Main legal forms
The legal forms of the Qin Dynasty were developed on the basis of the State of Qin at the end of the Warring States Period, mainly including the following.
The law is the Qin law, which is a written law formulated and promulgated by the state and belongs to the most basic legal form. Judging from nearly 30 kinds of legal names found in Qin bamboo slips, the content of Qin law is very rich, and the adjusted legal relations are also quite extensive, far beyond the scope of six articles in Li Kui's Classic of Law.
Life, order, system and imperial edict are imperial edicts or decrees issued by the emperor on behalf of the country. According to Cai Yong's explanation in the Eastern Han Dynasty: "Making books is also the life of the imperial system, which is called" making ". Imperial decree, imperial decree; Hey, tell me. " Because they were directly promulgated by the emperor, the legal effect is generally higher than other legal forms, even higher than written codes.
Cheng is short for articles of association. "Han Shu" Volume "Gaudi Xia Ji" Yan Shigu's Note: "Cheng, Fa also." The worker's trip in Qin bamboo slips is a kind of trip about the production quotas system of government-run handicrafts. "Personnel process", also known as "personnel process", is a regulation or charter about personnel, time and quota. There is a description of "being an official" in Qin bamboo slips.
Formula is the abbreviation of procedure and format, and it is a judicial rule or document procedure about the procedure of hearing cases, which can be used as a reference for judicial personnel when hearing cases. The Qin bamboo slips "Seal Diagnosis" belong to this legal form. There are also transcripts of investigation, inspection and detection of cases, that is, "letters".
The course is a special law about the nature of inspection, evaluation and supervision. Qin bamboo slips have "Cattle and Sheep Classic", that is, the special provisions for assessing and supervising the feeding and management of cattle and sheep by livestock personnel.
According to the Qin Dynasty, the power of legal interpretation belongs to the government or officials, and legal interpretation has the same effect as legal provisions. The legal question and answer of Qin bamboo slips belongs to legal interpretation. In the form of question and answer, explain and even supplement the contents of Qin law and litigation procedure.
Precedent is a precedent for judicial organs to hear and judge cases. Qin bamboo slips called it "acting in court". The courtyard refers to the official courtyard, the imperial court and other levels of government, such as the imperial court, county courtyard, county courtyard, etc. Cases and cases that have been judged and settled can also be used as the legal basis for hearing and judging cases.
Legal content and its characteristics
From Qin State to Qin Dynasty, through a series of legislative activities, a unified legal system of absolute monarchy was gradually formed. It is rich in content and full of the characteristics of the times, and widely involves criminal, civil, economic, administrative and other legal relations.
I. Contents of the Criminal Law
Under the guidance of pre-Qin legalists' doctrine of severe punishment, the Qin regime established a set of harsh and brutal criminal legal norms based on the legal system established since Shang Yang's political reform.
(A) the penal system
On the basis of following the pre-Qin penalty system, the Qin system has made new development and improvement. Its most prominent feature is that the scope of application of corporal punishment began to shrink, and the use of labor punishment and property punishment increased.
Life imprisonment is the death penalty that deprives criminals of their lives. Its execution methods are still very irregular, there are about ten or twenty kinds, and they are quite cruel. Typical ones are: (1) five punishments, that is, face-lifting, nose augmentation, toe cutting and other corporal punishments are given first, then they are killed with rattan, and then they are beheaded and chopped into meat paste; Those who slander and abuse will have their tongues cut off. (2) Ripping, that is, tearing the head, limbs and body with five horses. (3) chisel, that is, the execution method of chisel head. (4) Threat, that is, the execution method of rib pulling. (5) Cooking in an iron pot means boiling people to death in a large pot.
Corporal punishment, that is, corporal punishment that mutilates the limbs and organs of criminals, is second only to the death penalty. The Qin regime basically retained the corporal punishment in the pre-Qin period, such as cutting off the left and right toes and castration, and often used it in combination with labor punishment, such as cutting off the left toe and thinking it was a city Dan.
