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卷25 志第20 刑法

Volume 25 Treatises 20: Punishment and Law

Chapter 25 of 隋書 · Book of Sui
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1
Punishment is what controls life and death, traces good and evil to their roots, suppresses rebellion and executes the violent, and keeps people from wrongdoing. Sage kings looked to the stars of law and the trigram of peril, harmonizing the five elemental forces and taking the four seasons as their model: always spreading grace like the spring wind before enforcing law like the autumn frost. Thus they nurtured mercy and affection while wrongdoing was still in bud, and deployed the stern authority of punishment when severity was required. Benevolence was their disposition, ritual the framework, moral cultivation the foundation, and clear law the supporting force. Under a ruler who holds the Way, punishment is applied yet crime scarcely exists. Under a ruler without the Way, even execution cannot stem the tide of crime. The Record says: "Teach people through virtue and align them through ritual, and they will develop a reverent heart. Instruct them through statute and regulate them through punishment, and they will harbor only thoughts of evasion. Beginning with encouragement of virtue and ending with suppression of violence—governing people in this manner requires punishment as well. In ages of perfect harmony, when government is praised for its sincerity, moral influence reaches everywhere carts may travel, supreme benevolence and good omens appear in turn, and equitable statutes are issued year after year. Clear as sun and moon, so that none who look upon them lose their way; broad as a great highway, so that none who walk it go astray.
2
西 西
Punishment takes the form of armor and weapons, axes and halberds, knives, saws, drills, and awls, whips and cudgels, mulberry rods and thorn switches—displayed in the open fields and exposed in market and court. Its origins, too, stretch far back in time. In the age of the Dragon officials, before the Phoenix chronicle, people used knotted cords and did not transgress; without being commanded, they lived in awe. The Five Emperors marked punishments on painted images and distinguished offenses by dress; the Three Dynasties applied corporal punishment, marking the flesh and body. Even when Emperor Shun, stricken by calamity, granted universal amnesty, and when Yu's code listed three thousand punishments—the Lord of Yong still mourned the use of punishment and upheld the virtue of Emperor Yao, and Gao Yao wept over guilt and still cherished the heart of Emperor Shun. From the Shang dynasty onward, rulers drifted ever further from virtue. Had King Zhou followed the ways of King Tang, forsworn the roasting pillar, blended punishment with ritual, and held the throne through benevolence, the Lord of the West would have reined in his horses and become an ordinary farmer. King Wu of Zhou instituted three rounds of interrogation to prevent excess, and expanded the three grounds for pardon to show compassion; during the forty-two years of Kings Cheng and Kang, punishment was laid aside altogether. A gentle breeze permeated the realm, songs of praise rose from afar, and the people of Yue, bearing interpreters, came from ten thousand li to pay tribute. When Lu bordered Yan and Qi, and Chu neighbored Zheng and Jin, the age prized skill in debate, and states relied not on harsh punishment but on persuasion. When Jin held the autumn hunt at Yi, Confucius expressed his disapproval; when penal inscriptions were cast in bronze, Shu Xiang sent his letter of protest. Like boiling seawater spreading its moisture for a thousand li—the politics of the feudal states were surely nurtured by the enriching influence of Zhou! The Qin, isolated in the western frontier, when first pacifying the central realm cast aside arms and looked to their conquerors for mercy—yet they brought harsh frost upon government and teaching, struck their domain with lightning, and with prohibitions on discarded ashes and casual conversation bred resentment at every turn, while their cruel statutes damaged body and soul. Dark axes were swung in market and court, red-clad convicts wandered the highways; Jiang Lu mourned with the grief of a single sword, and Mao Jiao petitioned for the tally of the stars. Emperor Gaozu of Han at first offered the three-article covenant to reassure the people of Qin; Emperor Wen personally cultivated silent humility and thereby loosened the net of Heaven. Emperor Xuan was meticulous in the machinery of state and thorough in legal doctrine; he appointed Yu Dingguo Commandant of Justice and Huang Ba Tribunal Assessor. Each year after the autumn equinox, when cases came up for review, the emperor would visit the Hall of Illumination, fast, and pass judgment—keen-eyed, fair, and clement, earning a reputation for lenity and simplicity. When Emperor Guangwu restored the Han, he kept these practices unchanged; thus among the rulers of the two Han dynasties, cruel punishment was seldom heard of. Cao Cao of Wei instituted lighter shackles, and Emperor Ming reduced death sentences—but the central plain lay in ruins, the realm was divided among three powers, and there was little time for compassionate restraint in judging cases. When the Jin pacified Wu and the Nine Provinces were united under one rule, Jia Chong was charged with codifying the penal law in full. It was meant to govern the people within and harmonize the myriad states without—and was praised as lenient, fair, and straightforward. Song and Qi followed in their tracks, leaving little of their own mark behind. When punishment followed whim, when justice was abandoned, when laws proliferated like autumn grass and traps were set beyond measure, when rulers slaughtered at will to satisfy their passions— Such as Emperor Wen of Sui slaying the innocent at will, or Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi carving up victims with casual cruelty—these were the private vendettas of individual men, not the business of national law. Confucius said: "When punishment falls into disorder, government follows; when government falls into disorder, the ruler himself suffers. What the heart pursues is the root of good and evil. The histories compiled by Ban Biao and Ban Gu contained no chapter on penal law, and the works of Zang Rongxian and Xiao Fang lacked much besides. I therefore gather such surviving records down to the Sui dynasty and attach them to this chapter.
3
使 [1] 使 使
Emperor Wu of Liang inherited the aftermath of Northern Qi's benighted and cruel rule, under which penal administration had grown deeply perverse. Upon taking the throne, he instituted provisional statutes based on Zhou and Han precedent, under which offenders could redeem their penalties. Under these statutes, all officials who committed offenses while in office were subject to monetary fines. Offenses normally punished by whipping, beating, or supervised flogging could all be redeemed and the physical penalty waived. Secretarial clerks, provincial staff, soldiers, and conscripts who wished to redeem their penalties were permitted to do so. When they sought to revise the code, they found Cai Fadu of Jiyang, a former Qi clerk whose family had preserved the legal tradition. He reported that under Emperor Wu of Qi, the revising clerk Wang Zhizhi had compiled and annotated the Zhang and Du commentaries on the old code into a single work of 1,530 articles—the project had never been enacted, and the text was nearly lost. Fadu was able to recite it from memory. He was then appointed revising clerk in the Ministry of Justice and charged with revising Wang Zhizhi's original text to produce the Liang code. In the eighth month of Tianjian 1, an edict declared: "Where statutes and ordinances lack unity, abuses cannot easily be removed. Laws for homicide and assault, penalties for obscuring truth and marking the face—these standing categories can readily be set down as articles. But matters such as polygamy, capital display of severed heads, and arbitrary imprisonment—issues never intended for routine deliberation, yet laws that fall outside the ordinary measure— Former kings' statutes and later kings' edicts accumulated by precedent, each with its own rationale— —but flowery language and redundant clauses that serve no practical purpose should all be removed. Seek the essential meaning of the text; where adaptation is needed, take one commentary as the base and attach the others as supplements. If provisions by Bing and Ding overlap, retain Bing and discard Ding. If Bing and Ding offer different interpretations of the same matter, include both. Let all offices debate what is and is not workable, adopt what can be reliably applied, and establish it as the standard precedent. Record that 'So-and-so and X others jointly deliberated and adopted this as the superior reading'—and then fix the result as the Liang code. Keep the complete text on file in the Ministry of Justice's Comparison Section; when issuing copies to prefectures and commanderies, send only the essentials. This will prevent the abuse of conflicting legal gates. Fadu further petitioned: "When Wei and Jin drafted their codes, only a handful of people were involved; if we now consult every office, I fear deliberation will drag on without resolution."
