This is the principle of Xia Dynasty's criminal law, which was followed by Hao Tao, the criminal officer. In the Western Zhou Dynasty, in order to ensure the prudence of applying the law and prevent innocent people from being killed by mistake, all difficult cases were given a lighter sentence or pardoned. It also has an important influence on future generations.
From the pre-Qin philosophers, Shangshu Dayu Mo.
Excerpt from the original:
Hao Tao said, "The emperor was negligent, but his face was simple and his orders were lenient. Punish Buddha and heir, and reward the world. There is no big mistake, and there is no small punishment; The sin is too light, and the merit is too heavy; It is better to kill if you lose; The virtue of being good at life, obeying the people's hearts, using it without committing it. "
Translation:
Hao Tao said: "Didi didn't make any mistakes. Simple rule of the people, lenient; Punishment is not as good as future generations, and rewards are given to future generations; Forgiveness and negligence, no matter how big the crime is, don't ask how small the crime is, punish intentional crime; It will be lighter when the crime is suspicious and heavier when the work is suspicious; I'd rather be caught in an unusual crime than killing innocent people. The emperor loves the beauty of life and conforms to the people's hearts, so the people will not offend officials. "
Extended data
Shangshu is the oldest royal anthology in China, the first ancient historical document in China and some books describing ancient deeds. Some important historical materials of Shang and Zhou Dynasties, especially the early Western Zhou Dynasty, have been preserved.
According to legend, Shangshu was compiled by Confucius, but some titles were later added by Confucianism. At the beginning of the Western Han Dynasty, there were 29 articles, which were copied in the popular official script of the Han Dynasty, and were called Jinwen Shangshu. According to legend, the history of ancient literature found in the wall of Confucius' mansion during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (there are few lost articles, more than the history of modern prose 16) and the history of pseudo-ancient literature proposed by Hu Mei in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (25 more than the history of modern prose).
Shangshu mainly records the words and deeds of some emperors in Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties. Its most obvious ideological tendency is to explain the rise and fall of history with the view of fate, thus providing reference for reality. This view of destiny has a reasonable core: one is to respect morality, and the other is to value people.
The words in Shangshu are difficult and obscure, but it marks the progress of historians' notes prose: first, some chapters pay attention to the characters' sounds and feelings; Secondly, some chapters focus on the visualization of language and the interest of language expression; Third, some chapters focus on the specific description of the scene.
"Dayu Mo" records the ancient historical materials of Dayu, Boyi and Shun plotting political affairs. Dayu is a courtier of Shun. He made great contributions to flood control, and later he was called Dayu. The first paragraph of this paper describes the political plans of Dayu, Boyi and Shun, so it is called Dayu Mo.
Principles of Ancient Criminal Law and Rule of Rites
Slave owners summed up some principles when they ruled by law and ceremony, from which we can see the civilization and progress of society.
"Da Yu Mo in Shangshu" puts forward four principles, that is, the application of punishment is limited to oneself, and it is not allowed to implicate future generations; Although negligent crime has serious consequences, it can also be dealt with leniently; Although intentional crime is minor, it should be aggravated; If the circumstances of the crime are in doubt, it shall be given a lighter punishment.
In the Book of Laws, there are: moderate tempering justice with mercy; Punishment is light and heavy; Convicted by emotion; The principle of no equal conviction and sentencing for suspected crimes. "Temper justice with mercy" means that the sentencing of a specified crime should be just, impartial, neither light nor heavy, just right. "Punishment is lighter than the world, and punishment is more important than the world", which means that punishment should be flexible and diverse according to changes in the situation.
"Convicting with emotion" refers to committing a felony, but it belongs to negligence and can be given a lighter punishment or reduced sentence; Although it is a misdemeanor, if it is a deliberate crime, it is necessary to apply heavier punishment and aggravated punishment. "Never suspected of a crime" refers to a difficult case or a case that is unclear for a while, and should be demoted or exempted from criminal punishment.
There is also a specific principle: "If the penalty is doubtful, it will be punished if it is forgiven; Suspected forgiveness of punishment means that people who have doubts about the five punishments can reduce their sentences and treat them as "five punishments". "Five punishments" means five levels of money redemption: 100, 200, 500, 1000. If you still have doubts after five sentences, you can be pardoned.