Penal servitude is a term of imprisonment that restricts the freedom of criminals and forces them to engage in penal servitude. In Qin Dynasty, penal servitude was widely used. In many civil engineering constructions, such as the Great Wall, palaces, tombs, etc., there were a large number of penal servitude prisoners. At that time, there were many kinds of penal servitude, which basically formed a set of penal servitude system from heavy to light: (1) and Zhong. The male prisoner is Cheng Dan, who mainly serves hard labor such as building a city; Female prisoners are women, mainly serving meals and other chores. The second volume of Han Shu and Hui Di Ji quoted Ying Shao as saying: "If it is a city, it will be ruled; For those who are beaten, women are not afraid of the outside world, but they are beaten into a meal. " (2) Ghost intercourse, white glaze. Male prisoners are paid as ghosts, mainly to chop firewood for the ancestral temple; Female prisoners are white, mainly to choose rice for the ancestral temple and so on. Ying Shao was quoted as saying in the Book of Emperor Hui of Han Dynasty: "It's a ghost's salary to pay a salary to the ancestral temple, and it's a waste to sit and choose meals." (3) A servant or concubine should be punished as a government handmaiden. "Men are officials and women are concubines." (4) Reconnaissance and waiting, that is, forcing prisoners to wait at the border to guard against bandits and thieves and alert the enemy.
A humiliating punishment is a humiliating punishment. The ancients thought: "parents dare not damage the body and skin." Filial piety begins. " Therefore, it is unfilial to damage the body and sideburns, and compulsory shaving of sideburns is a humiliating punishment for criminals. The humiliation punishment of Qin regime mainly includes: (1) punishment, that is, forced shaving of sideburns. Kun Bu: "Kun, shave your hair." (2) Tolerance to punishment, that is, forced shaving of sideburns and keeping hair, is lighter than punishment. Anti-word books are made of sugar. Boolean: "You are not guilty."
Identity punishment is a punishment that deprives criminals of their official positions and titles. The names of punishment mainly include: (1) Abolish punishment, that is, abolish official records, expel public office, and cannot be used for life. (2) To seize the title means to cut off the title and deprive it of its privileged position.
Property punishment is the punishment of confiscation of property, and its main names are: (1) punishment, that is, the punishment of paying property or paying remuneration through labor. "Shuo Wen Jie Zi Bei Bu" said: "Yes, the small penalty is also redeemed with money." There are many kinds of punishments, including cloth, shield, armor and defense. Cloth is a kind of currency, shield is shield, armour is armour, which refers to corvee and border guard, so there are fines, fines and penalties. (2) Redemption of punishment, that is, redemption of the original punishment with copper, shield, armor and other property or forced labor, including redemption, relocation, redemption, palace redemption, death redemption and other names. (3) No penalty, that is, the confiscated property belongs to the government.
Exile punishment is the punishment of forcing exiles to move to designated areas and not to move back to their original places without authorization, including different criminal names such as migration, migration and demotion. According to the reasons of exile and the nature of exiles, it can be divided into three situations: (1) guilty exile, that is, criminals are directly sentenced to exile. For example, at that time, there was a regulation saying that "the Qin law, the guilty moved to it." (2) Pardon exile, that is, the disposal of condemned prisoners after death. For example, in the twenty-sixth year of Qin Xiang (289 BC), "those who forgive sins moved"; Twenty-seven years, "people who forgive sins moved to Nanyang" and so on, all belong to this category. (3) Exile without guilt, that is, the punishment imposed on those who threaten to rule or endanger society. For example, "Qin destroyed Korea and moved the unscrupulous people in the world to Nanyang."
(B) the criminal law application system
In order to enable officials at all levels to effectively use criminal law, give full play to their functions of fighting crimes and consolidate autocratic and centralized rule, the Qin regime established some conviction and sentencing systems.
1. Provisions on the age and limitation of criminal responsibility
The age and limitation of criminal responsibility refers to the legal age and limitation of criminal responsibility for criminal acts stipulated in the criminal law. The Qin law stipulates that minors who commit crimes are generally exempted from investigation or reduced criminal responsibility according to law; If an adult dies or is pardoned after committing a crime, he shall not be investigated for criminal responsibility. For example, someone stole thousands of dollars before the Amnesty was promulgated and then spent it all. After the promulgation of the Amnesty, criminal responsibility will no longer be investigated. [16] Qin bamboo slips determine adults and minors according to the height standard, that is, men are more than six feet five inches tall and women are more than six feet two inches tall, which is roughly equivalent to sixteen or seventeen years old.
