment. The Documents sets forth the purport of 'Be reverent!'; the Rites marks the text 'Pity them'—thereby goodness is shown in weeping for the wrongfully punished, and favor is extended in relieving those overcome by heat. The request for a ward for sick prisoners is approved, and chief officials are charged to attend to it with special care. When prisoners fall ill, physicians are to examine them at once; after treatment, sentence is to be passed according to the severity of the offence. If any deliberately violate this and cause sick prisoners to die bearing a grievance, the local officials shall all receive severe punishment. Moreover, at the summer solstice, every five days persons are to be assigned to wash the cangues and fetters."
12
應順元年二月戊午，詔：「應三京、諸道州府系囚，據罪輕重，疾速斷遣。 比來停滯，須奏取裁，不便區分，故為留滯。 今後凡有刑獄，據理斷遣。 如有敕推按，理合奏聞，不在此限。」
In the second month of the first year of Yingshun, on the day wuwu, an imperial pronouncement ordered: "All prisoners in the three capitals and every circuit are to be sentenced and released at once according to the severity of the crime. Cases have recently stalled because every decision required a memorial for imperial approval, making timely distinction impossible and causing prolonged detention. Henceforth all criminal cases are to be decided and disposed of on their merits. Where an edict orders a special investigation, memorial and report remain required; such cases are outside this rule."
13
清泰元年五月丁丑，詔：「在京諸獄及天下州府見系罪人，正當暑毒之時，未免拘囚之苦，誠知負罪，特軫予懷。 恐法吏生情，滯於決斷。 詔至，所在長吏親自慮問，據輕重疾速斷遣，無淹滯。」
In the fifth month of the first year of Qingtai, on the day dingchou, an imperial pronouncement declared: "Prisoners now held in the capital and throughout the realm, at this season of oppressive heat, cannot escape the suffering of confinement. Though they are guilty, we are especially moved. We fear that judicial officers may act on private feeling and delay judgment. When the pronouncement arrives, chief officials everywhere are to examine prisoners in person and sentence them at once according to severity, without delay."
14
晉天福二年八月，敕下刑部大理寺御史臺及三京、諸道州府：「今後或有系囚染疾者，並令逐處軍醫看候，於公廨錢內量支藥價，或事輕者，仍許家人看候。」 四年九月，相州節度使桑維翰奏：「管內所獲賊人，從來籍沒財產，雲是鄴都舊例，格律未見明文。」 敕：「今後凡有賊人，準格定罪，不得沒納家資。 天下諸州，準此處分。」 三月庚午，詳定院奏：「前守洪洞縣主簿盧燦進策云：『伏以刑獄至重，朝廷所難，尚書省分職六司，天下謂之會府，且諸道決獄，若關人命，即刑部不合不知。 欲請州府凡斷大辟罪人訖，逐季具有無申報刑部，仍俱錄案款事節，並本判官、馬步都虞候、司法參軍、法直官、馬步司判官名銜申聞，所貴或有案內情曲不圓，刑部可行覆勘。 如此則天下遵守法律，不敢輕易刑書，非惟免有銜冤，抑亦勸其立政者。』 臣等參詳，伏以人命至重，國法須精，雖載舊章，更宜條理，誠為允當，望賜施行。」 從之。 五月，詔曰：「刑獄之難，古今所重，但關人命，實動天心，或有冤魂，則傷和氣。 應諸道州府，凡有囚徒，據推勘到案款，一一盡理，子細檢律令格敕。 其間或有疑者，準令文讞，大理寺亦疑，申尚書省，省寺明有指歸，州府然後決遣。」
In the eighth month of the second year of Tianfu, an edict went to the Ministry of Justice, Court of Judicial Review, Censorate, the three capitals, and every circuit: "Henceforth when detained prisoners fall ill, local military physicians are to attend them and medicine costs are to be paid from public funds; in light cases family members may still attend. In the ninth month of the fourth year, Military Governor Sang Weihan of Xiangzhou reported: "Thieves captured in my jurisdiction have always had their property confiscated, said to be an old precedent of the Yedu capital, but no explicit provision appears in the statutes and regulations." An edict ordered: "Henceforth all thieves are to be sentenced under the regulations, and household property must not be confiscated. All prefectures throughout the realm are to follow this rule. In the third month, on the day gengwu, the Court of Detailed Review reported: "Former Acting Magistrate Lu Can of Hongtong County submitted a policy proposal: 'Criminal cases are supremely weighty and difficult for the court. The Department of State Affairs divides duties among six bureaus and is