4
使
Wang Liang, Wang Ying, Shen Yue, Fan Yun, Liu Yun, Fu Zhao, Kong Ai, Yue Ai, Xu Mao, and others were appointed to finalize the code in twenty chapters: Names of Punishments, Legal Precedents, Robbery and Plunder, Rebellion and Treason, Fraud and Forgery, Accepting Bribes, Accusation and Impeachment, Pursuit and Capture, Detention and Interrogation, Trial and Judgment, Miscellaneous, Household Registers, Unauthorized Mobilization, Destruction and Loss, Palace Guard, Fire and Water, Granaries and Storehouses, Stables, Passes and Markets, and Violating Regulations. Capital punishment was divided into two degrees: for major crimes the head was displayed, for lesser ones the convict was executed in the market. Terms of two years or more constituted "service penalties," meaning convicts were assigned labor according to their skills. Shaved head and cangue for five years, plus two hundred strokes of the rod, could be redeemed with sixty bolts of silk for a man. A four-year term could be redeemed with forty-eight bolts for a man. A three-year term could be redeemed with thirty-six bolts for a man. A two-year term could be redeemed with twenty-four bolts for a man. Monetary fines of one liang or more constituted redeemable offenses. Death could be redeemed with two jin of gold, or sixteen bolts of silk for a man. Redemption of shaved head and cangue for five years plus two hundred rod strokes required one jin twelve liang of gold, or fourteen bolts for a man. A four-year term required one jin eight liang of gold, or twelve bolts for a man. A three-year term required one jin four liang of gold, or ten bolts for a man. A two-year term required one jin of gold, or eight bolts for a man. A fine of twelve liang could be redeemed with six bolts for a man. A fine of eight liang could be redeemed with four bolts for a man. A fine of four liang could be redeemed with two bolts for a man. A fine of two liang could be redeemed with one bolt for a man. A fine of one liang could be redeemed with two zhang of silk for a man. Women paid half these amounts. When the five corporal punishments could not resolve a case, the five fines applied; when fines failed, the five pardons applied—with ransom as the governing principle, these fifteen degrees were established. Nine lesser degrees were also established: one year, half year, hundred days, and whip penalties of two hundred, one hundred, fifty, thirty, twenty, and ten strokes. Eight administrative degrees were also established: first, dismissal from office plus one hundred strokes of supervised beating; second, dismissal from office alone; third, suspension of salary for one hundred days plus one hundred strokes of supervised beating; fourth, one hundred strokes of supervised beating; fifth, fifty strokes of supervised beating; sixth, thirty strokes of supervised beating; seventh, twenty strokes of supervised beating; eighth, ten strokes of supervised beating. When aggravating a sentence, apply the next higher degree; when mitigating, the next lower.
5
滿 [2] [3] [4] [5]
Prisoners who did not confess promptly were subject to interrogation under torture, regardless of social rank. When a person of rank resisted confession and torture was warranted, a memorial had first to be submitted for deliberation before the penalty could be applied. After three days without food, family members were permitted to bring two sheng of gruel. For women, the elderly, and children, gruel was given only after one hundred fifty ke of fasting, and no further after one thousand ke. Prisoners wore shackles, cangues, combined restraints, and leg irons—[2] with fixed regulations distinguishing light from heavy and large from small. Three types of whip were prescribed: ceremonial, legal, and ordinary. The ceremonial whip was made of raw hide with the smooth side left intact; the legal whip of raw hide with the smooth side stripped away; the ordinary whip of tanned hide with the smooth side left on. [3] All were made with crane-head knots, one chi one cun in length. The lash was two chi seven cun long and three fen wide; [4] the handle was two chi five cun long. All beating rods were made of raw thornwood, six chi in length. Three grades were prescribed: the great cudgel, the legal cudgel, and the small cudgel. The great cudgel measured one cun three fen around the thick end and eight and a half fen around the thin end. The legal cudgel measured one cun three fen around the thick end and five fen around the thin end. The small cudgel measured one cun one fen around the thick end, tapering to a very fine tip. Supervised beatings were capped at fifty or thirty strokes for major offenses and twenty for minor ones. When two hundred or more rod strokes were prescribed, half was applied first and the remainder later, divided equally between whip and cudgel. Elderly and juvenile offenders received half the prescribed whip or cudgel strokes. Offenders subject to legal whip or cudgel penalties were punished with the tanned whip and small cudgel. When more than fifty strokes were required, they were administered in stages. Generals, officials, and women subject to physical punishment paid monetary fines instead. Offenses punished according to official rank, [5] or by specifically named penalties in the code, were exempt from this rule. Interrogation under torture employed the tanned whip and small cudgel. Ceremonial and legal whips and cudgels could not be used except by special imperial edict. Capital punishments of whipping or cudgeling ordered by edict were carried out at the Cloud Dragon Gate. Pregnant women were exempt from sentencing and punishment. Rebellion, defection, and great treason and above were all punished by beheading. Fathers and sons of the same household, regardless of age, were all executed in the market. Mothers, wives, sisters, and others subject to joint execution—their wives, sons, daughters, and concubines were all assigned as slaves to the Xi officials. Property was confiscated by the state. Robbers were beheaded; their wives and children were conscripted into the army. When amnesty commuted a death sentence, the convict's face was tattooed with the character for robber, his head was shaved and a cangue applied, and he was assigned as a smelting-chain laborer for life. Lesser sentences were commuted to transport duty or assignment as artisan laborers, smelters, or imperial workshop chain gangs, with terms varying by severity. The most severe cases could mean lifelong servitude.
6
Scholars and officials were subject to a category of prohibition and confinement, also graded by severity. Those who violated standards of moral reputation were permanently excluded from office. Service-penalty prisoners aged eighty or above or ten or below, pregnant women, the blind, and dwarfs requiring shackles, prefects and chancellors, commandants, frontier marquises and above, the parents, wives, and children of marquises and above, those born to them guilty of non-capital register offenses, and officials of two thousand shi and above not summoned in cages—all were detained with red cords rather than irons.
7
Each month the Administrator of Danyang visited Jiankang County and ordered the three judicial officials jointly to review cases and examine whether judgments were fair. Ministry of Justice officials whose turn it was to review prisoners joined in the joint review. In all, 2,529 articles defined criminal offenses.
8
In the fourth month of Tianjian 2, on the day guimao, Fadu submitted the new code along with thirty scrolls of ordinances and thirty scrolls of statutes. The emperor appointed Fadu Commandant of Justice and ordered the new code promulgated throughout the realm.
