"Virtue and courtesy are the foundation, and punishment is the use". On the Law of the Tang Dynasty emphasizes that "morality is the foundation of politics and religion, and punishment is used for politics and religion", which organically combines the effectiveness of law with the function of etiquette and morality, and the spirit of etiquette is completely dissolved in legal provisions. The combination of etiquette and law has reached a very complete level in On the Laws of the Tang Dynasty, marking the completion of the rule of law by etiquette in ancient China.
Legalization of feudal laws. On the Legalization and Institutionalization of "Three Cardinals" in Tang Law. Anyone who opposes the "three cardinal guides" is considered to have violated the fundamental interests of the feudal ruling class and is listed as "ten evils", which is the focus of punishment.
The legislative idea of maintaining hierarchical privilege. The Law of the Tang Dynasty divides people into two categories: good citizens and untouchables, and below the emperor they are divided into nobles, officials, civilians and untouchables. The law stipulates that nobles and officials are not guilty; Lovers and untouchables have different hierarchical status in politics, economy, litigation and social life. Moreover, it also stipulates that when nobles and officials violate the national law, they have formulated a set of legal measures on "discussing, requesting, reducing, redeeming and serving the official".
The Legal Thought of Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty on "Eliminating Trouble and Stopping Violence";
The laws of the Northern Zhou Dynasty were cruel and chaotic, "internal and external terror made the people uneasy". When Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty controlled the Northern Zhou regime, he carried out reforms and personally deleted the outline of criminal proceedings, but it was not thorough. After the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, in the first year of Emperor Kai (58 1), Emperor Wen of Sui ordered Gao Jiong and others to refer to the old laws of Wei and Jin Dynasties and formulate the Law of Emperor Kai. In the third year of Emperor Wendi's reign (583), Su Wei and Niu Hong were ordered to amend the new law and delete harsh clauses. The "Huang Kai Law" abolished the original cruel criminal law, such as castration (destroying genitals), dismemberment (dismembering five horses) and beheading (beheading and hanging it on a flagpole for public display). There is no need for genocide. Subtract 8 1 for capital crimes, 54 154 for flow crimes, and more than 1000 for acts and staff crimes, and keep 500 regulations. There are five kinds of punishments: death penalty, exile, imprisonment, cudgel punishment and fetters punishment. Basically completed the reform process of the penalty system since the reform of the penalty system of Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty, that is, the feudal five-penalty system. Reading as a Mirror praises: "The ancient corporal punishment is not reused, and the Chinese language is also benevolent. The punishment in the Han dynasty was mostly for the system, so since Wuhu, animals have to eat each other badly. As for the domineering, slow and lofty world, there are five death sentences: Yueqing, strangulation, slashing, owl and porter, all of which are infinite enlightenment of China law. Politics is the Sui law, and there are two ways of death penalty: hanging head and beheading. Whips turn into sticks and sticks into vines. Unless there is rebellion, there is no clan punishment. Up to now, users have been ruled by politics. " The death penalty replay system was customized from the fifteenth year of Ming Chengzu (595). Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty stipulated that the death penalty could only be executed after "three plays". Criminal Records of Sui Shu: "Fifteen-year system (Emperor Kai), death penalty after three plays." Emperor Wendi of Sui also wrote a letter: "There is a great sin in the world, which is beyond the control of the state, and Dali will be restored." Huang Kai Law had a far-reaching influence on the laws of later generations, and all the laws revised by Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty were basically inherited in the Tang Dynasty.
Li Shimin attached importance to people's thoughts;
(1) Take "peace and tranquility" as the legislative guiding ideology.
The ruling group headed by Li Shimin believed that the main reason for the demise of the Sui Dynasty was that the rulers were too greedy and the people were overburdened. They "always think of Sui family and Yin Jian". When formulating policies, we should follow the guidance of "keeping the people and the country safe" and implement "inaction" politics. Wei Zhi believes that "ideological rule is higher than morality". Li Shimin not only respected Confucianism, but also took the Tao of Yao and Shun and the Tao of Confucius and Mencius as his political affairs, and absorbed some thoughts of Taoism and Legalism. Under the guidance of the policy of "pacifying the country", the legal thought in the early Tang Dynasty showed the characteristics of unity of etiquette and law, rule by virtue, supplemented by punishment, simple and clear legislation and strict law enforcement.
