On the Tang Law
On the Tang Law was originally named Law Shu; Also known as the Tang Law, the Tang Law has a sparse meaning, so the Tang Law has a sparse meaning
The Tang Criminal Law and its sparse annotations are also the oldest and most complete feudal criminal code in China. Thirty volumes.
The legal system of the Tang Dynasty basically followed that of the Sui Dynasty. At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the Law of Military Morality was based on the Law of Opening the Emperor of Sui Dynasty, which was promulgated in the seventh year of Wude (624), which was the initial period of the law of Tang Dynasty. In the first year of Zhenguan (627), Li Shimin of Emperor Taizong ordered Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, etc. to revise the Law of Military Morality, which was promulgated in the eleventh year of Zhenguan. The punishment of Zhenguan Law has been reduced, and the laws are relatively complete, which is the foundation of Yonghui Law and the foundation of Tang Law.
In the first year of Yonghui (651), Li Zhi of Tang Gaozong ordered Changsun Wuji, Li Ji and Yu Zhining to revise Yonghui Law, which was promulgated the following year. There are 12 chapters and 511 articles in Yonghui Law (512 articles in one work). Its title and main contents are as follows: ① Famous Examples, which clarifies the basic spirit and legislative intent and principles of the Tang law, which is equivalent to the general principles of modern criminal codes. It stipulates five punishments, ten evils, eight discussions, voluntary surrender, negligence, recidivism, prescription, joinder of crimes, capacity for responsibility, principles for handling foreigners' crimes and interpretation of legal terms. (2) "Wei Jin" is a legal provision about defending royal palaces, temples, gardens, and state towns and cities, Guanjin forts and border defense security. (3) The Official System, which is similar to the specific provisions of modern criminal law and administrative regulations, is about the establishment of officials, dereliction of duty, taking bribes and perverting the law, violating the etiquette system, destroying public property and passing traffic by post. ④ Household Marriage is a law about household registration, taxation, farmland, marriage and family, which is similar to the specific provisions of modern civil law, land law, marriage law, household registration law and labor regulations. ⑤ Barn is a law about the maintenance of public and private livestock, warehouse management, protection of official property and cashier, which is equivalent to modern administrative regulations and civil compensation provisions. ⑥ Shanxing, the first half of which belongs to military defense and the second half belongs to engineering, is a law about military conscription, command, marching and construction projects, similar to modern military service law, military regulations and engineering construction regulations. ⑦ Thieves, similar to the specific provisions of modern criminal law. "Thief" refers to thieves' harm, including rebellion, rebellion, killing people's lives, digging graves and corpses, making livestock and poisoning, etc. "Theft" refers to robbery, which includes theft, robbers, lure, trafficking and stolen goods. ⑧ Fighting Litigation, divided into two parts, is about the punishment of fighting, killing, protecting the kook, false accusation, instigating litigation, throwing anonymous letters, violating litigation procedures, etc., which is equivalent to the specific provisions of modern criminal law and the scope of criminal procedure law. Pet-name ruby "fraud", the provisions of the punishment for fraud and forgery, equivalent to the scope of the specific provisions of modern criminal law. Attending "Miscellaneous Law" is a kind of criminal acts that can't be summarized into one article, including national taboo, privately minting coins, rape, fire, gambling, lending, employment contracts, commodity prices and quality, market management, dikes, water transport, medical accidents, urban traffic, public * * dangers and so on. (11) The Capture of Death is a law to hunt down fugitive criminals and related matters. (12) The Judgment of Prison is a legal provision on trial, judgment, imprisonment and execution. In the third year of Yonghui, Tang Gaozong ordered Changsun Wuji and others to explain the spiritual essence and laws of Yonghui Law one by one, so as to clarify the meaning of the laws, and through the form of question and answer, analyze the connotation and explain the doubts, and write it into 31 volumes, which was promulgated in Yonghui four years. Lvshu and Lvshu are integrated into one, and they are collectively called Yonghui Lvshu (called Lvshu of the Tang Dynasty in the Song and Yuan Dynasties and Lvshu of the Tang Dynasty in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties). "Law" and "Shu" have the same legal effect, "those who break the prison naturally analyze it by citing Shu". Since then, the text of the Law has not changed much, and the emperors' additions and deletions are mostly "orders", "styles" and "forms", which can be said that the Law of the Tang Dynasty has basically been finalized. Up to now, only the Laws of Tang Dynasty and Six Codes of Tang Dynasty have been handed down from generation to generation, and all the others have died.
