Ancient Chinese legal system

An important part of China's ancient political system. From the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties to the Ming and Qing Dynasties for more than 4,000 years, the development of ancient legal system in China was clear, rich in content and distinctive in characteristics. Legislation of the Past Dynasties Since the emergence of the state in ancient China, the ruling class began to make laws and establish a legal system through state organs. After thousands of years of development, a set of legal system with clear evolution and distinctive characteristics has gradually formed.

The law of Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties is slavery law, which is mainly customary law with both ceremony and punishment. It embodies the unity of kingship and clan power and permeates theocracy. Xia Dynasty was the first slave country in China, and its laws were always called "danger punishment". "Zhou Li Tai Company Punishment" notes: "Summer punishment is 200, flogging is 300, castration is 500, and flogging is 1000." The meaning of punishment in ancient China was the same as that of law, and the appearance of punishment marked the appearance of the legal system in Xia Dynasty.

"Punishment in Tang Dynasty" is the general name of Shang Dynasty law. Shangshu Pan Geng records: "Take old clothes and correct the law". There were written laws in Shang dynasty, which were clearly recorded in ancient documents and confirmed in archaeological excavations. The criminal law of Shang Dynasty was very strict, including death penalty, corporal punishment, exile and imprisonment. In Oracle Bone Inscriptions, there are words that symbolize severe punishment and severe law; "Building a Draft" contains: "Punish Yin □ and kill its righteous punishment." During the Warring States period, Xunzi also said: "The criminal name is from business."

The legal system of the Western Zhou Dynasty was more mature in the Xia and Shang Dynasties. Zhou Li includes criminal law, civil law, administrative law, procedural law and so on. There are as many as 3000 provisions in the Lu Punishment for prisoners to execute five punishments. At the same time, the fine level and redemption system are clearly defined.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the legal system of slavery disintegrated, the legal system of various vassal States changed greatly, and written laws were promulgated one after another. During Zheng's reign, his son published Ding, which thought the country's common law (Du pre-noted in Zuo Gong's six years), and Deng compiled Zhu Xing. The state of Jin also "cast the tripod of punishment and copied the punishment book written by Fan" (Twenty-nine Years of Zuo Zhuan Gong). The enactment and publication of written laws restricted the privileges of the old nobles, promoted the development of feudal relations of production, and marked the disintegration of slavery.

The feudal system was established in the Warring States period. Various vassal States successively promulgated feudal laws with the protection of feudal private ownership as the central content. Among them, Li Kui of Wei formulated six classics on the basis of summing up the criminal codes of various countries, namely, thief, thief, prisoner, arrest, miscellaneous and instrument. The Classic of National Law is the first feudal code which takes punishment as the center and synthesizes various laws. The rulers of Qin pursued legalism and practiced the rule of law. In 359 BC, Shang Yang changed the law into law and formulated the Six Laws of Qin based on the Classic of Law. In addition, Qin also promulgated a large number of decrees. After the Qin and Han Dynasties unified the six countries, Qin Shihuang extended the laws of Qin to the whole country and established a unified feudal legal system for the first time. /kloc-The bamboo slips unearthed in Yunmeng, Hubei Province from 0/975 to 65438+February include three legal documents, namely, Article 29 of the Qin Law, question and answer on the law, and closed clinic, involving agriculture, handicrafts, commerce, national defense, military knighthood system, appointment and dismissal of officials, and martial organizations. The laws of the Qin Dynasty are famous for their cruelty. There are many kinds of punishments with extremely cruel means, including death penalty, corporal punishment, imprisonment and confiscation. And criminals are often punished for several crimes.

In the Western Han Dynasty, Xiao He formulated the Nine Chapters Law on the basis of Qin Law, and established a complete legal system in the form of law, order, division and ratio. The essence of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's "ousting a hundred schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone" is that Confucianism is abroad and Confucianism is at home. As Emperor Gaozu Xuan Di said, "The Han family has its own system, which is based on the hegemony of Taoism" (History of Han Yuan Di). This thought constitutes the theoretical basis of feudal law and has always been pursued by feudal rulers in past dynasties.

