"It is better to be innocent than to kill innocent people" means: when dealing with difficult and difficult cases, it is better to be lenient and not follow the law than to kill innocent people by mistake.
This is the principle of criminal law that emerged in the Xia Dynasty, and was the principle followed by Gao Tao, the criminal official during the reign of Emperor Shun, when enforcing the law. During the Western Zhou Dynasty, in order to ensure the prudent application of the law and prevent wrongful killing of innocent people, lenient sentences or pardons were adopted in all difficult cases. It also has an important impact on future generations.
It comes from "Shangshu Dayu Mo" written by the pre-Qin scholars.
Excerpt from the original text:
Gaotao said: "The emperor is virtuous and does not make mistakes. He uses simplicity when he comes down and treats people with leniency. Punishment does not reach his heirs, but rewards are extended to the world. There is no forgiveness for his faults. The punishment is serious, so there is no small punishment; the suspicion of crime is only light, and the suspicion of merit is serious; it is better to be innocent than to kill innocent people; the virtue of living well is in line with the people's hearts, so I will not offend you."
Translation. :
Gaotao said: "The emperor's virtues make no mistakes. He governs the people with simplicity, and treats the people with leniency; punishments are not as severe as those for descendants, and rewards are given to future generations; mistakes are forgiven no matter how big the crime is; intentional crimes are punished no matter how small the crime is. ; When the crime is doubtful, the punishment is lighter; when the merit is doubtful, the punishment is heavier; rather than killing the innocent person, it is better to fall into an unusual crime. The emperor's love for life is in line with the people's hearts, so the people will not offend the officials."
Extended information
"Shangshu" is China's oldest royal collection. It is China's first collection of ancient historical documents and some works that trace ancient deeds. It preserves the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, especially the early Western Zhou Dynasty. Some important historical materials.
It is said that "Shangshu" was compiled by Confucius, but some chapters were added by later Confucians. There are 29 chapters in the early Western Han Dynasty. Because they were copied in the official script of the Han Dynasty, they are called "Jinwen Shangshu". There are also "Gu Wen Shangshu" that is said to have been discovered from the wall of Confucius' residence during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (now only the chapters and a few lost texts remain, 16 more chapters than "Jin Wen Shangshu") and the pseudo "Gu Wen Shangshu" presented by Mei Zhen of the Eastern Jin Dynasty ( There are 25 more chapters than "Jinwen Shangshu").
"Shangshu" mainly records the words and deeds of some emperors in the Yu, Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties. Its most eye-catching ideological tendency is to use the concept of destiny to explain the rise and fall of history and provide reference for reality. This concept of destiny has a rational core: first, respect for virtue, and second, respect for the people.
The text of "Shang Shu" is difficult and difficult to understand, but it marks the progress of historians' prose: first, some chapters focus on the tone of voice of the characters; second, some chapters focus on the image of language culture and the interest of language expression; thirdly, some chapters focus on the specific description of the scene.
"Dayu Mo" records the ancient historical materials of Dayu, Boyi and Shun planning political affairs. Dayu was a minister of Shun. He made great achievements by controlling floods, and later generations respectfully called him Dayu. The first paragraph of this chapter describes the political affairs planned by Dayu, Boyi and Shun, so it is called "Dayu Mo".
Principles of ancient criminal law and etiquette
The slave-owning class summarized some principles when using law and etiquette to rule. From these principles, we can see the civilization and progress of society.
"Shang Shu·Dayu Mo" put forward four principles, namely: the punishment is limited to the person and does not affect his descendants; although the consequences of negligent crimes are serious, they can be lenient; although the intentional crimes are minor, they must be punished. The penalty shall be increased; if the circumstances of the crime are doubtful, the penalty shall be lenient.
"Shang Shu·Lu Xing" contains: moderate leniency and severity; light punishment for the world and heavy punishment for the world; conviction based on emotion; pardon for suspected crimes and other principles of conviction and sentencing. "Appropriate leniency and severity" means that the conviction and sentencing must be fair, impartial, neither light nor severe, and just right. "Penalty is light in times and heavy in times", also known as light at times and heavy at times, which means that the application of penalties should be flexible and vary according to changes in the situation.
"Conviction based on circumstances" means that if a serious crime is committed, but it is a negligence, a light or reduced sentence can be applied; although the crime is a misdemeanor, if it is an intentional crime, a heavy penalty will be applied. Additional penalties. "Pardon for suspected crimes" means that difficult cases or cases that are temporarily unclear should be downgraded or exempted from criminal punishment.
There is also a specific principle: "If there is doubt about the punishment, pardon, the punishment will be followed; if there is doubt about the punishment, pardon, then the punishment will be exempted." This means that those who are suspected of being sentenced to five punishments can be reduced and treated as "five punishments." "Five Punishments" refers to the five levels of money atonement: 100 锾, 200 锾, 500 锾, and 1,000 锾. If a person is still suspicious after being punished with five penalties, he may be pardoned.