called the capital office of the realm. When circuits decide cases involving human life, the Ministry of Justice ought not to be kept uninformed. We ask that whenever a prefecture sentences a capital offender, each quarter it report whether the Ministry of Justice has been notified, and submit the full facts of the case together with the names and titles of the judging official, chief commander of cavalry and infantry, judicial aide, legal rectifier, and cavalry and infantry judges, so that if the circumstances are incomplete the Ministry of Justice may conduct a review. Thus the realm will observe the law and not lightly apply the penal code—not only avoiding wrongful grievance, but also encouraging sound administration. We have examined this proposal and find that human life is supremely weighty and state law must be precise. Though old regulations touch on the matter, further ordering is appropriate. We ask that it be granted for implementation. The court approved. In the fifth month, an imperial pronouncement declared: "The difficulty of criminal cases has been weighty in every age. Whenever human life is involved, it truly moves the heart of Heaven; wronged souls harm harmonious qi. In every circuit prefecture, for all prisoners the facts reached by investigation are to be fully reasoned through and the statutes, ordinances, and regulations carefully examined. Where doubt remains, judgment follows the ordinance text; if the Court of Judicial Review also doubts, the case is memorialized to the Department of State Affairs; only when the department and court give clear direction may the prefecture decide and release."
15
五年三月丙子，詔曰：「自大中六年已來，嫠耳稱冤，決杖流配，訴雖有理，不在申明。 今後據其所陳，與為勘斷，剺耳之罪，準律別科。」 六年秋七月庚辰，詔曰：「政教所切，獄訟惟先，推窮須察於事情，斷遣必遵於條法，用宏欽恤，以致和平。 應三京、鄴都及諸道州府，見禁諸色人等，宜令逐處長吏，常切提撕，疾速決遣，每務公當，勿使滯淹。」 天福八年四月壬申，敕：「朕自臨寰宇，思致和平，思將以四海為家，慮有一物失所。 每念狴牢之內，或多枉撓之人，屬此炎蒸，倍宜軫憫，冀絕滯淹之嘆，用資欽恤之仁。 應三京、鄴都及諸道州府見禁罪人等，宜令逐處長吏，嚴切指揮本推司及委本所判官，疾速結絕斷遣，不得淹延，及致冤濫，仍付所司。」
In the third month of the fifth year, on the day bingzi, an imperial pronouncement declared: "Since the sixth year of Dazhong, widows who pierced their ears to proclaim grievance were sentenced to beating and exile; though their appeals had merit, this was not clarified. Henceforth their statements are to be investigated and judged on their merits, and the offence of ear-slitting is to be sentenced separately under the statutes. In the seventh month of autumn of the sixth year, on the day gengchen, an imperial pronouncement declared: "Government and instruction require that lawsuits come first. Investigation must observe the facts, and judgment must follow the articles of law, thereby extending compassionate rule to achieve peace. In the three capitals, Yedu, and every circuit, all persons now detained are to be urged with constant care by local chief officials, speedily tried and released with fairness, and not held in delay. In the fourth month of the eighth year of Tianfu, on the day renshen, an edict declared: "Since We assumed rule over the realm, We have sought peace, thinking to make the four seas Our household and fearing that even one being may lose its proper place. We constantly think of those in prison, among whom many may have been wrongfully oppressed. At this season of blazing heat compassion is doubly fitting, in the hope of ending the lament of delay and embodying compassionate rule. All offenders now detained in the three capitals, Yedu, and every circuit are to be placed under strict direction by local chief officials, who shall charge investigating offices and judging officials to conclude cases and sentence at once without delay or wrongful abuse. The responsible offices are charged with enforcement."