The Three Kingdoms, the Jin Dynasty and the Southern and Northern Dynasties all compiled codes during this period. Cao Wei made a major revision to the law, formulated article "Wei Law" 18, and changed the Han law to the name of punishment, ranking first in the whole law. To stipulate five kinds of punishment and further standardize the name of punishment; The "Eight Opinions" to protect eight kinds of dignitaries, such as nobles, bureaucrats and landlords, from enjoying privileges in the trial have also been officially upgraded to the legal system, which fully embodies that "the use of talents is not as good as the use of dignitaries". This is an important development of ancient criminal law in China. Later, such as Jin Law and Northern Qi Law came into being. The law of the Northern Qi Dynasty initiated the "Ten Crimes" (also known as "Ten Evil Crimes"); The "official-to-official" system stipulated in the laws of the Northern Wei and Southern Dynasties had a great influence on the feudal codes of later generations.

The Sui and Tang Dynasties witnessed great changes in various systems, including the legal system, in the feudal society of China. Huang Kailu, which was formulated by the Sui Dynasty, occupies an important position in the feudal code. The Tang Dynasty paid special attention to legislative construction. When Emperor Taizong was in power, he formulated 12 and 500 Tang laws. During Emperor Gaozong's Yonghui years, he compiled 30 volumes of Notes on the Laws of the Tang Dynasty, which was promulgated nationwide in 653. The Law of the Tang Dynasty pays special attention to the ten evils, fully embodies the division of social classes in the Tang Dynasty, and clearly stipulates the different identities, positions, rights and obligations of social classes and their relationships. Tang Law and Tang Law are the most complete feudal codes in the history of China, which have had a great influence on the development of feudal laws in China and some Asian countries.

Song Criminal Code is the basic code of Song Dynasty. It was revised on the basis of "showing morality and punishing system" in the Five Dynasties and the later Zhou Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, feudal absolutism was strengthened in an all-round way, and the emperor could issue decrees at any time as the basis for judging cases and sentencing. Imperial edict became the most important and effective law, and its compilation became the most frequent and important legislative activity in Song Dynasty. The legal provisions of the "auction" system formally appeared in the Song Dynasty.

After Kublai Khan of Yuan Shizu unified China, he promulgated the Supreme Yuan Xinge. Yuan Yingzong formulated the Great Yuantong System. The basic content of the laws of Yuan Dynasty followed the laws of Tang Dynasty, and the form still followed the compilation of Song Dynasty, only changed to "regulations" or "rules". The law of Yuan Dynasty has the dual characteristics of class oppression and national oppression.

Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty were two dynasties in the late feudal society of China, which also reflected the characteristics of the times in the late feudal society in law. The laws and regulations of Ming and Qing dynasties are mainly laws, and there are patents, examples, orders, regulations, rules and regulations besides laws.

Ming Taizu summed up the ruling experience of past dynasties, and made a series of important laws, such as Daming Law and Mingda Patent, with the legislative guiding ideology of "courtesy should guide people, law should be stubborn" and "ruling troubled times with heavy code". Daming Law is the most important code in the Ming Dynasty. It changed the Tang law 12 into seven laws, that is, under the famous examples, it was divided into six official laws: official law, family law, etiquette law, military law, criminal law and trade union law, which changed the feudal legal system structure since Sui and Tang Dynasties. There are four articles in Ming Huang Da, which is a special criminal law with educational function and legal effect. It is promulgated in the form of imperial edict and consists of three aspects: case, order and decree. This is unprecedented in China's ancient legal system. The Ming Dynasty also strengthened economic legislation, mainly including banknote law, money law, tax law and salt law.

Laws of the Qing Dynasty is the last feudal code in the history of China. Its content is the same as the Daming Law. On the basis of following the five punishments in Tang and Ming Dynasties, many new punishments and ethnic oppression clauses were added. In terms of punishment and litigation, the Qing law stipulated that Manchu enjoyed various legal privileges. The Qing dynasty also promulgated separate laws for the specific content of minority areas, such as Hui law, model law, Mongolian law and so on. With the development of feudal economy, the content of adjusting economic relations in the Qing law has also increased greatly.