(2) Legislation is fair and simple.
Li Shimin believes that in order to ensure the country, we must attach importance to legislation, which should be guided by courtesy and centered on "tempering justice with mercy". This is mainly manifested in the following points: First, it is both a ceremony and a punishment. In the early Tang Dynasty, the rulers believed that the rule of the country must be governed by both etiquette and law, and "courtesy should be respected and punishment should be distinguished". Li Shimin emphasized the unity of etiquette and law, and advocated that rudeness should be punished, and infidelity and unfilial behavior were all criminal acts. The provisions of Zhenguan Law embody the idea of combining severe punishment with severe punishment everywhere, which laid the foundation for the emblem to last forever. Second, legislation must be fair. In the early Tang Dynasty, the rulers thought that law was the balance of the country, and the legislation of human monarchs should be "public for the world and selfless for things". Wei said: "saints are fair laws." The "public" mentioned by the rulers in the early Tang Dynasty, of course, refers to the long-term interests and overall interests of the landlord class. In order to protect the overall and long-term interests of the landlord class, the ruling group in the early Tang Dynasty advocated that legislation should be clearly defined between public and private, and the likes and dislikes of this person should not replace the law. Third, legislation must be stable and "unchangeable". Li Shimin believes that the law should change with the times, but it cannot be changed. Changing the law harms people, and officials can't remember it all. The regulations before and after are so confusing that people don't know what to avoid, lose their authority and are difficult to implement. Fourth, "national laws and regulations must be simple." At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, while emphasizing legislative fairness and legal stability, the rulers especially emphasized the simplicity of the law, believing that only simplicity can make the law consistent, fair and reasonable. During the reign of Zhenguan, the principle of "cutting troubles and eliminating smoke, turning heavy into light" was implemented.
(3) Be careful about the sentence and make it "real"
In order to carry out the orthodox legal thought of "morality dominates punishment", the ruling group in Li Shimin not only emphasizes simplification in legislation, but also emphasizes caution in prison and leniency in law enforcement, so as to be practical. Generally, it is manifested in the following aspects: First, be careful when serving a sentence in prison. Li Shimin believes that officials are more capable of committing crimes against the people, which is conducive to killing people, thus resulting in unfair imprisonment. He made it clear that judicial officials should be cautious about punishment and murder, and conviction according to law depends on customs. Second, establish a system of nine ministers discussing punishment. In the early Tang Dynasty, the rulers were very cautious about the death penalty. "The crime of great discovery is discussed in the book, the four products under the door and the nine ministers." Third, improve the death penalty examination and approval procedures. Emperor Taizong changed the three repetitions of the death penalty to "five repetitions" and repeated it five times in two days in Beijing, giving the emperor sufficient time to consider life and death and effectively avoiding unjust cases. Fourth, oppose strict information, for the sake of reality. Taking Emperor Yangdi's interrogation as a warning, Li Shimin emphasized that interrogation should pay attention to facts, and stipulated the principle of "lax interrogation, not demanding anything, not demanding anything" to prevent excessive sentencing.
(4) rewards and punishments are clear, and those who violate the law will be prosecuted.
Emperor Taizong praised Zhuge Liang for punishing his relatives and rewarding his enemies, and asked officials to take the lead in abiding by the law once and for all. When the judicial judgment violated his imperial edict, he obeyed the law, making judicial personnel dare to uphold the law and criticize it in person. (5) Combination of teachability and law enforcement. When his decrees were in conflict with the law, Emperor Taizong was always able to accept the admonition of the judiciary, endure personal anger and maintain his legal belief. Therefore, the interference of imperial power in the judiciary is relatively reduced, which makes the feudal orthodox legal thought fully reflected in judicial activities. }
To sum up, Li Shimin and his ruling group formed a more rigorous legal thought on the basis of summing up the ruling experience of past dynasties, which can better adapt to social development and consolidate their own rule. On the basis of "fairness", they acted in accordance with the law and strictly enforced the law, resulting in a rare and praised "rule of law" situation in China society.