9
In the eighth month of Tianjian 3, a Jiankang woman named Ren Tinv was convicted of abducting people and sentenced to death. Her son Jingci, under interrogation, confessed that his mother had indeed committed the crime. Judge Yu Sengqu submitted: "In serving one's parents, concealment is no offense; in testifying against one's father, Confucius deemed it wrong. Jingci had never shown proper restraint; he had clear evidence before his eyes yet condemned his mother to death, harming social harmony and damaging public morals. When a plea fails verification, the sentence is reduced one degree—how could he evade a five-year term yet deliver his mother to death! Jingci should receive an aggravated sentence. An edict exiled him to Jiaozhou. Exile and transport penalties were thus reinstated. In the tenth month of that year, on the day jiazi, an edict declared that monetary fines as provisional statutes should be suspended. The category of redeemable offenses was abolished.
10
Emperor Wu cherished his kinsmen and showed leniency to court officials; when any committed offenses, he always signaled his subordinates to bend the law in their favor. Common people, by contrast, were always judged strictly according to the law. Under joint punishment, the elderly and young were not exempt; if one family member fled, the entire household was held as collateral for forced labor. Driven to desperation, the people turned increasingly to crime. Later, when the emperor visited the southern suburb, an old man of Moling stopped him and said: "Your Majesty's laws are harsh toward commoners and lenient toward the powerful—this is no strategy for the long term. If you can truly reverse this, the realm will be greatly fortunate. The emperor then sought ways to show leniency. Under the old prison law, if a husband was guilty his wife and children were seized; if a son was guilty his parents were seized. In the first month of the eleventh year, on the day renchen, an edict declared: "From now on, in families of those arrested for exile, and in cases requiring collateral labor, if there are elderly or young among them, transport may be suspended. In the fourteenth year, facial tattooing was also abolished.
11
使 [6] 便
The emperor devoted himself to Confucian refinement and relaxed penal enforcement; from dukes and ministers downward, none paid attention to trying cases. Corrupt officials grasped power, twisted the law with cunning prose, and bribery flourished, producing many wrongful convictions. Generally, sentences of two years or more reached five thousand persons each year. At that time convicts in labor service all wore five shackles; those deemed incapable of flight wore combined cangue and shackles. If they fell ill, restraints were temporarily removed. Thereafter, prisoners were assigned to light or heavy labor according to circumstances. During the Datong era, the Crown Prince, while attending to affairs in the Eastern Palace, saw this and was moved to pity; he submitted a memorial: "I have lately been ordered to oversee miscellaneous affairs in the capital. I have seen the northern and southern suburban altars, artisan offices, carriage depot, imperial kitchen, left equipment section, and other offices all request light prisoners of four or five years or less to serve as laborers. Although crimes and punishments were equal in grade, one convict might be assigned to the money office while another went to the suburban altar. The money office had three locations where work was heavy, [6] while the suburban altars had six locations where labor was lighter. Allowing prison officials to decide what is feasible opens the path to twisting the law. Fairness is hard to find; like flowing springs, corruption easily opens its mouth—I fear the weight of the jade code will entirely depend on the official's black cord, and judicial decisions will further depend on the clerk's red brush. I respectfully suggest that detailed regulations be established as permanent standards. The emperor wrote in reply: "In recent years, labor service everywhere has relied on convicts and exiles, urgently filling assignments. If the code is made detailed and fine as untangling silk, what is urgently needed will ultimately be unobtainable. Citing precedents to raise litigation will only breed confusion, and preventing crafty abuse will become difficult. We must think further and take what is convenient. In the end he did not adopt the proposal. By then the sons and younger brothers of kings and marquises had all come of age, yet remained arrogant and lawless. Emperor Wu was aging, weary of state affairs, and devoted himself to Buddhist precepts; whenever he passed a heavy sentence, he was displeased all day. Once while touring the southern park, Prince Linchuan of the River hid men under a bridge, intending rebellion. When the plot was discovered, the relevant offices requested execution. The emperor only wept and reproached him: "My talent is ten times yours, yet in this position I always live in fear and dread. What are you doing? Could I not act as the Duke of Zhou did? I spare you only because you are foolish. He was removed from his post. Before long, he was restored to his original post. Thereafter the princes grew ever more arrogant; some killed people in broad daylight on the capital streets; bandits and fugitives all hid in princely households; at dusk they plundered travelers on the roads in what was called 'beating the checkpoint.' Emperor Wu was well aware of these abuses, yet found it difficult to suppress them. In the tenth month of the eleventh year, the category of redeemable offenses was reinstated. In the seventh month of Zhongdatong 1, on the day jiazi, an edict declared that except for great treason, parents and grandparents would no longer be jointly punished. Thereafter the net of prohibition gradually loosened and common people lived in peace, yet among noble clans lawlessness was especially severe. Before long Hou Jing rebelled.
12
[7] [8]
The Chen dynasty inherited the chaos at the end of Liang, under which the penal code had grown sparse and loose. When Emperor Wu ascended the throne, seeking to reform these abuses, he issued an edict: "We have heard that in the flourishing age of Tang and Yu, painted images were set up yet none transgressed; in the declining virtue of Xia and Shang, even family punishment was incomplete. By the final generations, legal categories had proliferated; amid disorder and disunion, statutes and regulations were lost and tangled. We, having just received the imperial mandate, seek to strengthen governance: worthy talent should be sought, statutes and ordinances revised, and all officials broadly consulted, striving for fairness and simplicity. They gradually found legal officials from Liang times and ordered them, together with Fan Quan, revising clerk in the Ministry of Justice, to codify the statutes and ordinances. He also ordered Shen Qin, Xu Ling, Zong Yuanrao, and He Lang to participate, producing thirty scrolls of code and forty scrolls of ordinances. Drawing on former dynasties, the articles flowed redundantly; though numerous, they were broad without being essential. The code emphasized only the category of moral reputation and prohibition from office. Gentry who violated moral teaching through unfilial conduct or internal disorder were cast out by edict and permanently excluded from office. If such a person had previously contracted marriage with a scholar, the wife's family was permitted to reclaim her. Those who captured bandit chiefs, and scholars guilty of wicked rebellion, had death remitted and were assigned to smelting work, permitted to bring wives into service without term limits. The statute of redeemable offenses was retained, and joint punishment of parents was restored. For all remaining chapters, articles, and categories, light and heavy, simple and complex—the Liang code was followed throughout. When guilt was clearly evidenced yet the accused would not confess, standing interrogation was applied. Standing interrogation required a mound of earth one chi high, rounded on top, barely large enough for the prisoner to stand on both feet. After twenty strokes of the whip and thirty of the rod, double shackles and a cangue were applied, and the prisoner was placed on the mound. Each session on the mound lasted seven ke, twice daily. They stood on the mound for three seven-day periods, with a whipping every seven days. After one hundred fifty strokes in all, if the prisoner still would not confess, the death sentence was commuted. Shaved head and five-year term with whipping reduced a death sentence one degree and required double chains. [7] Sentences of five years or less required single chains. For four- and five-year terms, officials could commute two years by rank; the remainder was served as labor. For three-year terms, officials could commute two years by rank; the remaining year could be redeemed. Officials guilty of negligent error in public duty paid monetary fines. Two-year terms for officials were subject to redemption. One-year terms could be redeemed even by those without office. Commoners of humble status received whip and cudgel penalties as prescribed. Prisoners wore shackles and convicts wore chains regardless of rank. [8] Condemned prisoners rode in an open cart wearing three shackles plus hand restraints. At the execution ground, hand shackles and restraints were removed. Market executions required daylight and clear weather. Executions were forbidden on new and full moons, the eight seasonal nodes, the six fast days, and days when the moon was in the Heart of Zhang. The Commandant of Justice's court served as the northern prison and Jiankang County as the southern prison; both had chief wardens and assessors. Each third month, the Palace Attendant, Minister of Personnel, Ministers of Justice, Three Excellencies' staff, chief clerks, wrongful-conviction review clerks, Imperial Censor, Attending Censor, and Orchid Terrace clerks personally inspected all capital prisons and smelting offices to examine wrongful convictions.