2. Provisions to distinguish between intention and negligence
According to the subjective motivation of the criminal subject, Qin law divides crimes into intentional crimes and negligent crimes. The former is given a heavier punishment, while the latter is given a lighter punishment, which sometimes constitutes different charges. For example, Party A accused Party B of stealing cattle and hurting people, but Party B didn't steal cattle and hurting people. Intentional false accusation constitutes the crime of false accusation and framing; Otherwise, the accusation is false. If a judicial officer deliberately commits the crime of "inaccurate" because of improper sentencing, he will only commit the crime of "losing his sentence" through negligence.
3. Provisions for aggravated punishment
Qin law severely punishes recidivists, accomplices with more than five persons, and instigators who instigate minors to commit crimes. For example: instigating adults to steal and kill, and being sentenced to general death according to law; Instigating minors under six feet to steal and kill is a cruel punishment. Theft of less than five people, the theft value exceeds that of 660 yuan, only recognized as Cheng Dan; Below 660 yuan, according to the city or relocation punishment; And more than five people steal more than one money together, that is, chop off the left toe and make it into a city Dan.
4. Provisions on mitigation or exemption from punishment
If Qin Law voluntarily surrenders or eliminates the consequences of a crime, it shall, as appropriate, reduce or mitigate the punishment. For example, after four criminals stole the money from 1 10, they surrendered themselves voluntarily, and were lenient, or paid two pairs of armor. Criminals in custody who escape, surrender voluntarily or are captured by relatives and friends may be exempted from punishment.
5. Provisions on the crime of false accusation and frame-up.
Qin law punishes those who deliberately falsely accuse and frame others for the crime of false accusation and frame-up. For example, those who should be punished by Scott falsely accuse others of resisting officials, and those who falsely accuse others sit in the position of opposing punishing officials; Those who should have completed the city defense were falsely accused of committing the city defense crime, and those who were falsely accused were punished by sitting in the city.
6. Provisions on criminal accomplice
The crime of sitting together means that one person commits a crime and other related people are punished together. The Qin law stipulates three applicable scopes of criminal sitting together. First, relatives sit together. For example, the Qin law stipulates: "Those who are lazy and poor at the end of the matter are regarded as rewards." Those who are not actively engaged in agricultural production and become poor, their wives and children are not slaves of the government. The second is to sit nearby. For example, the Qin law stipulates: "Why make the people fight and the Ministry of Pastoral Affairs sit together?" According to Sima Zhen's "Suoyin", "The Ministry of Pastoral Affairs said that it is also right. One family is guilty and nine are guilty. If you don't correct it, ten families will sit together. " The third is to sit in the same position. For example, "Qin law, whoever is omnipotent, has his own sins." If the appointee violates the law and commits a crime, he shall bear joint and several liability.
(3) Main expenses
Under the guidance of the doctrine of severe punishment, Qin law stipulated many crimes. Among them, the most important crimes can be roughly summarized into the following seven categories.
1. Crime of endangering autocratic imperial power
This is the most serious crime, mainly: (1) libel. Qin law stipulates: "the home of slanderers." (2) myth. Qin Shihuang killed more than 460 student alchemists on charges of "libel" and "swearing at each other". (3) nonsense. Qin law stipulates: "Liars have no class." "Classlessness" is racial punishment. (4) Take the past as an example. Qin Shihuang's Book Burning Order stipulated that "the past is not the present". (5) Improper use of words. Qin Ershi once ordered the suggestion and arrested the students who gave speeches on charges of "improper use of words". (6) Abolish the order; Place an order. In violation of the order, what should not be done will be abolished, and what should not be done will be committed.
2. Crime of disturbing social order
This kind of crime mainly includes: (1) carrying books; Even language, poetry and books. The book burning order stipulates that the crime of carrying books is to hide banned books, which is a city; "Those who dare to write poetry books will accidentally abandon the market." (2) throwing books. Those who deliver anonymous letters should be arrested, tried and convicted according to law. (3) false accusation. Qin law implements the system of false accusation and reverse sitting. (4) fraud. Including forged documents, official seals, sealing mud, etc.
3. Crime of disrupting economic order
The main crimes in Qin bamboo slips are: (1) anecdotes; Tired. The former refused to report for enlistment and evaded service; The latter fled after reporting for duty. (2) Unknown households. Hidden account, no corvee, no household tax. (3) Smuggling seals. Move the boundary of the field without permission, and forfeit it.
4. Crime of personal injury
There are a lot of criminal law provisions about personal injury crime in the Question and Answer of Laws in Qin bamboo slips, mainly including thief killing (intentional killing); Thief injury (intentional injury); Fight and kill (fight and kill); Fighting injury (fighting injury); Rape; And rape (adultery).