Liu Zongyuan's law originated from the legal thought of "potential" and timely reward and punishment;
The concept of "heaven and man do not anticipate"
Liu Zongyuan once wrote The Theory of Heaven, which contradicted Han Yu's theory of heaven punishment. He believes that personnel gains and losses have nothing to do with heaven, and heaven cannot reward and punish people's mistakes.
Reward and punish in time?
Liu Zongyuan analyzed the relationship between natural conditions and human activities in Seasons and Theory of Punishment, criticized the view that we must act according to the time, criticized the fallacy that "there are prizes in spring and summer, and there are penalties in autumn and winter", and emphasized that rewards and punishments should be timely in order to improve the ruling efficiency. He believes that punishment and rewards and punishments are used to motivate and punish people, rewards and punishments are timely, and only the effect of encouragement and punishment is remarkable. It is just a lie to say that the death penalty will be executed on time according to God's will. ?
Law originates from "potential"?
The development of human society has its inevitable "potential", and the emergence of state and law depends on "potential"; With the development of the times, the law has to be changed accordingly, thus denying the traditional theocracy. ?
Punishment and ceremony "have their own principles, but their uses are different"?
Punishment and ceremony "have the same basic principle and different uses", but they have different uses. Punishment is to punish illegal crimes, and courtesy is to praise good deeds. The two cannot be confused. He also stressed that conviction and sentencing should be based on facts, which should be both legal and reasonable, that is, the so-called "poor people have rewards and punishments, and the truth has praises and denials." ?
Liu Zongyuan's legal thought has a certain influence on later generations. ?
Liu Yuxi's thought of rule of law;
Liu Yuxi's legal thought was formed in the long-term debate on the relationship between man and nature. Its basic contents mainly include three aspects: one is that the legal system is the code of conduct for people to judge right and wrong, the other is that the legal system is the fundamental guarantee for "man can conquer nature", and the third is that the legal system should reflect social fairness and justice.
Bai Juyi's legal thought of combining punishment, etiquette and Taoism. ?
Bai Juyi put forward the realistic view of "combining punishment, courtesy and Taoism" with a very pragmatic attitude through his profound insight into the political situation in the middle Tang Dynasty. Bai Juyi said: "Punishing other people's husbands can prohibit other people's evil, but can't guard against other people's feelings;" Rites can prevent people's feelings, but can't guide people's nature; Tao can guide people's nature, but can't ban people's evil. "In view of the fact that punishment, propriety and Taoism have their own unique governance functions and defects, Bai Juyi thinks:" Wang Huazhi has three things, and there are two bad kings in the sky, one of whom is four years old, and one cannot be abandoned. He also stressed that the three must be "cyclical and overlapping." He also pointed out that when these three are applied to "governing the people", "punishing evil and restraining prostitution can persuade people to fear, and they cannot precede punishment; ? Evil stifles desire and makes people feel ashamed, and it is not limited to courtesy; Contrary to harmony and simplicity, it makes people sincere and greater than Tao. "When applied to" Governing the World ","The Generation of Declining Chaos "relaxed the ceremony and relaxed the punishment; At the time of pacification, the punishment was saved and the ceremony was grand; On a quiet day, you kill the ceremony and let it go. " (Bai Juyi's Collection of Criminal Rites) It can be seen that Bai Juyi's concept of governing the country is different from the radical legalists Shang Yang, Han Fei and others, and it is also different from the Confucian dual concept of "ritual-oriented, ritual and law are integrated". With an inclusive and enlightened attitude, he advocated the principle of alternate use according to the respective governance roles of punishment, etiquette and Taoism. At the same time, Bai Juyi also broke the Confucian formula of "ceremony is the main method, ceremony is the first punishment", and advocated that punishment, ceremony and Taoism are the exterior and interior of each other, and each of them has its own emphasis due to events, times and circumstances.