13
便
Emperor Wen was clear-sighted and attentive to penal matters, personally reviewing lawsuits and holding officials accountable—his reign was known for strict and fair justice. Following an era of leniency, when meritorious ministers and noble kin broke the law, Emperor Wen always held them to account—earning a reputation for severity. When Emperor Xuan took the throne, he favored civil and military scholars and promoted simple governance that benefited all ranks. Thereafter, as governance grew lax and penal law went unenforced, and with years of northern campaigns exhausting the people, banditry flourished. When the Later Lord took the throne, he trusted slanderers; officials ran wild; justice was sold openly; and rewards and punishments were decided entirely within the palace. The Later Lord was suspicious, cruel, and jealous; his authority went unheeded; those who displeased him were often exterminated to the last. The people rose in resentment and rebellion, leading to the dynasty's destruction.
14
使 使 使 使 𤠮使 使𢶏
Emperor Shenwu and Wenxiang of Northern Qi, both former Wei chancellors, continued to use the old Wei code. In Tianbao 1, Emperor Wenxuan first ordered officials to revise the Wei dynasty's Linzhi Code. Military and state affairs were pressing, government and punishment lacked unity, and judgments rarely followed the code—what passed for law was called 'changing the law to handle matters.' Fang Chao of Qinghe was Administrator of Liyang; one Zhao Daode sent him a letter requesting a favor. Chao refused the letter and beat the messenger to death. Wenxuan then ordered every prefect and magistrate to set up cudgels for executing messengers who came soliciting favors. Later Song Gui of the Capital Office submitted: "Cao Cao hung up cudgels to inspire awe in chaotic times; applying them in peacetime seems inadvisable. If a messenger solicits bribes, he already faces execution—if the official himself bends the law, how can further punishment be added? The practice was abolished. Soon Zhang Lao of the Ministry of Education submitted that since Great Qi received the mandate, statutes and ordinances had not been revised—hardly the way to establish institutions and reform public expectations. Officials were then ordered to draft a Qi code, but years passed without completion. Case decisions still followed Wei precedent. At first penal administration was still fresh, and officials upheld the law. After the sixth year, the emperor grew proud of his achievements and practiced cruel violence at will—benighted, drunken, and debauched, indulging every whim. Great cauldrons, long saws, and grinding pestles were displayed in the courtyard; when displeased, he personally butchered victims or ordered attendants to carve and devour them to satisfy his cruelty. Vice Director Yang Zunyan ordered the censorate to keep condemned prisoners among the armed guards; when the emperor wished to kill, one was produced on command—these were called 'prisoners supplied for the emperor.' If not executed within three months, the death sentence was remitted. Once at the Golden Phoenix Tower, after receiving Buddhist precepts, he summoned condemned prisoners, fitted them with woven bamboo wings, and ordered them to fly down—calling it ' releasing life.' All who fell died; the emperor watched and laughed. Judicial offices again applied cruel methods in trying cases. Interrogation employed wagon-spoke cudgels, finger-crushing and ankle-pressing, standing prisoners on burning plowshares, or forcing arms through burning wagon axles. Unable to bear the suffering, all confessed falsely. In the seventh year, Yuzhou inspector Bai Kai, impeached by Vice Director Lu Fei, falsely accused Fei in prison of accepting bribes. Wenxuan knew the accusation was false, ordered investigation, and found no basis for it. He ordered the Eight Seats to establish a precedent that the guilty could not accuse others. Those harboring guilt then preemptively filed false accusations to exploit the precedent, leaving officials unable to decide. Prisoners falsely implicated one another; major cases often involved a thousand persons and dragged on for months. Yet the emperor still entrusted governance to Yang Zunyan, who patched the system's gaps; contemporaries whispered that the ruler was benighted above while government remained clear below.
15
退 [9] 殿殿殿 殿
Emperor Xiaozhao, while still a prince, already knew these faults; upon taking the throne he intended reform. Before long he died. Emperor Wucheng, seeking lenient statutes, issued an edict in Daning 1: "A king's tools are reward and punishment alone; reward must fit the merit, punishment must fit the crime. Yet reason allows discretion; cases involve doubt; merit offices may open or close paths; and the written code cannot exhaust every circumstance. Recalling King Wen's appointment of men and Confucius's counsel against litigation, we seek the proper measure of punishment and reward. Henceforth, when reward is doubtful apply the greater, when punishment is doubtful apply the lesser. Because the code remained unfinished, he frequently urged its completion. In Heqing 3, Prince Rui of Zhao and others submitted the Qi code in twelve chapters: Names and Examples, Forbidden Guard, Marriage and Households, Unauthorized Mobilization, Violating Regulations, Fraud and Forgery, Fighting and Litigation, Bandits and Robbers, Pursuit and Judgment, Destruction and Damage, Stables and Herds, and Miscellaneous. Criminal offenses were defined in 949 articles. They also submitted forty scrolls of new ordinances, generally drawn from Wei and Jin precedents. Five categories of punishment were established: first, death—for the most severe, dismemberment at the waist; next, exposing the head; both with the corpse displayed for three days; where no market existed, at a conspicuous place in village or pavilion. Next came decapitation, separating body and head. Next came strangulation—death without dismemberment. Four degrees in all. Second, exile—for offenses warranting death but reducible in circumstance: one hundred strokes each of whip and rod, head shaved, and exile to the frontier as a soldier. No gradations of distance were yet prescribed. Those not suited to distant exile—men to long-term convict labor, women to pounding grain—both for six years. Third, penal servitude—that is, service penalties. Terms ranged from five years down to one year. Five degrees in all. Each added one hundred strokes of the whip. Five-year terms added eighty rod strokes; four-year, sixty; three-year, forty; two-year, twenty; one-year, none. All were chained and sent to the left work camp without shaving the head. Those without guarantors wore the cangue. Women were assigned to pounding grain and palace weaving. Fourth, the whip—one hundred, eighty, sixty, fifty, and forty strokes; five degrees in all. Fifth, the cudgel—thirty, twenty, and ten strokes; three degrees in all. Fifteen degrees in all. When aggravating, apply the next higher degree; when mitigating, the next lower. Redemption formerly paid in gold was replaced with medium-grade silk. Death required one hundred bolts, exile ninety-two, five-year terms seventy-eight, four-year sixty-four, three-year fifty, two-year thirty-six. Whip and rod strokes were included in each calculation. One-year terms without rod strokes required twenty-four bolts including the whip. Every ten strokes of whip or cudgel required one bolt of silk for redemption. One hundred whip strokes required ten bolts of silk. Districts without silk collected cash equivalent to the silk value. From redeeming ten rod strokes upward through death, fifteen degrees of redemption were again established. Increases and decreases followed the method of regular sentencing. Those eligible for redemption included officials subject to exile, those of equivalent rank and salary, the old and young, eunuchs, idiots, and negligent offenders. Offenders subject to one bolt of silk or ten cudgel strokes and above were all classified as criminals. Robbers and murderers who fled had their names posted; one branch of the clan was assigned as courier