16
開運二年五月壬戌，殿中丞桑簡能上封事曰：「伏以天地育萬物，廣博厚之恩； 帝王牧黎元，行寬大之令。 是知恤刑緩獄，乃為政之先； 布德行惠，實愛民之本。 今盛夏之月，農事方殷，是雷風長養之時，乃動植蕃蕪之際。 宜順時令，以宏至仁。 竊以諸道州府都郡縣應見禁罪人，或有久在囹圄，稍滯區分，胥吏侮文，枝蔓乃眾。 捶楚之下。 或陷無辜； 縲紲之中，莫能自理。 茍一人拘系，則數人營財，物用既殫，工業亦罷。 若此之類，實繁有徒，切恐官吏因循，浸成斯弊。 伏乞降詔旨，令所在刑獄，委長吏親自錄問，量罪疾速斷遣，務絕冤濫，勿得淹留，庶免虛禁平人，妨奪農力，冀召和氣，以慶明時。」 敕曰：「囹圄之中，縲紲之苦，奸吏茍窮於枝蔓，平人用費於貨財，由茲滯淹，兼致屈塞。 桑簡能體茲軫憫，專有敷陳，請長吏躬親，免獄官抑逼，深為允當，宜再頌行。 宜依。」 十月甲子，秘書省著作郎邊玕上封事曰：「臣聞從諫如流，人君之令範； 極言無隱，臣子之常規。 蓋欲表大國之任人，致萬邦之無事，前文備載，可舉而行。 伏以皇帝陛下，德合上玄，運膺下武，旰食宵衣而軫念，好生惡殺以推仁，幾措典刑，固無冤枉。 然以照臨之內，州郡尤多，若不再具舉明，伏恐漸成奸弊。 臣竊見諸道刑獄，前朝曾降敕文，凡是禁系罪人，五日一度錄問。 但以年月稍遠，漸致因循。 或長吏事煩，不暇躬親點檢； 或胥徒啟幸，妄要追領證明。 慮有涉於淫刑，即恐傷於和氣。 伏乞特降詔敕。 自今後諸道並委長吏五日一度，當面同共錄問，所冀處法者無恨，銜冤者獲伸。 俾令四海九州，鹹歌聖德； 五風十雨，永致昌期。」 敕曰：「人之命無以復生，國之刑不可濫舉。 雖一成之典，務在公平； 而三覆其詞，所宜詳審。 凡居法吏，合究獄情。 邊玕近陟周行，俄陳讜議，更彰欽恤，宜允申明。」
In the fifth month of the second year of Kaiyun, on the day renxu, Palace Director Sang Jianneng submitted a sealed memorial: "Heaven and Earth nurture the ten thousand things with broad and generous favor; emperors shepherd the people and issue lenient orders. Hence tempering punishment and easing prisons is the first priority of government; and dispensing virtue and extending favor is truly the root of loving the people. Now in the height of summer agricultural work is at its peak; this is the season when thunder and wind nurture growth, when all living things flourish. It is fitting to follow the seasonal order and extend supreme benevolence. Among offenders now detained in prefectures, commanderies, and counties of every circuit, some have long been in prison while judgment is delayed, clerks despise the written law, and cases branch into ever more extensions. Under beating and flogging, some are driven into false guilt; and within fetters none can clear themselves. When one person is detained, several raise funds for his release; goods are exhausted and crafts cease. Such cases are truly numerous, and we deeply fear that perfunctory officials will gradually entrench this abuse. We ask that an edict order chief officials in every prison to question prisoners in person, sentence according to the crime and release them at once, end wrongful abuse, and permit no detention, so that innocent commoners are not falsely imprisoned, agricultural labor is not hindered, and harmonious qi may bless this enlightened age. An edict replied: "Within prisons, the suffering of fetters—corrupt officials negligently multiply procedural extensions, and common people expend their wealth; thereby delay arises and injustice follows. Sang Jian has embodied this compassionate concern in his proposal that chief officials attend in person and spare prisoners from oppressive pressure by prison officers. This is deeply appropriate and should again be proclaimed for enforcement. Approved. In the tenth month, on the day jiazi, Author Bian Gan of the Secretariat submitted a sealed memorial: "I have heard that accepting remonstrance like flowing water is the ruler's model; and speaking to the utmost without concealment is the minister's constant rule. This displays how a great state employs men and brings the realm to peace; former texts record it fully and it may be put into practice. Your Majesty's virtue accords with Heaven and your destiny received the martial mandate. Rising early and retiring late, you are moved by concern, loving life and hating killing as you extend benevolence. Punishments are scarcely applied, and wrongful conviction is inherently absent. Yet within the realm you illuminate, prefectures and commanderies are especially numerous; if this is not set forth again in detail, abuses may gradually arise. I observe that in the prisons of the circuits, the former court once ordered that all detained offenders be recorded and questioned once every five days. But as years have passed, perfunctory neglect has gradually set in. Sometimes chief officials, overwhelmed with affairs, have no leisure to inspect in person; sometimes clerks seize opportunity and wantonly demand pursuit and summoning of witnesses. We fear that excessive punishment may be involved, which would harm harmonious qi. We ask that a special edict be issued. Henceforth in every circuit chief officials are to record and question prisoners together face to face once every five days, so that those punished by law have no resentment and those bearing grievance obtain redress. Thus the four seas and nine regions may all sing of sagely virtue; with timely winds and rain, ever reaching an age of prosperity. An edict replied: "Human life, once lost, cannot be restored; the state's punishments must not be applied at will. Though the law is fixed, fairness must be pursued; and the threefold review of testimony should be conducted with thorough examination. All judicial officers should investigate prison circumstances fully. Bian Gan was recently promoted at court and soon offered loyal counsel that further displays compassionate rule; clarification is approved."