5. Crimes against public and private property
There are many provisions in the Q&A of Qin bamboo slips, mainly including the charges of theft and group theft, and there are also related cases in the closed clinic.
6. Crime of destroying marriage and family
The main crime of Qin bamboo slips is: (1) unfilial. Parents or grandparents have the right to sue their unfilial children and demand severe punishment from the government. (2) abandon your wife and not book. Divorce with his wife without registration shall be fined 100 yuan. (3) Go to hell. My wife ran away without authorization, and she was a city girl. (3) marry a dead wife. Marry someone else's "dead" wife, and you are dead. (4) killing children. Killing children without authorization is a great sacrifice; Kill the adopted son and abandon the market.
7. Official dereliction of duty
There are many forms of official dereliction of duty, which often constitute different charges. For example, judicial officials pervert the law and deliberately sentence a felony or a misdemeanor, which constitutes an indirect crime; Deliberately failing to sentence or reduce the guilt constitutes a crime of fixed-term imprisonment; And negligence leads to improper sentencing, which constitutes the crime of losing punishment.
Civil legal content
The civil legislation in Qin dynasty mainly involved the legal content of property ownership and marriage and family system.
(1) ownership
The object of ownership in Qin Dynasty is all kinds of official and private property such as land and other means of production and living. Since Shang Yang's political reform, Qin began to establish new land ownership. It is a state-owned system under the centralized control of the monarch, and there are also some private land. With the implementation of the national universal land grant system and the graded land grant system under the military service reward system, land ownership is in the transition from state-owned to private. In the thirty-first year of Qin Shihuang (2 16 BC), the decree of "making the first part of Guizhou a solid field" was officially promulgated, encouraging people to occupy wasteland by themselves, and the state no longer restricted the area or granted land. This actually ended the national land grant system prevailing in various countries during the Warring States period in the form of law, and clearly recognized the legalization of obtaining private land rights on the principle of preemption. Since then, the private ownership of land in the Qin Dynasty has developed rapidly. All kinds of land ownership have also been supported and protected by law, and any illegal infringement has been severely punished. For example, the Qin law quoted before clearly stipulates: "Steal the seal and redeem it." The ownership of other official and private property except land is also clearly protected by Qin law. For example, Qin Bamboo Slips "Questions and Answers of Law" stipulates that anyone who "steals mulberry leaves and hides them without profit" shall be punished as "at least 30 years old".
(2) Marriage system
The marriage system in Qin dynasty was greatly influenced by the legalist thought of "rule by law" and less influenced by the Confucian thought of "rule by courtesy", which had obvious characteristics of the times.
According to Qin law, the establishment or dissolution of marriage relationship must be registered by the government; Otherwise, it will not be protected by law, and the legal responsibility of the parties will be investigated. For example, the Qin bamboo slips quoted earlier stipulate that if the wife escapes privately and her marriage relationship is registered and approved by the government, the wife will constitute the crime of "leaving her husband and dying" and be punished as guilty; Without registration and approval, their marriage relationship is not protected by law, and they will not be investigated for legal responsibility. If a husband divorces his wife privately and fails to register with the government, it will constitute the crime of "abandoning his wife and not writing", and both husband and wife will be punished by "divorce".
The marriage system in Qin Dynasty still adhered to the principle that men are superior to women, and the relationship between husband and wife was in an unequal position. The Qin law stipulates some charges of maintaining the dominant position of the husband's right. For example, the purpose of legislation is to safeguard the rights of husbands; At that time, "the husband died and had a son, but abandoned him to marry" was "double death and infidelity", which required the widow to be loyal to life and deprive her of the right to remarry, and also reflected the dominant position of the husband's right. However, the power of husbands in Qin Dynasty was not supreme, and their dominant position was also restricted by certain laws. For example, the Qin law clearly stipulates that a husband must not hurt his wife at will; Even if the wife is fierce, she is not allowed to be beaten and injured, otherwise the husband will be punished by patience. On the other hand, a wife has the right to sue her husband for a crime. According to the Qin law, "if a husband is guilty, his wife will sue first", so he should not be a government handmaiden, and his dowry handmaiden and clothes should not be confiscated. This kind of situation was forbidden by the laws of the past dynasties after the Han Dynasty. For example, according to the criminal law after the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it is "heinous" and unforgivable "disharmony" for a wife to inform on her husband's general crime, and the informer is sentenced to two years' imprisonment. In addition, the Qin dynasty also paid attention to maintaining the stability of the relationship between husband and wife, emphasizing "preventing internal and external separation, prohibiting fornication, and being sincere between men and women", and strictly stipulated that "the husband is innocent when he is killed." It is forbidden for married men to have sexual relations.