households. Imperial clansmen were not posted for robbery, not assigned to Xi offices, and not subject to palace punishment. [9] Those guilty of exile or less eligible for redemption, women guilty of penal servitude or less, dwarfs, the seriously ill, and the crippled not guilty of capital crimes—all were detained with red cords. Year-term convicts wore chains; without chains, a cangue. Exile and above required cangue and shackles. Condemned prisoners wore the yoke. In exile sentences involving whip and rod, the back was whipped. The whip-bearer was changed every fifty strokes. Whip handles were all of tanned hide with the smooth edge shaved away. The whip lash was one chi in length. Rod strokes struck the buttocks, without changing the bearer midway. Cudgels were three chi five cun long, two and a half fen thick at the large end and one and a half fen at the small end. Cudgels for sentences of thirty strokes or less were four chi long, three fen thick at the large end and two fen at the small end. For officials committing offenses, ten strokes of whip or cudgel counted as one demerit. Leisure bureaus required six demerits for dismissal, ordinary bureaus eight, and busy bureaus ten. Penalties beyond dismissal were again calculated in demerits. On amnesty days, the Director of the Armory set up the golden rooster and drum to the right outside the Changhe Gate. Prisoners were assembled before the palace; the drum was beaten a thousand times and shackles were released. Ten grave offenses were also listed: rebellion, great treason, defection, surrender, wicked treason, unnatural conduct, disrespect, unfilial conduct, unrighteous conduct, and internal disorder. Those who committed these ten offenses were excluded from the eight deliberations and redemption. Thereafter statutes were clear and articles concise; sons of official families were ordered to study them regularly. Northern Qi people widely understood the law, largely because of this.
16
Matters that could not be fixed as permanent law were compiled separately as provisional ordinances in two scrolls, running parallel with the code. Later when Prince Ping of Qin, Gao Guiyan, plotted rebellion, no proper code article existed; separate provisional articles were therefore enacted alongside the code. The Court of Justice applied analogical reasoning—reducing sentences by lighter precedents, increasing by heavier ones—giving corrupt officials room to twist the law. Under the Later Lord, favorites wielded power; those who did not attach to them were secretly prosecuted. Discipline collapsed, ultimately leading to the dynasty's destruction.
17
When Emperor Wen of Zhou held the Guanzhong region, his hegemony was just beginning and institutions were largely lacking. In Datong 1, he ordered officials to adapt past and present for the times, producing a twenty-four-article system. In the seventh year, twelve more articles were issued. In the tenth year, the Wei emperor ordered Su Chuo to compile thirty-six articles into five scrolls and promulgate them throughout the realm. Zhao Su of Henan was then appointed Commandant of Justice to codify the law. Zhao Su worked for many years and finally died of heart disease. Tuoba Di, Grand Master of Censors, was then charged with the task. In Baoding 3, third month, day gengzi, it was completed as the Great Code in twenty-five chapters: Names of Punishments, Legal Precedents, Sacrifices, Court Audiences, Marriage, Household Prohibitions, Fire and Water, Construction, Palace Guard, Markets, Fighting, Robbery and Plunder, Rebellion and Treason, Destruction and Loss, Violating Regulations, Passes and Tolls, Feudal Lords, Stables and Herds, Miscellaneous Offenses, Fraud and Forgery, Requests, Accusation, Flight, Detention and Interrogation, and Trial and Judgment. Criminal offenses were defined in 1,537 articles. Punishments were graded as follows: first, cudgel punishment in five degrees, from ten to fifty strokes. Second, whip punishment in five degrees, from sixty to one hundred strokes. Third, convict labor in five degrees; one year required sixty whip strokes and ten rod strokes. Two years required seventy whip strokes and twenty rod strokes. Three years required eighty whip strokes and thirty rod strokes. Four years required ninety whip strokes and forty rod strokes. Five years required one hundred whip strokes and fifty rod strokes. Fourth, exile in five degrees; exile to the guard domain, 2,500 li from the capital, required one hundred whip strokes and sixty rod strokes. Exile to the essential domain, 3,000 li from the capital, required one hundred whip strokes and seventy rod strokes. Exile to the wild domain, 3,500 li, required one hundred whip strokes and eighty rod strokes. Exile to the garrison domain, 4,000 li, required one hundred whip strokes and ninety rod strokes. Exile to the frontier domain, 4,500 li, required one hundred whip strokes and one hundred rod strokes. Fifth, capital punishment in five degrees: strangulation by cord, strangulation, decapitation, exposing the head, and dismemberment. Each of the five punishments had five sub-degrees, totaling twenty-five grades. They did not establish the ten abominations as such, but emphasized wicked treason, unnatural conduct, great disrespect, unfilial conduct, unrighteous conduct, and internal disorder. For wicked treason, the corpse was exposed for three days. Killing bandits who jointly attacked villages or entered homes was not a crime. If one reported a vendetta to the authorities and then killed the offender, there was no punishment. Former robbers were marked on their household registers. Only the imperial clan was exempt. Capital convicts wore cangue and hand shackles; exiles wore cangue and leg irons; convict laborers wore cangue; those subject to whip wore leg stocks; cudgel offenders went unrestrained pending judgment. Imperial clansmen and nobles were chained for capital crimes and below, unrestrained for convict labor and below. Before execution, names and crimes were written on the shackles, and convicts were executed in the market. Only the imperial clan and nobles were held in private prisons.
18
使 滿
Cudgel penalties could be redeemed with one to five liang of gold. Whip penalties could be redeemed with six to ten liang of gold. Convict labor redemption: one year twelve liang, two years fifteen liang, three years one jin two liang, four years one jin five liang, five years one jin eight liang. Exile redemption required one jin twelve liang, with six years of labor regardless of distance. Capital crimes could be redeemed with two jin of gold. Whipping was capped at one hundred strokes. When adding rod strokes, the total was capped at two hundred. When both rod and whip applied, rod came first, then whip. Women subject to rod strokes were permitted to redeem their penalties. Convict laborers were assigned duties according to their abilities. For ten cudgel strokes and above, aggravation moved to the next degree; when the count was complete, the sentence was fixed. When mitigating, capital crimes became exile to the frontier domain; below that all reduced to five years convict labor. Below five years, each degree reduced by one grade. Robbers and those guilty of rebellion, great treason, defection, or wicked treason subject to exile had one branch of the clan assigned as miscellaneous households. Those who fled after robbery had their names posted and were assigned to penal service. A second convict-labor offense or third whip offense meant permanent assignment to menial service. Redemption for ten whip or cudgel strokes required one bolt of medium silk. Exiles and convict laborers paid twelve bolts of silk per year according to their term. Capital crimes required one hundred bolts. Redemption periods: capital fifty days, exile forty, convict labor thirty, whip twenty, cudgel ten. Failure to pay within the deadline reverted to regular sentencing. The poor could petition for exemption. The code comprised 1,537 articles, promulgated throughout the realm. Its outline grew increasingly detailed and redundant; compared with the Qi code, it was verbose without being essential.