17
三年十一月丁未，左拾遺竇儼上疏曰：「臣伏睹名例律疏云：死刑者，古先哲王，則天垂象，本欲生之，義期止殺，絞斬之坐，皆刑之極也。 又準天成三年閏八月二十三日敕，行極法日，宜不舉樂，減常膳； 又刑部式，決重杖一頓處死，以代極法，斯皆人君哀矜不舍之道也。 竊以蚩尤為五虐之科，尚行鞭樸； 漢祖約三章之法，止有死刑。 絞者筋骨相連，斬者頭頸異處，大辟之目，不出兩端，淫刑所興，近聞數等。 蓋緣外地，不守通規，肆率情性，或以長釘貫篸人手足，或以短刀臠割人肌膚，乃至累朝半生半死，俾冤聲而上達，致和氣以有傷。 將宏守位之仁，在峻惟行之令，欲乞特下明敕，嚴加禁斷者。」 敕曰：「文物方興，刑罰須當，有罪宜從於正法，去邪漸契於古風。 竇儼所貢奏章，實裨理道，宜依所奏，準律令施行。」
In the eleventh month of the third year, on the day dingwei, Left Reminder Dou Yan submitted a memorial: "I have read in the commentary on the General Principles Statutes that capital punishment—ancient sage kings, taking Heaven as their model, originally intended to preserve life and aimed to stop killing—makes strangulation and decapitation the extreme of punishment. Further, according to the edict of the twenty-third day of the intercalary eighth month of the third year of Tiancheng, on the day the death penalty is carried out, music should not be performed and regular meals should be reduced; and according to the Ministry of Justice format, death by one heavy beating with the staff in place of the death penalty—all reflect the ruler's compassionate reluctance to take life. Even Chiyou, who established the five cruel punishments, still applied flogging; and the Han founder's law of three chapters recognized only the death penalty. Strangulation leaves sinew and bone connected; decapitation separates head and neck—the categories of capital punishment do not go beyond these two. Yet excessive punishments have recently arisen in several kinds. This is because in the outer regions they do not observe the general regulations but indulge their feelings at will—sometimes driving long nails through hands and feet, sometimes cutting flesh with short knives, even leaving persons half alive and half dead, so that cries of grievance reach the throne and harmonious qi is harmed. To extend the benevolence of the throne and enforce the law strictly, we ask that a clear edict be specially issued to prohibit these practices. An edict replied: "Culture and institutions are just rising; punishments must be appropriate. The guilty should be punished under the proper law, and expelling evil should gradually accord with ancient custom. Dou Yan's memorial truly aids good order; it is approved as submitted and is to be carried out according to the statutes and ordinances."