(3) Family relationship
The family relationship in Qin dynasty was also influenced by the legalist thought of "rule of law", which had obvious characteristics of the times. First of all, Qin law still maintains the patriarchal clan system and severely punishes the crime of unfilial. According to the Qin law, parents or grandparents have the right to sue their unfilial sons and demand severe punishment from the government, and the government shall not refuse to accept them. There are many such cases in Qin bamboo slips "Closed Diagnosis Style". However, Qin law has certain conditions and restrictions on the maintenance of patriarchal clan system. For example, the Qin law stipulates that parents should not kill their children at will, otherwise it will constitute the crime of "killing their children at will" and be punished as a city girl; If you kill your adopted son, you will be sentenced to death for abandoning the city. Secondly, the punishment of Qin law for children beating their elders is lighter than that of generations after Han dynasty. Qin law stipulates that beating grandparents or great-grandparents can be sentenced to death. In the criminal laws of various generations after Sui and Tang Dynasties, this kind of behavior belongs to "ten evils" and "evil disobedience" felonies, all of which are beheaded.
Third, the economic and legal content.
Since Shang Yang's political reform, Qin always attached great importance to strengthening economic legislation until the establishment of Qin Dynasty. There are a large number of economic laws and regulations in Qin bamboo slips, which are concentrated in 18 Qin laws, mainly including field law, garden stabilization law, Cang law, Jin department law, Guan's law, Gong's law, engineering law, law, Yi Yuan law and law.
(A) the protection and utilization of natural resources
Natural resources are natural products that exist without human processing and creation, and human society depends on them to survive and multiply wealth, including land, mountains, rivers, minerals, wildlife and so on. Qin regime inherited the historical tradition since Shang and Zhou Dynasties, and attached great importance to using natural resources to serve mankind and protected them by law. For example, the Land Law stipulates that during the growing season of animals and plants in Zhixia in February in spring, it is forbidden to cut down trees, collect grass and burn ashes, block rivers and lakes, pick plants in bud, catch young birds, take eggs, poison fish and turtles, set traps to catch birds and animals, and prohibit hunting dogs from chasing and biting young animals.
(2) Supervision and management of agricultural production
The Qin regime established the country by agriculture, implemented the policy of emphasizing agriculture and restraining business, and encouraged and guaranteed agricultural production by legal means. For example, in order to supervise agricultural production, the Land Law stipulates that farmers should pay taxes according to the area they occupy, regardless of whether they cultivate or not; In case of rainfall, grain heading, drought, flood and insect disaster, it is necessary to immediately report in writing the rainfall, benefit or heading area and losses caused by the disaster, so that the government can grasp the agricultural situation. In order to ensure that the farming season will not be delayed, the Garrison Law stipulates that a family may not recruit more than two people to serve at the same time, and offenders are "poor". The "common law" stipulates that those who repay their debts with labor during sowing and sowing season can go home and farm for 20 days respectively. "Cang Law" stipulates that during the busy farming season from February to September every year, officials engaged in farmland cultivation will increase their half-stone rations every month. In addition, the Warehouse Law also specifies the strict procedures of seed storage, storage, storage, inspection and storage, as well as the sowing amount per mu of land.
(3) Evaluation of animal husbandry production management
The Qin regime attached great importance to the development of animal husbandry, and there were a lot of legal contents about the assessment of animal husbandry production management in Qin bamboo slips. For example, in the collection and management of forage, the Land Law requires farmers to pay three stones for forage and two stones for straw per hectare of cultivated land. The granary law stipulates that the storage of forage should be registered and reported to the internal history; Its storage, stacking, inspection, warehousing, etc. , should also go through the formalities in accordance with the provisions. With regard to the assessment of cattle and sheep feeding, the Law on Stables and Gardens stipulates that the feeding and use of cattle shall be inspected and assessed regularly on the first day, fourth day, seventh day and October of the lunar calendar every year, and the relevant personnel and their competent officials shall be assessed, rewarded and punished; If the annual death rate of official Niu Yi exceeds one third, breeders and officials in charge will be investigated for criminal responsibility. The Course of Cattle and Sheep stipulates the reproductive rate of cattle and sheep. Those who fail to meet the prescribed indicators will be given the shields of the responsible persons such as Sifu and Zuo.