19
西 [10]
Private revenge was initially abolished; offenders were judged as homicides. Duke Hu of Jin sought to relax governance to win hearts, yet poor at judging men—most of those he entrusted were unfit. Loose enforcement failed to control crime; relatives and subordinates manipulated power while the people groaned with nowhere to appeal. Emperor Wu was clear-sighted; after executing Hu he personally governed; even kin were not spared; law was strictly applied and the realm was orderly. Handed down from Wei and Jin, for severe capital crimes wives and children were assigned to the army. Wei captives from Western Liang were confiscated as bond households. When Cao Cao entered the pass, bond households remained in Eastern Wei; Northern Qi followed and kept them in menial service. In Jiande 6, after pacifying Qi, the emperor ordered all miscellaneous households released as commoners. Miscellaneous households were abolished. Qi's benighted customs persisted; banditry and treachery largely ignored the code. That year the Penal Essentials were compiled to enforce discipline. Armed group robbery of one bolt or more, unarmed group robbery of five bolts, supervisors stealing twenty bolts, robbery or fraud of thirty bolts of official goods, village heads concealing five households, ten adult males, or three qing of land [10]—all were capital offenses. All other cases followed the Great Code. Deceit and fraud largely ceased.
20
宿
Emperor Xuan was cruel and tyrannical; as heir he hated his uncle Prince Qi, Wang Gui, Yuwen Xiaobo, and others. Upon taking the throne he executed them all; fear spread throughout the court. Fearing loss of public support, he applied lenient law to win hearts. In the eighth month of Xuanzheng 1, a nine-article code was promulgated to prefectures and commanderies. In Daxiang 1, another edict abolished the Penal Essentials established by the High Ancestor as too severe. Yet debauchery grew daily; he hated criticism; executions were limitless; great ministers were cast aside. Repeated amnesties let criminals lightly violate the law; government orders lacked unity and none knew what to follow. The Penal Essentials were expanded and the law made harsher, styled the Penal Canon of Sage Governance. Palace guards who missed one day of duty were removed from office. Fugitives were executed and their households' registers confiscated. Memorials with character errors incurred punishment. Whip and cudgel were capped at one hundred twenty strokes, called the Heavenly Cudgel. Later the limit was raised to two hundred forty. A crushing cart was also devised to intimidate women. Sentences specifying cudgel meant one hundred twenty strokes; heavier beating meant two hundred forty. Given to excessive drinking, once while drunk lower officer Yang Wenyou asked Palace Steward Chief Sun Lan for a song: "Drunk in the morning, drunk in the evening. Daily drunk, government affairs daily in disorder. Zheng Yi reported this; the emperor ordered two hundred forty strokes until death. He later ordered middle officer Huangfu Meng to sing; Meng's song again remonstrated. Zheng Yi reported this again; Meng received one hundred twenty strokes. From dukes and ministers to consorts and empresses, all received beatings; resentment spread above and below. When the emperor fell ill, the court lost heart and all sought merely to survive. As Chancellor, Emperor Wen of Sui applied lenient statutes, abridged the old code, and compiled the Penal Essentials. When completed, Emperor Jing promulgated it by edict. All pending cases were decided according to the new code.
21
[11]
In Kaihuang 1, after receiving the Zhou abdication, he ordered Gao Jiong, Zheng Yi, Yang Su, Chang Ming, Han Jun, Li E, Liu Xiongliang, and others to revise the new code. Five categories of punishment were established: first, capital punishment in two forms—strangulation and decapitation. Second, exile in three degrees—one thousand, one thousand five hundred, and two thousand li. Assignment terms: one thousand li, two years labor; one thousand five hundred li, two and a half years; two thousand li, three years. Those remaining to serve labor: all three exile degrees required three years. The nearest exile added one hundred cudgel strokes; each degree added thirty. Third, convict labor in five terms—one, one and a half, two, two and a half, and three years. Fourth, cudgel punishment from fifty to one hundred strokes. Fifth, rod punishment from ten to fifty strokes. Whip punishment and the methods of exposing the head, dismemberment, and tearing apart were abolished. Exile and convict labor penalties were all reduced toward leniency. [11] Only for great treason and plotting rebellion were fathers, sons, and brothers beheaded and household members confiscated. The ten abominations were established, largely drawn from Northern Qi with modifications. The ten abominations: plotting rebellion, plotting great treason, plotting defection, wicked treason, unnatural conduct, great disrespect, unfilial conduct, discord within the clan, unrighteous conduct, and internal disorder. Those guilty of the ten abominations or intentional homicide, even under amnesty, were removed from registers.
22
殿 [12]
Those in the eight deliberations and officials of rank seven and above received one degree of reduction. Officials of rank nine and above were permitted redemption. Redemption was paid in copper rather than silk. One jin of copper equaled one demerit; ten demerits equaled dismissal. Ten rod strokes required one jin of copper; one hundred cudgel strokes required ten jin. One year of convict labor required twenty jin of copper; each degree added ten jin, three years sixty jin. Exile one thousand li required eighty jin; each degree added ten jin, two thousand li one hundred jin. Both forms of capital punishment required one hundred twenty jin of copper for redemption. For private offenses, rank five and above could commute two years of convict labor per office held; rank nine and above, one year per office held; when commuting exile. All three exile degrees equaled three years of convict labor. [12] For public offenses, convict labor added one year; exile added one degree. Accumulated convict labor exceeding nine years became exile two thousand li.
23
沿 [13]
When finalized, an edict declared: "Emperors make law that changes with the times; therefore there are additions and reductions. Strangulation and decapitation already represent the utmost in eliminating evil. Exposing the head and dismembering the body serve no purpose; they do not increase deterrence, only display cruelty. The whip mutilates flesh and penetrates bone—cruelty equal to carving and cutting. Though called ancient forms, they depart from benevolent punishment; exposing the head, dismemberment, and the whip are all abolished. Honored officials should not receive convict labor; noble rank extends protection to kin. Exile service was reduced from six years to five; convict labor from five years to three. Elsewhere light replaced heavy and death became life—the articles are many, recorded in full. Let it be promulgated throughout the realm as the standard of the age; miscellaneous codes and harsh categories are abolished. Law is applied so people will not transgress; regular punishment means executing without anger. Setting punishment aside may not be far off; let all officials know our intent. Handed down from former dynasties, interrogation often went outside the law. Some used great cudgels, wagon spokes, sole-beating, ankle-pressing, and cudgel-yokes; torture produced many false confessions. Though cases conformed to the letter of the law, wrongful convictions were common and none could defend themselves. All harsh methods were abolished; interrogation was capped at two hundred strokes; cangue and cudgel sizes were standardized; beaters could not be changed. The emperor also recognized that when the new code first took effect, many violated it through ignorance. Lower officials, inheriting harsh practices, strove to forge cases against the accused. He ordered proclamation throughout the realm to earnestly settle lawsuits. Wrongful convictions unsettled at county level proceeded through commandery and prefecture to province; if still unsettled, [13] appeal went to the palace. If unsatisfied, petitioners could beat the petition drum; officials recorded and memorialized the case.