Since then, 511 laws have been annotated sentence by sentence, and attached to the laws, which is called sparse discussion. Law and Shu have the same legal effect, and they are collectively called Yong Hui Law Shu, which is the representative work of the Tang Dynasty code. Later generations also called it "On the Laws of the Tang Dynasty". It is the most influential feudal code in the history of China.
The titles are as follows: The first famous example is about the types of punishment and the general principles of its application, which is equivalent to the general principles of modern criminal law. The second chapter is about the regulations on guarding the palace and guarding the Guanjin fortress. The third part is the duty system, which mainly punishes officials for breaking the law and dereliction of duty. The fourth chapter is about household marriage, mainly about household registration, farm house, servitude, marriage and family. The fifth chapter is about the regulations on the management of livestock and storage. The sixth chapter is about the provisions on the recruitment of soldiers, the mobilization of troops and the promotion of construction. The seventh chapter is about the protection of the feudal regime, the political interests of the landlord class and the inviolability of life and property. The eighth chapter is about fighting and wounding, accusation and appeal. The ninth article is about fraud and forgery. Chapter 11 Miscellaneous laws and crimes that are not easy to be included in other articles are all included in this article, including crimes in buying and selling, lending, market management and adultery. The eleventh chapter is about the provisions on the pursuit of fugitives, the capture of criminals and the escape of prisoners. The twelfth chapter is about the provisions on judicial trial and prison management.
The laws and essays in The Law of the Tang Dynasty reflect the legal status of all classes and strata in the Tang Dynasty and their relationships, as well as some political and economic systems. It is an important document for studying the history of the Tang Dynasty.
A Brief Discussion on the Laws of the Tang Dynasty summarizes the legislative experience and judicial practice of previous dynasties, compromises profits and losses, and makes it systematic and meticulous. Therefore, its legislation is more prudent, its contents are more thorough, its entries are more concise, and its explanations are more accurate. Its legislative theory is based on Confucianism and takes feudal ethics as its legal ideological basis, so it is the main tool to maintain the feudal economic base and its superstructure and adjust all aspects of social relations. It is the blueprint for the criminal laws of later dynasties. Through frequent communications and cultural exchanges between the Tang Dynasty and neighboring countries, The Law of the Tang Dynasty also had a great influence on the codes of ancient Asian countries. In ancient Japan, Korea, Vietnam and other countries, most of them copied the Tang Law. Scholars of international legal history compare the Law of the Tang Dynasty with the Roman Law of Europe, and regard it as the representative work of the ancient "China (China) legal system".
The oldest extant editions of Tang Lv Shu Yi include the remnants of Song Dynasty engraved edition collected by Shanghai Library, the remnants of Song Dynasty collected by Beijing Library, the Yuan edition collected by Gu Xizhai in Wuxian County, and the Tang edition collected by Yu Zhi 'an in Chonghua in the 11th year of Yuan Zhizheng (1351). Among the unearthed documents in Dunhuang and Turpan, there is a remnant of the Tang Dynasty's book "Law Shu" (see page 49 of the color map insert). In Japan, there are also many kinds of ancient manuscripts and engravings, such as the official version of the second year of culture (1815). In 1983, Zhonghua Book Company published Liu Junwen's Notes on the Laws of the Tang Dynasty, and the proofreader took Hanfenlou's photocopy of Xi Zhai as the base copy, and made a detailed proofreading note by participating in other editions. In addition, The Law of the Tang Dynasty, which is not attached to the Song edition, has also been photocopied and distributed by Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House.
The picture on the right shows the book shadow (Yuan edition) of Tang Law Shuyi.
Tang Law Shuyi-the earliest and most complete code.
Tang Law Shuyi has 31 volumes, which was compiled by Changsun Wuji and others in the Tang Dynasty at the order of the emperor.
It is the earliest and most complete existing code in China.
In fact, A Brief Discussion on the Laws of the Tang Dynasty consists of two parts, namely, the laws of the Tang Dynasty and the interpretation of the laws by Changsun Wuji and others. Because the interpretation part of the text begins with the word "Yi Yue", it is called "Tang Law Shu Yi" or "Tang Law Shu Yi".
The history of peasant uprisings caused by the tyranny and harsh punishment of the rulers of the Sui Dynasty left a deep impression on the founders of the Tang Dynasty. They accepted the historical lessons of the demise of the Sui Dynasty and took various measures to establish and stabilize the autocratic rule system.