(d) Strict control of government-run handicrafts.
The important handicraft departments of the Qin regime, such as iron smelting, salt cooking, farm tools and weapons manufacturing, basically implemented the official mode of production and formulated many laws and regulations to strengthen the management and control of the official handicraft industry. For example, the industrial law stipulates that similar products must have the same specifications, and products with different specifications shall not be classified into the same category. The Worker Plan stipulates different labor quotas and conversion methods for people of different ages, sexes, physical strength, types of work and technical proficiency. The Equal Employment Law stipulates the calculation of apprentice labor quota, training guidance requirements and reward and punishment standards. In addition, the Miscellaneous Copy of Qin Law also contains various laws and regulations on the assessment and punishment of handicraft production, which is extremely rich in content.
(5) Supervision and management of market transactions
The Qin regime implemented the policy of emphasizing agriculture and restraining business, and the supervision and management of fair trade was particularly strict. For example, the "Golden Cloth Law" stipulates that goods with a value of more than one yuan sold in the market must be clearly marked with wooden signs. The "City Management Law" stipulates that after receiving the money, the government industrial and commercial enterprises must put it in a sealed container full of money in public for the buyers and others to witness. "If you don't obey the order, you will be punished." The "Effective Law" and "Industrial Law" stipulate the error standard of weights and measures and the system of regular inspection and correction. Those who exceed the legal error limit or violate the inspection and correction system will be punished by shields or armor.
(6) Custody and use of currency
Before Qin Shihuang unified the currency, there were three kinds of national currencies: copper coins, gold and cloth. The Golden Cloth Law strictly stipulates their unified specifications and exchange rates, and it is strictly forbidden to use money or cloth at will. Otherwise, the legal responsibilities of the parties, the corporal of the merchant and relevant officials who know nothing about it will be investigated. The coins collected by the government should be sealed according to the regulations, and stamped with the competent order and official seal; Check whether the seal is correct before unsealing.
Four. Content of administrative law
After the Qin Dynasty unified the whole country, a set of autocratic monarchy and centralized political management system was established, and corresponding administrative legal norms were formulated.
(A) the establishment of the emperor system
Qin Shihuang unified the whole country, "pacify the world, the country is a county, and the laws and regulations are unified, which has never happened since ancient times." He "thinks he is both virtuous and Huang San, and has contributed to the Five Emperors". The title of King Qin was no longer enough to be called "succession to the throne, which was handed down to later generations", so he changed his name to Emperor and created a series of political and legal systems to protect the emperor system. For example, the emperor's "life is the system, and the order is a letter"; The emperor calls himself a "minister", his subjects call him "Your Majesty", and letters or words call him "Shang". The emperor called his arrival "lucky" and his death "collapse"; The name of the emperor must be taboo, such as the famous government of Qin Shihuang, the name of Li Zheng changed to Li Dian, and the name of the first month changed to Duanyue. The memorial of the document refers to the emperor's words and must be written separately; Wait a minute. The emperor has supreme authority and power. "Everything in the world, big or small, depends on the top." All subjects are slaves of the emperor. The autocratic status of imperial power and centralized rule are maintained through relevant systems, such as offering sacrifices, Fuxi, offering sacrifices to ancestral halls, palace tombs, succession to the throne, consorts of imperial families, concubines in harem and eunuchs in inner rooms. Any thoughts, words and deeds that violate or violate the emperor system are the most serious crimes and will be subject to the most severe sanctions.
(B) the establishment of administrative management system
In order to effectively manage the unified country, the Qin Dynasty began to establish a set of administrative management system from central to local.