24
使
The emperor also personally reviewed prisoners each season. Regularly before the autumn equinox he reviewed crime reports from all prefectures. In the third year, reviewing the Punishments Section memorial, judged cases still reached ten thousand. He concluded the code was still too strict, trapping many in guilt. Su Wei, Niu Hong, and others were ordered to revise the code further. Eighty-one capital articles, one hundred fifty-four exile articles, and over one thousand convict-labor and cudgel articles were cut; only five hundred remained. Twelve scrolls in all. Twelve chapters: Names and Examples, Forbidden Guard, Office System, Households and Marriage, Stables and Granaries, Unauthorized Mobilization, Bandits and Robbers, Fighting and Litigation, Fraud and Forgery, Miscellaneous Statutes, Pursuit of Fugitives, and Trial and Judgment. The penal net became concise—sparse yet without loss. Doctor of Law disciples were established. Major cases first went to legal experts to fix the charge, then judgment followed. In the fifth year, Murong Tianyuan impeached Supervisor Tian Yuan for falsely requesting charity grain; the facts were true, yet legal student Fu En twisted the text to trap Tianyuan, reversing the charge. The emperor issued an edict: "Human life depends on the code; articles must be easy to understand. Appoint upright officials so great and small cases are decided without error. Yet following former practice, separate legal officials were established and treated as leaders in judgment. The power of life and death was entrusted to petty men; punishment was unclear and authority was wantonly exercised. No failure in governance is greater than this. Court of Justice Doctors of Law, Ministry legal experts, and prefectural legal students are all abolished. Thereafter all bureaus were ordered to cite the code text fully in their decisions. In the sixth year, all prefectural administrators and military adjutants were ordered to study the code and be tested on reaching the capital. Households confiscated from the rebellions of Yuchi Jiong, Wang Qian, and Sima Xiaonan were ransomed and restored as registered households. Family punishment and joint liability were thereby abolished. Prefectures were forbidden to execute prisoners by express relay.
25
使 殿 殿 退 殿 殿 殿 殿殿 便 殿
Emperor Wen was suspicious and disliked learning; having risen through wit, he prided himself on legal knowledge and watched subordinates keenly. He constantly ordered attendants to spy inside and outside; small faults brought heavy punishment. Suspecting clerical corruption, he secretly sent bribes; violators were immediately executed. He beat people daily in the palace hall, sometimes three or four times in one day. Once angry that an interrogator's beating was too light, he ordered immediate execution. In the tenth year, Gao Jiong, Liu Yu, and others remonstrated that the court hall was no place for killing, the palace no place for punishment. The emperor did not accept their advice. Jiong and others then requested punishment at court: "Your Majesty nurtures the people and seeks to remove abuses, yet offenders persist, forcing excessively strict punishment. We ministers have failed; we beg to withdraw and yield to worthier men. The emperor turned to Chief of Attendants Tian Yuan: "Are my beatings too heavy?" Yuan replied: "Heavy." Yuan raised his hand: "Your Majesty's rod is thick as a finger; thirty strokes compare to several hundred ordinary strokes, so many die." Displeased, the emperor removed cudgels from the hall; punishments were assigned to the relevant offices. Later Li Juncai submitted that the emperor favored Gao Jiong excessively; enraged, the emperor ordered a beating; with no cudgel in the hall, Li was flogged to death with a horsewhip. Cudgels were restored to the hall. Soon angry again, he killed in the hall; Feng Ji remonstrated in vain; execution proceeded in the hall. He soon regretted it and consoled Feng Ji, yet was angry that other officials had not remonstrated. In the twelfth year, the emperor found that applying the code produced contradictions—identical crimes judged differently. Prefectures were forbidden to decide capital cases immediately; all went to the Court of Justice for review, then to the province for final decision. In the thirteenth year, convict labor and exile were both changed to frontier assignment. In the fifteenth year, capital crimes required three reviews before execution. In the sixteenth year, officials reported Hechuan granary short seven thousand shi; Hulu Xiaoqing was ordered to investigate, blaming the chief clerk. Xiaoqing was ordered by express relay to execute him; his household was enslaved; grain was sold to cover the deficit. Thereafter, stealing frontier grain of one sheng or more meant death and confiscation of household members. The emperor also found that long-serving clerks indulged in corruption. Prefectural and county clerks rotated every three years; former incumbents could not serve again. In the seventeenth year, an edict noted that local officials indulged themselves and failed to enforce the law. For all offenses, though code articles existed, when the code was light yet circumstances heavy, immediate judgment could not deter wrongdoing. Subordinate officials guilty of faults could be beaten beyond what the code prescribed. Thereafter superiors and subordinates drove one another to beatings; cruelty counted as capability, upholding the law as cowardice.
26
宿[14]
The emperor favored cruel urgency, yet crime persisted; robbers snatched goods in broad daylight in the capital. Troubled, he asked ministers how to stop it. Before Yang Su and others could speak, the emperor said: "I know what to do. He ordered that informants receive the robber's confiscated property as reward. Within a month, peace was restored. Rogues then laid objects before wealthy youths; if picked up, they seized them and claimed the reward. Many were falsely framed. Learning this, he ordered execution in the market for stealing one coin or more. Travelers rested early and departed late; [14] the realm trembled with fear. Another regulation followed: taking one coin from a traveling office, or failing to report it, was punishable by death. Four people stealing one rafter bucket, three stealing one melon—all were immediately executed. Several men seized an official and said: "Are we seekers of wealth? We came only on behalf of the wronged. Report to the Supreme One—for since antiquity, no state ever executed a man for stealing one coin. If you do not report for us, we will return, and then there will be none of your kind left. The emperor heard this and abolished execution for stealing one coin.
27
使 使
Once enraged, he beat people to death in the sixth month. Vice Director Zhao Chuo contended: "In the fourth month of summer, Heaven and Earth nurture all living things. Execution is forbidden at this season. The emperor replied: "Though the sixth month is a season of growth, thunder must still strike. Since Heaven displays wrathful thunder in blazing heat, I act as Heaven—what is forbidden? He executed them anyway. Court clerk Lai Kuang submitted a sealed memorial praising Court official Si En for leniency. The emperor deemed Kuang loyal and ordered him to attend each morning among fifth-rank officials. Kuang then reported that Zhao Chuo improperly released convict laborers; investigation found no favoritism. The emperor grew angry at Kuang and ordered execution. Chuo firmly contended that Kuang did not merit death. The emperor brushed his robes and entered the side chamber; Chuo falsely said: "I will no longer settle Kuang; another matter awaits memorial." Brought into the side chamber, Chuo bowed: "I have three capital crimes. As Vice Director I could not control my clerk, causing Kuang to offend imperial punishment—capital crime one. The prisoner did not merit death, yet I could not argue to the death—capital crime two. I had no other business, yet falsely requested entry—capital crime three. The emperor's expression softened. Empress Xian being present, the emperor gave Chuo two golden cups of wine and bestowed the cups on him. Kuang escaped death and was assigned convict labor in Guangzhou.