The ancient rulers of China also used law as a means to manage administrative agencies and officials. All previous dynasties have formulated some administrative laws and regulations on the establishment, responsibilities and official system of administrative institutions. Although various laws and decrees in ancient China were mixed together, there was a separate administrative code after the Tang Dynasty.

The Xia dynasty in the pre-Qin dynasty adapted to the needs of slavery, and with the establishment of power institutions, the initial form of administrative legal system came into being. In Shang Dynasty, etiquette and law constituted an important part of Shang Dynasty's administrative law. In the Xia and Shang dynasties, the management of government agencies was basically based on customary law, "replacing the law with words" and replacing the law with officials.

Zhou Li (also known as Zhou Guan) in the Western Zhou Dynasty contains six chapters of Six Officials and Six Codes. The Six Officials consists of six chapters: Tianguan Zhongzhai, local official Situ, Chun Guan Zongbo, Xiaguan Sima, Qiu Guan Sikou and Dongkao Gong Ji. The "six codes" are the code of governing the country, the code of etiquette, the code of education, the code of politics, the code of punishment and the code of events. Each of the six officials has a code. Among them, the four codes of governance, teaching, etiquette and affairs are actually the contents of administrative law. From then on, it laid the foundation of China's ancient administrative law.

The Qin Dynasty established a centralized and unified feudal country and strengthened the management of government agencies and officials. The law on the establishment of officials and the law on effectiveness in Qin Law are laws on the establishment, appointment, removal, selection and assessment of official positions. The Law on Miscellaneous Officials is a law on the government affairs of Beijing officials. Calligraphy is a rule for official documents. Fu Law, Tian Law, Jin Law, Yi Law, Gong Law, etc. , which is an administrative regulation related to economy and handicraft industry, is very rich in content and fully shows the characteristics of unifying the administrative management system of feudal countries.

The system of three public officials and nine officials and the official law were established in the Han dynasty, and the establishment of the system of six Cao in Shangshutai laid the foundation of the six systems in the whole feudal society. The post and power of various institutions were clearly defined in the Han Dynasty. For example, the imperial edict to the emperor must be faithfully implemented; Officials who leak secrets should be removed from their posts; Officials who accept bribes or manage government property and steal from themselves, as well as officials who commit crimes again after conviction, will be sentenced to death.

The great development of administrative law in Sui, Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties was in Sui and Tang Dynasties. Sui and Tang Dynasties changed the Jin Dynasty into a "professional system" when it was officially listed as a "violation of the system" in the national law. It is a punishment for officials at all levels who violate the establishment and dereliction of duty. The Six Codes of the Tang Dynasty, compiled in the Tang Dynasty, is the earliest and relatively complete administrative code in ancient China. According to the six-part system of official, household, ceremony, soldier, criminal and industry, the norms of state administrative organs at all levels, the establishment, responsibilities and powers of officials, and the administrative management system of selecting, assessing, rewarding and punishing officials are clearly defined. The division of laws and regulations is a great development of the six codes of Tang Dynasty, and "the righteous crime of law is the exemplary administration of law" is the crystallization of the development of ancient administrative law in China. After the Tang Dynasty, the official code of "Qing Law Learning Class" appeared in the Song Dynasty, and the official code of "Yuan" appeared in the Yuan Dynasty. The administrative code of Song and Yuan Dynasties still takes six books as an example, imitating the six codes of Tang Dynasty. Different from the previous generation, it pays attention to the revision of official laws and the formulation of national administrative laws, so it has its own characteristics.