Legislative activities are one of the important contents. The code of Tang dynasty includes four parts: law, order, form and form. Among them, the law is the first, and the law is the criminal code, which is used for conviction. "Order" is the system and decree of the country.
"Ge" is the regulation on the scope of duties of civil and military officials, which is used as the basis for evaluating officials. "Style" is the work regulations of the ministries of Shangshu and the temples, prisons and sixteen guards.
Tang Gaozu ordered Pei Ji and others to compile the Law of Martial Morality on the basis of the Law of Opening the Emperor in the Sui Dynasty. During the Zhenguan period of Emperor Taizong, Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling and others were ordered to revise and delete the Law of Military Morality, and it took more than ten years to compile the Law of Zhenguan. The law of the Tang Dynasty has not changed much since it was revised during the Zhenguan period. After Tang Gaozong acceded to the throne, apart from making some individual adjustments to the law, he mainly solved the problem of unfounded interpretation in the implementation of the law. In the third year of Yonghui (652), Tang Gaozong appointed 19 people, including Changsun Wuji, to write Law Shu, which was completed in the second year. It was called Yonghui Law Shu at that time, so it was promulgated nationwide. The purpose of compiling A Brief Discussion on the Laws of the Tang Dynasty is to provide an authoritative explanation for the provisions of the laws of the Tang Dynasty, because there is no unified explanation in the implementation process of the laws of the Tang Dynasty, and there is no unified standard on how to understand the provisions of the laws of the Tang Dynasty and which law is more suitable, which affects the implementation effect of the laws of the Tang Dynasty. On the Law of Tang Dynasty is very beneficial to solve this problem.
According to the order of 12 laws of the Tang Dynasty, 512 laws are annotated sentence by sentence, and the differences and doubts are identified in the form of questions and answers. According to the feudal legal theory from the Warring States, Qin and Han Dynasties, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties to Sui Dynasty, the compilers described the origin of the legal text, developed its meaning, and supplemented the incomplete places to enrich the content of the Tang law. Because "On the Laws of the Tang Dynasty" was compiled by the government and promulgated by the emperor, it has great authority, and since then, officials in the Tang Dynasty have to take it as the standard when trying cases. In fact, the annotation part has the same legal effect as the legal part. Therefore, the practical result of "On the Laws of Tang Dynasty" far exceeds the original compilation purpose. It is not only an explanatory book of the laws of Tang Dynasty, but also one of the national codes of Tang Dynasty in parallel with the laws.
after the compilation of "A Brief Discussion on the Laws of Tang Dynasty", it has undergone some revisions in the dynasties of Gaozong, Wu Hou, Zhongzong, Xuanzong, etc., but they all belong to individual content additions and individual text revisions. Judging from the development of Tang law and the evolution of Tang law, Tang law is a classic of the Tang dynasty.
As a feudal code, A Brief Discussion on the Laws of the Tang Dynasty has a strong feudal ideology and embodies the class will of the feudal ruling class. It reflects the ritual system, absolute monarchy, hierarchical system and patriarchal clan system. The legal thoughts in A Brief Discussion on the Laws of the Tang Dynasty have the following two characteristics: first, "morality is the foundation of politics and religion, and punishment is used for politics and religion", and ethics and law are combined, with the former as the main and the latter as the auxiliary. Second, simplify legal provisions and reduce penalties. For example, compared with the Sui Law, the punishment in the Zhenguan Law has removed 92 death sentences, reduced 71 people to disciples, and many others have changed from heavy to light.
Tang law is a relatively simple law in the feudal autocratic era since Qin and Han dynasties. As the general principle of modern law, the Law of Famous Cases in the first chapter of A Brief Discussion on the Law of the Tang Dynasty expresses the basic spirit and basic principles of the law of the Tang Dynasty. The remaining 17 articles are equivalent to the specific provisions of modern criminal law, which specifically stipulate what acts constitute crimes and how to punish them after committing crimes.
A Brief Discussion on the Laws of the Tang Dynasty stipulates five punishments, namely, slap, stick, apprentice, exile and death, which are collectively called five punishments. Ten evils are considered to be the most serious crimes, so they are listed in the first article. The so-called ten evils all refer to the behavior of directly infringing on the ruling foundation of the autocratic emperor and accumulating the feudal ruling order. The ten evils specifically refer to: rebellion, rebellion, evil rebellion, immorality, disrespect, unfilial, discord, injustice and civil strife. Those who commit ten heinous crimes are given heavy sentences and do not enjoy the privileges of redemption and exemption. The so-called "heinous"? That's what it means.