The central government has three posts and four ministers. These three officials are the Prime Minister, Qiu and an imperial envoy, who are in charge of administration, military affairs and supervision respectively. In addition to supervising the civil and military officials, the physician also served as the deputy prime minister, assisting the emperor and the prime minister in handling daily political affairs. Under the suggestion, there are several suggestions, or in charge of the imperial book, handling the memorial of documents, and guarding the school laws; Or as the emperor's eyes and ears, investigate and deal with illegal officials; Or be ordered to participate in judicial trial activities. Lieqing mainly includes: serving the constant attendants and taking charge of temple etiquette; LangZhongLing, in charge of the palace guards; Wei Wei, Zhang Gongmen Tunwei; Too servant, in charge of the palace chariots and horses; Tingwei, in charge of the judicial prison; Dianke, in charge of foreign affairs; Zong Zheng, in charge of royal affairs; Shaofu, in charge of royal finance; Captain, in charge of the garrison in the capital; Governing the internal history of millet, in charge of national finance; Take a small house and build a palace; Captain Lord, in charge of the marquis; Classical country, the country in charge of the frontier; Zhan, in charge of the family affairs of the queen and the prince; Wait a minute.
The local county system was established. Each county is divided into Wei, Cheng, Wei and Jian, and is responsible for administration, justice, military affairs and supervision. There is a county under the county, and there are orders (chiefs), Acheng and Awei under the county, which are in charge of administration, justice and military affairs respectively. The county governs the township, where there are three elders, misers and vagrants, which are divided into education, taxation, resignation and public security. In rural areas, there is Li Dian (positive) at home; Make friends from the bottom up, make friends with the elderly, and the people protect each other.
(3) Promulgation of administrative regulations
From Qin State to Qin Dynasty, a series of administrative regulations were formulated and promulgated successively. Take Qin bamboo slips as an example, that is, the method of setting up officials, removing officials, removing disciples, miscellaneous officials, miscellaneous internal history, running calligraphy, passing on food, military attache, Chinese practice, hunting horses by bus, watching watches and catching thieves.
Five, the main characteristics of Qin law
Qin law was born in the period of social transformation from the end of the Warring States to the unification of Qin, which is influenced by both tradition and reform, and has distinct characteristics of the times.
First, get rid of the old law and leave the old system. During the alternation of the old and new systems in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Qin Law, as a written law to maintain the new system, clearly stipulated some legal contents to restrict slavery. For example, the Qin law prohibits taking hostages to pay debts, and offenders are "poor" to limit the expansion of debt slaves. According to the Law on Military Ranks, slaves with military service can be exempted from slavery status and get corresponding titles, and they can also redeem their relatives with titles to relieve their slavery status. Sikong's law stipulates that people can voluntarily guard the border for five years outside the enlistment period, and they can also redeem their relatives' slave status.
On the other hand, Qin law, as a law in the period of social transformation, will inevitably retain some transitional remnants of the old system. For example, prisoners are slaves; Some criminals or related personnel are not slaves; Handmaiden children are hereditary slaves; Slaves can buy and sell rewards; If the master kills the slave, the slave has no right to sue, and the government is not allowed to accept it, insisting that the accuser is guilty; These provisions obviously tend to protect and expand the remnants of slavery.
Second, attaching importance to law rather than ceremony, implementing "rule of law" Under the guidance of the pre-Qin legalists' principle of "rule of law", the Qin regime abandoned the idea of "rule by courtesy" and insisted on "knowing the law and legislating". By burning books to bury Confucianism, unifying thoughts, taking officials as teachers and teaching by law, the legal system and dictatorship of absolute monarchy were established, which made Qin law have the distinct characteristics of attaching importance to law but neglecting ceremony and implementing "rule of law"
Third, severe punishment and misdemeanor, severe punishment. Qin law inherited the conviction and sentencing principle of "heavier punishment than lighter punishment" of pre-Qin legalists, and formulated a set of severe punishment system. For example, according to the Qin law quoted earlier, "stealing mulberry leaves is not profitable" and it is "thirty years old"; More than five people stole stolen goods worth one yuan, and their left toes were cut off and turned into city Dan; Even "slanderers"; "Dare to have an endorser"; "Liars have no classes"; "Those who dare to speak occasionally abandon the market"; As a result, the number of criminals and criminals has soared.
Fourth, the content is rich and the system is complex. As mentioned above, Qin law is very rich in content and wide in adjustment scope. It is based on the legislative principle of "Don't be a thief in a hurry when the monarch is in power" established by Li Kui's "Legal Classic", with the basic content of safeguarding the ownership and personal safety of public and private property and consolidating the social order of absolute monarchy, involving many aspects of social relations. However, due to the limitation of early legislative technology, Qin laws were not systematically and comprehensively sorted out, resulting in trivial content, complicated items, chaotic system, unclear legal concepts and repeated or contradictory provisions.