The rulers of the Western Zhou Dynasty regarded patriarchal ethics as the basic norm to maintain the ruling order, and regarded the violation of patriarchal ethics as a felony and imposed severe penalties. For example, killing your father is not an ordinary life. So revenge is recognized as filial piety. According to the provisions of the Book of Rites, a person who wants revenge can be innocent as long as he registers the name of the enemy with the relevant officials and kills him.
During the Western Zhou Dynasty, the patriarchal ethical principles such as "Rites cannot be inferior to Shu Ren and punishments cannot be superior to doctors", "Cautious punishment with morality" and "Rites dominate punishments" were put forward.
The so-called principle of "courtesy is not inferior to Shu Ren, and punishment is not superior to doctor" is an open privilege law of the slave owner class, which has a distinct class nature. "Rites are not as good as Shu Ren", which means that rites are mainly used to adjust the internal relations of the slave owners. Only slave owners and nobles have the right to enjoy all the privileges stipulated in the Rites of Zhou, and slaves and civilians have no right to enjoy them and cannot overstep them. If you break the law, it will constitute a serious crime. This is not to say that ordinary people are not bound by etiquette. Ordinary people should also abide by etiquette in weddings, funerals and weddings.
"Not being punished as a doctor" means that the criminal law is not aimed at the slave owners and nobles, and there are 3,000 criminal laws, and there is no entrance for doctors to commit crimes. Of course, this does not mean that aristocratic crimes do not need to be punished. When nobles deviate from the patriarchal clan system, overstep etiquette, make an insurrection and commit major crimes that endanger the security of the royal family, they should also be severely punished. In the Zhou Dynasty, it was illegal to violate etiquette, and rude behavior was punished. In order to safeguard the overall interests and long-term interests of slave owners, nobles who violate etiquette should also be punished.
However, nobles enjoy various privileges when they are punished by penalties. For example, the death penalty is not executed in public, or criminals commit suicide in secret places; No castration; The nobles and their wives granted by the court, the so-called "husband and wife", don't have to appear in court in person, they can send agents, and so on. Under the guidance of the General Principles of Criminal Law, "courtesy is no less than that of Shu Ren, and punishment is no more than that of a doctor", slave owners, nobles and civilians committed crimes and were treated unequally with different punishments for the same crime.
The so-called "cautious punishment with morality" is a relatively progressive principle of rule of law put forward by slave owners in the Western Zhou Dynasty by learning from the experience of the demise of the Shang Dynasty. They realized that theocracy alone could not maintain and consolidate the political power, nor could they suppress it blindly, so they put forward the principle of "preserving our sanity". "Mingde" refers to Suntech, which pays attention to moral education and implements lenient policies for criminals. They believe that those who have virtue have destiny, and those who have no virtue lose destiny, leading to national subjugation. This is a development from the idea of "divine right of monarch" to the idea of "the combination of heaven and virtue", which has certain progressive significance.
"Cautious punishment" means that a prudent policy should be adopted when applying punishment. For example, "punish the new country and use light codes; Punish the country and use the Chinese code; Punish the country, with heavy punishment "("Zhou Li's Big Scooter "), that is to say, the light and heavy punishment should be determined according to different situations in different places. For another example, in difficult cases, we must verify the facts and ensure that the judgment is justified. In fact, "moral integrity and cautious punishment" is a combination of education and repression, and a combination of soft and hard to rule.
"Rites should be given priority to punishment" is a principle put forward by the rulers of the Western Zhou Dynasty to prevent crimes. They believe that punishment is a negative norm, which is used to "prohibit what has happened" and punish crimes that have happened; Etiquette is a positive norm used to "nip in the bud" and prevent crime. For example, the ceremony of Daxing marriage can prevent adultery; Funeral etiquette can prevent unfilial crimes; Talking about engagement etiquette can prevent you from committing the crime of insurrection.
The principle of rule by courtesy in Zhou Dynasty can be summarized as follows: courtesy leads punishment, and courtesy leads punishment. In their view, it is called morality to worship the heavens and the earth and the ancestors according to the ceremony and practice ethics in society. Therefore, propriety is the main punishment, which can also be called moral main punishment. This principle has a far-reaching impact on later legislation and even the entire ancient legal system and legal culture.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Dayu Mo