Eight Discussions, the system of eight discussions originated very early, and the laws of the Tang Dynasty stipulated it in more detail. The objects of the Eight Opinions mainly refer to the following kinds of people: relatives, relatives, sages, talents, merits, nobility, diligence and guests. In short, it is nothing more than the relatives of the emperor, or the bureaucrats and nobles of the feudal dynasty. As long as these people have not committed ten heinous crimes, other crimes can be mitigated or exempted from punishment through various channels. This privilege system reflects the difference between grades and classes.
The Law of Names and Cases in the Tang Dynasty also stipulates some principles, which are of guiding significance to how to identify the nature of crimes and determine penalties. Divide public crime and private crime, the provisions on reducing punishment by surrender, the principle of dealing with the same crime, the principle of combining crimes, the provisions on aggravating recidivism, the distinction between intention and negligence, and the general principle of analogy, etc. Provisions on reducing the sentence of the old and the young, on the stipulation that cohabitation is not a crime, and on the principles of handling foreign-related cases.
the provisions of these basic principles fully prove that the legal system of the Tang dynasty is quite complete and detailed.
The Law of Guarding is about guarding the palace and guarding the Guanjin fortress. The law of post system is a law about the official position and post biography. Family marriage law is a law on household registration, land, taxation and marriage and family. The barn law is a law on the management of state-owned livestock and warehouses. The law of prosperity is about the law of sending troops and prosperity. The law of thieves and thieves is a law about protecting the life and property of feudal regime and landlord class from infringement. The law of fighting is about fighting and litigation. The law of fraud and forgery is a law about fraud and forgery. Miscellaneous laws are laws about buying and selling, lending, weights and measures, commodity price specifications, committing rape, national taboo, privately minting money, gambling, losing dikes, destroying bridges, setting fires, medical accidents, and obstructing traffic. The law of capture and death is a law about chasing criminals and fleeing soldiers and prisoners.
the law of the Tang dynasty was formulated on the basis of the "kaihuang law" of the sui dynasty, while the sui law inherited the laws of the previous generation. According to the experience of feudal legislation and judicature since Qin and Han Dynasties, the law of the Tang Dynasty sorted out some effective charges, criminal system and judicial principles, and made clear provisions on all major aspects of social relations. Therefore, it was a masterpiece of feudal laws in China before the Tang Dynasty, became the blueprint for formulating and interpreting feudal codes in the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, and had a wide and profound impact on the establishment and improvement of feudal legal systems in ancient Japan, Korea and Vietnam. Known as one of the five legal systems in the world, the representative of Chinese legal system.
As far as the law is concerned, the Song Criminal Code of the Song Dynasty is just a copy of the Tang law. The 21 articles of Yuan Dynasty's Zhi Yuan Xin Ge are the same as the 9 articles of Tang Law, and the other eight opinions, ten evils and official system all follow Tang Law. Daming Law in Ming Dynasty and Daqing Laws in Qing Dynasty were all influenced by Tang Law.
In the first year of Dabao (761), the emperor of Japanese culture and martial arts, the Dabao Law, which consists of 6 volumes and 12 articles, has the same title and order as the Tang Law, and the contents of the law are similar. Korea's Koryo Law is not only the same as the Tang Law in the system of contents, but also very similar to the Tang Law in terms of contents, such as the types of criminal names and preferential terms for privileged classes. In Vietnam, the criminal laws of the past dynasties were also modeled after the laws of the Tang Dynasty.
On the Laws of the Tang Dynasty not only preserves the laws of the Tang Dynasty completely, but also preserves a lot of the contents of the decrees, forms and forms of the Tang Dynasty. At the same time, it records a lot of information about the politics, social economy of the Tang Dynasty, which is an important basis for studying the class relationship, hierarchical relationship and the official system, military system, farmland system and tax system in the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, Wang Mingsheng, a scholar in the Qing Dynasty, called "On the Laws of the Tang Dynasty" a rare treasure.
New edition:
On the Laws of the Tang Dynasty (formerly known as Laws; Also known as Tang law, Tang law is sparse, so Tang law is sparse) 31 volumes of Tang? Changsun Wuji et al. Beijing Ershua, 1993.9, Zhonghua Book Company, the above picture shows the remnants of Song Dynasty, the northern picture shows the remnants of Yuan Dynasty, and the above picture shows the remnants of Song Dynasty.