The Ming and Qing Dynasties witnessed the high development of centralized feudal absolutism in China. It combines the achievements of administrative laws of past dynasties, making the formulation of administrative regulations more systematic and standardized. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Ming Hui Dian and Qing Hui Dian were formulated in imitation of the six Tang Dian. The name of "Hui Dian" began in the Ming Dynasty, which means laws and regulations. The style of Ming Hui Dian takes six official systems as the key link, and describes the responsibilities and examples of various administrative agencies. What is not recorded in the History of Ming Dynasty about David Zhang's system is explained in the classics. Wanli's Preface to Rebuilding the Imperial System of the Ming Dynasty said: "The laws of the dynasty, the articles of association of the first generation, and the details of the grand program are all vivid." The Hall of Qinghui records the responsibilities, examples and principles of activities of administrative agencies at all levels from the founding of the Qing Dynasty to Guangxu. It uses officials as the code, posts and role models to establish the switch sequence of officials. Officials in the Qing Dynasty were able to enforce the law by following the rules. As the Preface to the Renewal of the Covenant says, "the Covenant contains all the laws pursued by the officials."

Judicial organs In ancient China, there was no distinction between justice and administration, and the administrative organs also exercised judicial power and were controlled by imperial power, which became a basic feature of the feudal judicial system in China.

Before the pre-Qin and Qin Dynasties, there were no specialized judicial organs, only officials and punishments. Dali in summer and shepherds in Shang and Zhou Dynasties. Because there was no military punishment in ancient times, military officers were often judicial officers. During the Warring States period, the vassal states successively set up the highest judges in charge of prison proceedings. Qin is called Tingwei, Qi is called Dali and Chu is called Li Ting.

After the establishment of the unified Qin Dynasty, "Ting Wei" was listed as one of the nine ministers. As the chief of the central judicial organ, he is responsible for hearing cases assigned by the emperor and difficult cases handed over by local authorities. There is no special judicial organ in Qin dynasty, and county magistrate and county magistrate also have judicial power, and they can handle ordinary cases by themselves.

In the Han Dynasty, Ting Wei (also known as Dali) was still the highest judicial officer in the central government, and the local judicial organs were basically the same as Qin. Some changes have taken place in the judicial system of the Han Dynasty. After the establishment of Shangshutai, three Cao Cao (Western Han Dynasty) and two stone Cao Cao (Eastern Han Dynasty) also mastered certain judicial power and divided some functions and powers of Ting Wei.

The judicial systems of the Three Kingdoms, the Jin Dynasty and the Southern and Northern Dynasties were basically developed following the Han system. The central judicial organ is still generally called Ting Wei. The Northern Qi Dynasty is called Dali Temple, and its institutions are expanding day by day. During this period, the local judicial organs were still integrated with the administrative organs, and the judicial power was held by the chief executives at all levels, such as the county magistrate, the state secretariat and the county magistrate.

During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Dali Temple was responsible for the trial and judgment of crimes committed by court officials, cases above the death penalty, and suspected cases of death penalty transferred by local authorities. The Ministry of Punishment is the central judicial administrative organ, in charge of judicial administration, and is responsible for examining cases tried by Dali Temple and counties. Yushitai is the highest supervisory organ in the central government, responsible for supervising the judicial activities of Dali Temple and the Ministry of Punishment, and also participating in the trial of some cases. In the Tang Dynasty, whenever a major case occurred, the emperor usually ordered the minister of Dali Temple to try it together with Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment and Zhongcheng of the Imperial Palace, which was called "three divisions to judge cases". During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, local justice was still managed by administrative organs.

In the Song Dynasty, the judicial organs kept expanding and their powers were dispersed. In addition to the central judicial organs, Dali Temple and the Ministry of Punishment, the emperor also set up a court in the palace to hear cases reported by Dali Temple. Song Shenzong, the trial court was abolished, and its functions and powers were transferred to the Ministry of Punishment. Local justice is still managed by the state (government, army and prison at the same level as the state) and county administrative organs.

After the Yuan Dynasty unified the whole country, the Ministry of Punishment and Yushitai were set up in the central government, and Dali Temple was changed to a big official residence. When Taiding Emperor was appointed, the judicial power belonged to the Ministry of Punishment and the local government respectively. Mongolian crimes can only be tried by the Zong Zheng government. In the Yuan Dynasty, there was also a state and county judiciary, while Lu was a magistrate under the General Political Department, in charge of the prison.