18
漢乾祐二年正月，敕：「政貴寬易，刑尚哀矜，慮滋蔓之生奸，實軫傷而是念。 今屬三元改候，四序履端，將冀和平，無如獄訟。 應三京、鄴都、諸道州府見系罪人，委逐處長吏躬親慮問，其於決斷，務在公平，但見其情，即為具獄，勿令率引，遂致淹停，無縱舞文，有傷和氣。」 四月甲午，敕曰：「月戒正陽，候當小暑，乃挺重出輕之日，是恤刑議獄之辰，有罪者速就勘窮，薄罰者畫時疏決，用符時令，勿縱滯淹。 三京、鄴都、諸道州府在獄見系罪人，宜令所司疾速斷遣，無致淹滯枉濫。」 五月辛未，敕：「政化所先，獄訟攸切，不惟枉撓，兼慮滯淹。 適當長養之時，正屬熇蒸之候，累行條貫，俾速施行，靡不丁寧，未曾奏報，再頌告諭，無或因循。 應三京、鄴都、諸道州府，詔至，宜具疏放已行未行申奏，無致逗留」
In the first month of the second year of Qianyou of Han, an edict declared: "Government values leniency and ease, and punishment esteems compassion. We fear that unchecked growth breeds wrongdoing and are truly moved in concern. Now at the change of the three origins and the opening of the four seasons, we hope for peace, yet nothing compares to lawsuits. All offenders now detained in the three capitals, Yedu, and every circuit are entrusted to local chief officials for personal examination. In deciding cases, fairness must be pursued—once the circumstances are clear, the case record is complete. Do not permit reckless extension that leads to delay, nor twisting of the written law that harms harmonious qi. On the day jiawu of the fourth month, an edict declared: "The month warns of upright yang and the season approaches minor heat. This is the day for bringing out the light and removing the heavy, the time for tempering punishment and deliberating cases. The guilty are to be investigated at once, and light punishments tried and released within the day, conforming to the seasonal order without delay. Offenders now detained in the three capitals, Yedu, and every circuit are to be sentenced and released at once by the responsible offices, without delay or wrongful abuse. On the day xinwei of the fifth month, an edict declared: "What government and transformation put first, lawsuits urgently require—not only wrongful oppression, but delay and detention as well. This aptly falls in the season of nurturing growth and blazing heat. Regulations have repeatedly been issued to speed enforcement with painstaking care, yet memorial reports have never been received. We again proclaim instruction—there must be no perfunctory neglect. In the three capitals, Yedu, and every circuit, when the edict arrives, a detailed account of releases already carried out and not yet carried out is to be memorialized without delay."
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周廣順三年四月乙亥，敕：「朕以時當化育，氣屬炎蒸，乃思縲紲之人，是軫哀矜之念，慮其非所，案鞫淹延，或枉濫窮屈而未得申宣，或饑渴疾病而無所控告。 以罪當刑者，惟彼自召，法不可移； 非理受苦者，為上不明，安得無慮。 欽恤之道，夙宵靡寧。 應諸道州府見系罪人，宜令官吏疾速推鞫，據輕斷遣，不得淹滯。 仍令獄吏，灑掃牢獄，當令虛歇； 洗滌枷械，無令蚤虱； 供給水漿，無令饑渴。 如有疾患，令其家人看承，囚人無主，官差醫工診候，勿致病亡。 循典法之成規，順長嬴之時令，俾無淹滯，以致治平。」 又，賜諸州詔曰：「朕以敷政之勤，惟刑是重，既未能化人於無罪，則不可為上而失刑。 況時當長嬴，事貴清適，念囹圄之閉固，復桎梏之拘縻，處於炎蒸，何異焚灼。 在州及所屬刑獄見系罪人，卿可躬親錄問，省略區分。 於入務不行者，令俟務開系； 有理須伸者，速期疏決。 俾皆平允，無至滯淹。 又以獄吏逞任情之奸，囚人被非法之苦，宜加檢察，勿縱侵欺。 常令凈掃獄房，洗刷枷匣，知其饑渴，供與水漿，有病者聽骨肉看承，無主者遣醫工救療，勿令非理致斃，以致和氣有傷。 卿忠幹分憂，仁明蒞事，必能奉詔，體我用心，眷委於茲，興寐無已。 余從敕命處分。」
On the day yihai of the fourth month of the third year of Guangshun, an edict declared: "As the season is for nurturing transformation and the qi belongs to blazing heat, We think of those in fetters and are moved by compassionate concern. We fear that they are not in their proper place, that case examination is delayed, that some wrongfully oppressed cannot make their grievance known, or that hunger, thirst, and illness leave them with no means of appeal. Those whose crime deserves punishment have only themselves to blame; the law cannot be shifted; but those who suffer without reason do so because the ruler above is not clear—how can We not be concerned? The way of compassionate rule leaves Us uneasy from early morning to late night. All offenders now detained in every circuit are to be investigated at once by officials, sentenced according to severity, and released without delay. Prison officers are further ordered to clean the prisons and keep them properly vacant; wash the cangues and fetters and permit no fleas or lice; supply water and drink and permit no hunger or thirst. If prisoners fall ill, their families are to attend them; for those without kin, official physicians are to examine them, and death from disease is not permitted. Following the established regulations of the canonical law and conforming to the seasonal order of full summer, cause there to be no