The rulers of the Western Zhou Dynasty regarded the patriarchal ethics and morals such as father's kindness and son's filial piety, brothers, friends and brothers, and husband's righteousness and obedience as the basic norms for maintaining the ruling order. They regarded violations of patriarchal ethics as serious crimes and were punished Severe punishment. For example, revenge for killing one's father cannot be punished. Therefore, revenge is regarded as filial piety and is recognized. According to the provisions of "Zhou Rites", those who want revenge only need to register the name of their enemy with the relevant officials and kill the enemy, and they will be innocent.
In the Western Zhou Dynasty, the principles of patriarchal ethics were also put forward, such as "the etiquette should not be extended to the common people, and the punishment should not be extended to the officials", "be enlightened in virtue and be careful in punishment", and "the ritual should be the main one and the punishment should be supplemented" and other principles.
The so-called principle of "no courtesy to common people, no punishment to officials" is an open slave-owner class privilege law with a distinct class character. "Rituals are not reserved for common people" means that rituals are mainly used to adjust the internal relations of the slave-owning class. The various privileges stipulated in Zhou Rites are only the slave-owning nobles have the right to enjoy, and neither slaves nor common people have the right to enjoy them and cannot overstep them. Any behavior that exceeds etiquette will constitute a serious crime. This does not mean that common people are not bound by etiquette. Common people must also abide by the etiquette in marriages, funerals, etc.
"The punishment cannot reach the officials" means that the criminal law is not aimed at the slave-owning aristocrats. There are 3,000 criminal laws and there is no clause for crimes committed by the officials. Of course, this does not mean that noble crimes do not require punishment. When nobles deviate from the patriarchal system, violate etiquette, commit rebellion, or commit major crimes that endanger the safety of the royal family, they must also be severely punished. In the Zhou Dynasty, violating etiquette was illegal, and being disrespectful was punishable. In order to safeguard the overall and long-term interests of the slave-owning class, criminal sanctions must also be imposed on nobles who violate etiquette.
However, nobles enjoyed various privileges when subject to punishment. For example, the death penalty is not carried out publicly, or the offending nobles commit suicide in a secret place; no castration is carried out; nobles who are ennobled by the court and their wives, the so-called "married husbands and married women", do not have to appear in court to be tried in person, and can be represented by someone, etc. . Under the guidance of the basic principle of criminal law that "courtesy should not be extended to common people, and punishment should not be extended to officials", slave-owning nobles and civilians committed crimes and were treated unequally with different punishments for the same crime.
The so-called "clear virtue and prudent punishment" is a relatively progressive rule of law principle proposed by the slave-owning class of the Western Zhou Dynasty after learning from the lessons of the demise of the Shang Dynasty. They realized that theocracy alone could no longer maintain and consolidate political power, and blind suppression would not work either, so they put forward the principle of "be clear in virtue and be careful in punishment." "Mingde" refers to advocating virtue, paying attention to moral education, and implementing a lenient policy towards criminals. They believe that only those who are virtuous can obtain destiny, and those without virtue will lose their destiny, leading to the destruction of their country and their body. This is the development from the idea of ??"divine right of kings" to the idea of ??"matching heaven with virtue", which has certain progressive significance.
"Prudent punishment" refers to the need to adopt a prudent policy in the application of penalties. For example, "to punish a new country, use light codes; to punish a peaceful country, use medium codes; to punish a country in chaos, use heavy codes" ("Zhou Li·Da Si Kou Shi"), that is to say, the decision should be based on the different situations of fighting chaos in various places. Choose a lighter or heavier punishment. For another example, for difficult cases, the facts of the case must be verified to ensure that the judgment is well-founded. In fact, "clear virtue and careful punishment" means a combination of enlightenment and suppression, and the implementation of rule with both soft and hard tactics.
"Rites dominate and punishment assists" is a principle put forward by the rulers of the Western Zhou Dynasty to prevent crime. They believe that punishment is a negative norm, and its function is to "forbid it before it happens" and punish crimes that have already occurred; etiquette is a positive norm, and its function is to "forbid it before it happens" and to prevent the occurrence of crime. For example, promoting marriage etiquette can prevent the crime of adultery; practicing funeral etiquette can prevent the crime of unfilial piety; promoting court etiquette can prevent the crime of treason.
The various principles of etiquette in the Zhou Dynasty can be summarized as etiquette is the mainstay and punishment is supplementary, and etiquette leads punishment. They believe that worshiping heaven, earth, and ancestors according to rituals, and implementing rituals and education in society are called virtues. Therefore, the ritual master, punishment assistant, can also be called the virtue master, punishment assistant. This principle had a profound impact on the legislation of later generations and the entire ancient legal system and legal culture.
Baidu Encyclopedia--Dayu Mo