The centralization of feudal absolutism in Ming and Qing dynasties was strengthened day by day, and the judicial power was more concentrated and improved. There are Douchayuan, the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple in the central government, which are collectively called the "Three Laws Department" and are divided into criminal prisons. Duchayuan is responsible for picketing, the Ministry of Punishment is responsible for interrogation, and Dali Temple is responsible for review, becoming a cautious punishment organ specializing in refutation. The implementation of the "three-division joint hearing" for major cases, clearly known as the "nine-Qing joint hearing", marked the emperor's strict control over judicial power. The Royal Guards and East-West Factories in the Ming Dynasty also held extensive judicial power. In the Qing Dynasty, a judicial institution was set up to hear Manchu lawsuits, and its jurisdiction extended to ethnic minority areas. The Central Military Academy has set up a criminal justice department to handle minority cases.

The ancient Chinese legal system has the following main features:

(1) The law gets rid of the imperial power and upholds it. China practiced autocratic rule in ancient times, and the "life" of the monarch in slave society was the law. The emperor of feudal society had supreme power and practiced personal dictatorship. He was both the highest legislator and the highest judge. The laws of past dynasties were expressed in the form of the emperor's personal will. Although the formulation of laws was specifically completed by courtiers, the power of examination and approval belonged to emperors, and emperors of all dynasties were above the law. Besides laws, the emperor can also issue decrees, orders and forms. Whenever necessary. "The law comes from the monarch", which further consolidated and strengthened the imperial power.

(2) The combination of etiquette and law is based on Confucianism. In ancient Chinese law, ceremony occupies an important position. "Ceremony is the first and the foundation of politics" is both a moral norm and a legal norm. Qin Shihuang ruled the country by law. In the early Western Han Dynasty, it was generally "overlord and mixed soldiers". Since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty "ousted a hundred schools of thought and respected Confucianism alone", Confucianism has become the dominant political thought, and gradually formed a feudal legal thought system with the confluence of etiquette and law as its basic characteristics. Maintaining the "three cardinal guides and five permanents" has become the core content of feudal code, and the combination of morality and punishment and the combination of courtesy and punishment has become the legal principle. Many legal contents, from "quoting the classics to determine the prison", execution in autumn and winter, to the provisions of "ten major crimes" and "eight suggestions", all take the hierarchical ethical relationship of Confucianism as the standard of conviction or pardon, which is highly respected by rulers of all dynasties.

(3) Bureaucrats and nobles enjoy legal privileges. Starting from maintaining the hierarchical system, ancient Chinese laws endowed aristocratic bureaucrats with various privileges. The law of the Western Zhou Dynasty stipulates that "anyone who orders his husband to marry will not submit to prison proceedings"; In the Han Dynasty, there was a "please first" system, and the nobles and bureaucrats had to invite the emperor first in the trial of crimes. "Wei Fa" stipulated "Eight Views" according to "Eight Views". From the Sui Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, the feudal privilege law developed continuously because of its inheritance, and the legal systems such as "discussion", "invitation", "reduction", "redemption" and "official position" stipulated in the Tang Law were concentrated. After the Tang Dynasty, it was recognized as an important content in the code of Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties.

(4) The laws are used together, and the judiciary is subordinate to the administration, and there is no independent judicial power. The ancient Chinese law first showed the combination of etiquette and law, and then formed the feudal code of combining various laws. From the Warring States period when Li Kui wrote the Classic of Law to the laws of Qin, Han, Tang, Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties, criminal law was the main content, with litigation, civil and administrative contents. This mixed compilation form of various laws runs through all dynasties of feudal society.

Under the feudal autocracy, the emperor was the supreme ruler and directly controlled the judicial power. Local judicial power belongs entirely to the administrative organs. Although the central government has a special judicial organ, its activities are controlled by the emperor. Supervision and management organs can also hear cases, and judicial organs often cannot exercise their functions and powers independently. There was no independent judicial power in feudal society, and the judicial organs were only vassals of the emperor and administrative organs controlled by the emperor. This system of combining administration with justice has lasted for thousands of years in China.