28
𪌭
In his later years the emperor especially honored Buddhism and believed in ghosts and spirits. In the twentieth year, destroying Buddha images, the Heavenly Lord, or mountain and river spirit images was judged wicked treason. Suspicious toward officials of the two dynasties, he applied the law with especial severity. A censor who failed to impeach military officials for uneven dress on New Year's Day was told: "You are a censor—how do you indulge them? He was executed. Remonstrance Grandee Mao Sizu remonstrated; he too was executed. A chief administrator judged unfairly; a vice director remonstrated about late wheat; an armory director's courtyard was overgrown; Dugu Shi received a foreign parrot—the emperor personally executed them all.
29
西 殿使
In the Renshou era the law grew harsher; the emperor's whims replaced the code. Yang Su then held delegated power. Yang Su's temperament was volatile; officials trembled and dared not speak. Yang Su disliked Chen Yan; passing the foreign guests' hostel he found horse dung in the courtyard and servants gambling on felt. He reported to the emperor, who raged: "The host-guest director failed to sweep the courtyard; clerks gambled on official felt—how can this be punished enough? All were beaten to death at the Western Market; Chen Yan was posted and cudgeled nearly to death. Vice directors Yang Yuan and Liu Zitong loved harsh legal prose and tailored cases to the emperor's pleasure. The emperor was pleased and assigned them to attend among third-rank officials; edict cases were specially entrusted to them. When the emperor was displeased, they applied heavy penalties; countless died without special guilt. Yuan also attached to Yang Su, reporting prisoner names on the road—all sentences followed Su's whim. Condemned prisoners cried out injustice on the road to execution, weeping to Heaven. Duke Yang Su manipulated court power; the emperor could not fully restrain him.
30
[15] 宿 宿
When Emperor Yang took the throne, finding Emperor Wen's prohibitions too harsh, he ordered revision of the code and abolished the ten abominations. Measures were half the old size, [15] and redemption copper doubled accordingly. One hundred cudgel strokes then required thirty jin. One year of convict labor sixty jin; each degree added thirty jin; three years one hundred eighty jin. Exile had no gradations; redemption required two hundred forty jin. Both capital forms required three hundred sixty jin for redemption. In substance there was no difference. Under the Kaihuang code, sons of tainted households could not hold palace guard or close-attendant posts. Previously Xiao Yan was executed for rebellion; Cui Junzhuo was implicated in Prince Yong's affair; their households were confiscated. Yan through the empress, Junzhuo through a favored daughter—the emperor abolished the old rule: "Punishment does not reach descendants—extending supreme filial piety; grace severed by righteousness encourages loyalty. Thus Yang Fuzhi's execution showed Shu Xiang's sincerity; Ji Bu's merit spared Lord Ding's punishment—establishing reputations for posterity. We govern with open hearts, following old canons and lenient policy. The six offices embody inclusive magnanimity; one fault should not cover all virtue. Relatives within one generation of executed criminals may again hold office and serve in palace guard and close-attendant posts."
31
In the third year the new code was completed. Five hundred articles in eighteen chapters. Promulgated as the Daye Code in eighteen chapters: Names and Examples, Palace Guard, Violating Regulations, Requests, Households, Marriage, Unauthorized Mobilization, Accusation and Impeachment, Bandits, Robbers, Fighting, Pursuit of Fugitives, Granaries and Storehouses, Stables and Herds, Passes and Markets, Miscellaneous, Fraud and Forgery, and Trial and Judgment. Over two hundred articles within the five punishments were reduced toward leniency. Cangue, cudgel, sentencing, and interrogation were all lighter than before. The people, long weary of harshness, rejoiced at leniency. Thereafter he campaigned against foreign powers and indulged his desires; war and levies grew ever heavier. Officials coerced and extorted; statutes were abandoned; bribery flourished; the poor turned to banditry. He then imposed severe punishment: all robbery and above, regardless of severity, was beheaded without awaiting imperial review. People gathered in bands, attacking towns; punishment could not stop them. Because banditry did not cease, he further indulged excessive punishment. In the ninth year, robbers' household registers were confiscated. Great bands of robbers arose; prefectural officials again held life-and-death power at whim. When Yang Xuangan rebelled, the emperor executed him and punished nine generations of his clan. The most severe cases received dismemberment and exposure of the head. Some were dismembered and shot; dukes and ministers downward were ordered to carve and devour the flesh. The people groaned in resentment; the realm collapsed; when Emperor Gong took the throne, justice again had a place.
32
Collation Notes
33
For "shi nan qu bi," Cefu yuangui 610 reads "qu" as "the cited text" (take).
34
"Dou xie": "Dou" originally read "sheng"; corrected per Cefu yuangui 610. The following "dou xie" is corrected per Cefu yuangui 261.
35
"Shu ta bu qu lian": "Ta" originally read "zu." Imperial Readings 649, citing Jin ordinances, also has "zu," glossed as "soft hide." Shuowen jiezi reads: "Ta, soft hide." "Zu" first appears in Guangyun. The character should read "ta," not "zu"; corrected here. The same correction applies below.
36
"Guang san fen": "Fen" originally read "cun"; corrected per Imperial Readings 649.
37
"Qi yi zhi yuan ying fa": "Yuan" is suspected to read "fu" (demerit). Below, Northern Qi has "ten whip or cudgel strokes equal one demerit"; Sui has "one jin of ransom copper equals one demerit."
38
"Yu shi wei ju": "Shi" originally read "xin"; corrected per Cefu yuangui 261.
39
"Suo er chong": Cefu yuangui 611 reads "suo" as "qian" (cangue). The same applies to "bing suo yi chong" below.
40
"Bu ji jie pin": Cefu yuangui 611 reads "bu ji" as "yi xu" (also permitted).
41
"Bu jia gong xing": "Gong" originally read "hai"; corrected per Cefu yuangui 611.
42
For the passage on village heads concealing five households, ten adult males, and three qing of land: "ten" above "ding" and "three" above "qing" were missing; supplemented per Zhou shu, Wudi ji xia. Zizhi tongjian 173 reads "san qing" as "qing" (acre).
43
"Qi liu tu zhi zui jie jian cong qing": "Liu" originally read "fa"; corrected per Cefu yuangui 611.
44
"San liu tong bi tu san nian": "Tong" originally read "zhou"; corrected per Tongdian 164, Cefu yuangui 611, and Tang lü shuyi.
45
"Zhi sheng reng bu li": "Zhi" was originally missing; supplemented per Tongdian 164 and Cefu yuangui 611.
46
宿
"Yan qi zao su": "Zao" originally read "wan" (late); corrected per Imperial Readings 646.
47
"Dou cheng": "Dou" originally read "sheng"; corrected per Cefu yuangui 611.
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