delay, thereby achieving ordered peace. Further, edicts were sent to the prefectures: "In the diligence of governing, We hold punishment supremely weighty. Having been unable to transform all people into innocence, We cannot as ruler fail to apply the law. Moreover, the season is full summer, when clarity and ease are prized. To think of prisons shut fast and shackles binding prisoners in blazing heat is no different from burning them. For offenders now detained in your prefecture and its subordinate prisons, you may question them in person and abbreviate procedural distinctions. Those for whom proceedings cannot proceed during court recess are to await reopening of court; those with merit requiring redress are to be tried and released at once. Thus all cases are to be fair and even, without delay. Because prison officers indulge wilful wrongdoing and prisoners suffer unlawful hardship, inspection should be increased and oppression must not be indulged. Prison rooms are to be kept swept clean and cangues washed; hunger and thirst are to be relieved with water and drink. The ill may be attended by kin; those without kin are to be treated by physicians. Unlawful death that harms harmonious qi is not permitted. You are loyal and capable in sharing Our cares and benevolent and clear in office—you will surely obey the edict and embody Our intent. In entrusting this commission to you, We think of it waking and sleeping without end. Act according to the edict."
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內外官當贖之法，梁、唐皆無定制，多示優容，或因時分輕重。 晉天福六年五月，尚書刑部員外郎李象請：「今後凡是散官，不計高低，若犯罪不得當贖，亦不得上請詳定院覆奏。 應內外文武官，有品官者自從品官法，無品官有散試官者，應內外帶職廷臣賓從、有功將校等，並請同九品官例。 其京都運巡使及諸道州府衙前職員、內外雜任鎮將等，並請準律，不得上請當贖。 其巡司馬步司判官，雖有曾歷品官者，亦請同流外職。 準律。 杖罪以下，依決罰例，徒罪以上，仍依當贖法。」 至周顯德五年七月，新定《刑統》：「今後定罪，諸道行軍司馬、節度副使、副留守，準從五品官例； 諸道兩使判官、防禦團練副使，準從六品官例； 節度掌書記、團判官、兩蕃營田等使判官，準從七品官例； 諸道推巡及軍事判官，準從八品官例； 諸軍將校內諸司使、使副、供奉、殿直，臨時奏聽敕旨。」 由是內外品官當贖之法，始有定制焉。
The law of commutation for inner and outer officials—Liang and Tang both lacked fixed regulations, often showing lenient tolerance or distinguishing severity according to circumstances. In the fifth month of the sixth year of Tianfu, Vice Director Li Xiang of the Bureau of Punishments requested: "Henceforth all honorary officials, regardless of rank, if they commit crimes may not commute punishment nor petition the Court of Detailed Review for review. Civil and military officials with ranked offices follow the law for ranked officials. Those without ranked offices who hold honorary or probationary titles—including titled courtiers, guests, attendants, and meritorious commanders—are all to follow the precedent for officials of the ninth rank. Transport and patrol commissioners of the capital, front-office staff of circuit prefectures, miscellaneous appointees, and garrison commanders are all to follow the statutes and may not petition for commutation. Judging officials of patrol cavalry and infantry offices, even if they have formerly held ranked office, are also to be treated like outer-service posts. According to the statutes. For offences of beating with the staff and below, follow the precedent for imposed punishment; for exile and above, follow the commutation law. By the seventh month of the fifth year of Xiande, the newly fixed Penal Compendium stated: "Henceforth in fixing punishment, circuit army marshals, deputy military governors, and deputy protectors follow the precedent for officials of the fifth rank and below; circuit commissioners' judging officials and defense and training deputy commissioners follow the precedent for officials of the sixth rank and below; military governor secretaries, training commissioners' judging officials, and judging officials of frontier garrison and agricultural commissioners follow the precedent for officials of the seventh rank and below; circuit investigation and military judging officials follow the precedent for officials of the eighth rank and below; army commanders and inner palace commissioners, deputy commissioners, attendants, and palace guards are to memorialize for the time being to hear the edict's decision. Thereby the law of commutation for ranked officials inside and outside first received fixed regulations.