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Dynastic Chinese Law
J. W. Head (Kansas University) – Trento – March 2009
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SQ # 3
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How old is the Chinese legal tradition?
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SQ # 1
About when in Chinese history did each of these dynasties occur?
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SQ # 2
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What sort of animals sing their song quite happily, and what animals
just quarrel relentlessly?
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SQ # 4
What role did each of these persons play in the early development of the
Chinese legal tradition?
(a)
the “Duke of Chou”
(b)
Confucius
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(c)
Mengzi and Xunzi
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Shang Yang
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(e)
Qin Shi Huangdi
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(f)
Li Si
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SQ # 5
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What is the meaning of each of these terms?
(a)
Confucianism
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SQ # 6
What was the key aim of the Legalists, and how did it motivate them to
insist on the use of law as a means of social control?
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SQ # 9
What were the main values and aims of the Confucianists?
SQ # 7
What (and when) was the earliest known Chinese officially-promulgated
written law in China – something we might (with a stretch) call a
“code”?
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SQ # 8
On what grounds did some leaders in early Chinese society object to the
promulgation of written laws, such as the xíng sh ordered inscribed on
bronze tripod vessels in the sixth century BCE?
SQ # 10
Why would members of traditional Chinese society be especially
concerned about violations or disruptions of the social order?
SQ # 11
What is the relation between law and religion in traditional Chinese?
SQ # 12
What is the origin of law, according to Chinese legend?
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SQ # 13
Which side of the debate – the Confucianists or the Legalists – won
that debate in 221 BCE?
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SQ # 14
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Why might we accurately refer to the “Legalist triumph but
Confucianization of the law” in the Qin-Han period?
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SQ # 15
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What role did Dong Zhongshu play in the development of the Chinese
legal tradition?
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SQ # 16
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SQ # 17
What was “Imperial Confucianism”?
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What were the most important codes in the Chinese legal tradition?
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Tang Code – divided into 12 books, 30 chapters, and 502 articles.
The names of the 12 books are:
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2.
3.
4.
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6.
7.
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9.
10.
11.
12.
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General Principles
The Imperial Guard and Prohibitions
Administrative Regulations
The Household and Marriage
The Public Stables and Granaries
Unauthorized Levies
Violence and Robbery
Assaults and Accusations
Fraud and Counterfeit
Miscellaneous Articles
Arrest and Flight
Judgment and Prison
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SQ # 18
How much continuity was there from the codes of one dynasty to
another?
SQ # 19
How did the approach taken by the second “alien dynasty” (the Qing)
differ from the approach taken by the first “alien dynasty” (the Yüan),
in terms of the law?
SQ # 20
What were some key features and characteristics of the dynastic
Chinese law codes, and how much “civil law” did they cover?
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SQ # 21
What punishments were administered for violations of rules set forth
in the dynastic Chinese codes?
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Article 1.
Article 2.
Article 3.
Article 4.
Article 5.
Article 6.
Article 7.
The Five Punishments with the Light Stick
The Five Punishments with the Heavy Stick
The Five Punishments of Penal Servitude
The Three Punishments of Life Exile
The Two Death Penalties
The Ten Abominations
The Eight Deliberations
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Article 1. The Five Punishments.
1. The punishment of beating with the light bamboo has five [degrees]. . . .
10 [strokes] [reduce to four strokes]
20 [strokes] [reduce to five strokes]
30 [strokes] [reduce to 10 strokes]
40 [strokes] [reduce to 15 strokes]
50 [strokes] [reduce to 20 strokes]
2. The punishment of beating with the heavy bamboo has five [degrees]. . . .
60 [strokes] [reduce to 20 strokes]
70 [strokes] [reduce to 25 strokes]
80 [strokes] [reduce to 30 strokes]
90 [strokes] [reduce to 35 strokes]
100 [strokes] [reduce to 40 strokes]
3. Penal servitude has five [degrees]. . . .
One year and 60 strokes of the heavy bamboo;
One and a half years and 70 strokes of the heavy bamboo;
Two years and 80 strokes of the heavy bamboo;
Two and a half years and 90 strokes of the heavy bamboo;
Three years and 100 strokes of the heavy bamboo.
4. The punishment of exile has three [degrees]. . . .
[Exile to a distance of] 2000 li and 100 strokes of the heavy bamboo;
[Exile to a distance of] 2500 li and 100 strokes of the heavy bamboo;
[Exile to a distance of] 3000 li and 100 strokes of the heavy bamboo.
5. The penalty of death has two [degrees]:
Strangulation;
Beheading.
SQ # 22
In what sense was traditional Chinese law “vertical” rather than
“horizontal” in its operation?
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SQ # 23
How would you describe the office of the district (hsien,
xian) magistrate and his role in the operation of the law in
traditional China?
SQ # 24
How would a person become a district magistrate, or a
member of the imperial civil service more generally, in
traditional China?
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SQ # 25
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How welcoming was dynastic China to foreign influences,
especially those relating somehow to law?
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SQ # 26
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How did the list and hierarchy of sources of law in dynastic
China tradition differ from those of the common law
tradition and the civil law tradition?
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SQ # 27
How did the fundamental goals underlying the codes in
traditional Chinese law differ from the goals present in the
codification efforts in the civil law tradition?
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SQ # 28
What was the fundamental legal division in traditional
Chinese law, roughly analogous to the private-public
division in civil law and the law-equity division in common
law?
SQ # 29
When did dynastic rule end in China?
SQ # 30
What influence or “afterglow”, if any, does Chinese
dynastic law have in modern China?
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China – with neighbors and rivers
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China – with neighbors and provinces
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Ancient dynastic borders
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tripod vessels
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principal states near the end of the Warring States period
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China under the Han dynasty
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Yuan China under Kubilai Khan
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Qing China, around 1750
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