The legal propositions of the political ruling groups in the Sui and Tang Dynasties;
"Morality and etiquette are the basis, and punishment is the purpose." "Tang Lv Shu Yi" emphasizes that "morality and etiquette are the foundation of politics and religion, and punishment is the purpose of politics and religion." It organically combines the efficacy of law with the role of etiquette, justice 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 "Tang Lv Shu Yi", marking the completion of the legalization of etiquette in ancient China.
The legalization of feudal principles. "Tang Lv Shu Yi" legalized and institutionalized the "Three Cardinal Guidelines". Anyone who opposes the "Three Cardinal Guidelines" is considered to have violated the fundamental interests of the feudal ruling class and is listed as a "ten evil" crime, which is the focus of punishment.
.Legislative ideas to safeguard hierarchical privileges. "Tang Lv Shu Yi" divides people into two categories: good people and untouchables. Those below the emperor are divided into several levels: nobles, officials, commoners, and untouchables. The law stipulates that nobles and officials are guilty and not punishable; good people and untouchables have different hierarchical statuses in politics, economy, litigation, social life, etc.
Yang Jian's legal thought of "eliminating tediousness";
The laws of the Northern Zhou Dynasty were cruel. It was chaotic, "terror inside and outside, and people were uneasy." When Yang Jian took control of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, he had carried out reforms and personally deleted the "Xingshu Yaozhi", but it was not very thorough after the establishment of the Sui Dynasty (the first year of Kaihuang). 581), Yang Jian ordered Gao Xi and others to formulate the "Kaihuang Code" with reference to the old laws of the Wei and Jin Dynasties. In the third year of Kaihuang (583), Yang Jian ordered Su Wei and Niu Hong to revise the new code and delete the harsh provisions. The Kaihuang Code abolished the original cruel punishments such as castration (destruction of genitals), chariot splitting (dividing the body with five horses), and owl's head (cutting off the head and hanging it on a flagpole for public display), and stipulated that there would be no need for genocide, except for eighty-one capital crimes and one crime of exile. There are one hundred and fifty-four articles, including more than a thousand articles for punishments such as punishment and punishment, and five hundred laws and regulations are retained. The punishments are divided into five categories: death, exile, punishment, stick, and whipping. The punishments since the reform of the Han Dynasty's punishment system have basically been completed. The process of system reform is the feudal five-penalty system. "Du Tongjian Lun" praised this: "The ancient corporal punishment is no longer used because of the benevolence of the Chinese language. However, most of the punishments in the Han Dynasty were controlled, so since the Five Hus, beasts cannibalize humans with unbridled anger. As for the Tuoba, Yuwen, and Gao clans, there were five types of death sentences: chime, hanging, beheading, owl, and beheading, as well as the execution of the porter, which were all based on the uncertainty of Han law. Government is the law of the Sui Dynasty, and there are two methods of punishing the death penalty: hanging and beheading. The whip is changed to a staff, and the staff is changed to a flogging. Those who do not commit treason and treason have no clan punishment. To this day, all those who have adopted it are the system of the government. "The death penalty review system was developed in the fifteenth year of Kaihuang's reign (595). Yang Jian stipulated that all cases sentenced to death must go through "three memorials" before the death penalty can be executed. "Sui Shu Criminal Law Chronicles": "(Kaihuang) In the fifteen-year system, the death penalty will be decided by three memorials. "Yang Jian also issued an edict: "It is a capital crime in the world, and all states are not allowed to execute it easily, and they all order Dali to resume governance. ""Kaihuang Code" had a profound influence on later generations of laws, and the laws revised by Yang Jian were basically inherited by the Tang Dynasty.
Li Shimin's people-centered thought of "pacifying the people and the country";
(1) Taking "pacifying the people and tranquilizing the country" as the guiding ideology of legislation
The ruling group headed by Li Shimin believed that the main reason for the collapse of the Sui Dynasty was that the rulers were too greedy and the people were overburdened. The Sui family thought of "Yin Jian". When formulating policies, he used "pacifying the people and tranquilizing the country" as the guide and implemented "inaction" politics. Wei Zheng believed that "governing by thinking is superior to virtue." As a political weapon, Meng Zhishu also absorbed the Taoist idea of ??tranquility and inaction and some ideas of Legalism. Under the guidance of the policy of "pacifying the people and tranquilizing the country", the legal thought of the early Tang Dynasty had the integration of etiquette and law, with morality as the mainstay and punishment as the supplement, and legislation as lenient and simple. Strict law enforcement and other characteristics.
(2) Legislation should be fair and lenient.
Li Shimin, the emperor and his ministers, believed that in order to govern the country in an orderly manner, we must pay attention to legislation, and legislation should be guided by etiquette. "Kan Jian" is the core. This is mainly reflected in the following points: First, the rulers of the early Tang Dynasty believed that both etiquette and law must be used to govern the country. Li Shimin emphasized the unity of etiquette and law, and advocated that disloyalty and unfilial piety are criminal acts. The articles of "Zhenguan Law" reflect the idea of ??combining etiquette and punishment. It laid the foundation for Yonghui's Laws and Regulations. Secondly, legislation is necessary. Fairness. The rulers of the early Tang Dynasty believed that the law is the balance of the country, and the ruler should "take the world as the commonwealth and be selfless to things." Wei Zheng said: "The sage is fair to the law."
"The "public" mentioned by the rulers of the early Tang Dynasty certainly 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 based on the public and abandon private interests. The law cannot be replaced by the person's likes and dislikes. Third, legislation must be stable and "unchangeable." Li Shimin's emperor and ministers believed that although the law should change with the times, it should not be changeable. Changes in the law will cause many harms to officials. It cannot be fully remembered, and the people do not know how to avoid it, and it loses authority and is difficult to implement. Fourth, while emphasizing the fairness of legislation and the stability of the law, the rulers of the early Tang Dynasty paid special attention to the legal text. Simplicity, it is believed that only simplicity can make the laws consistent, fair and reasonable, and implement this principle by "cutting away troubles and turning them into light things"
(3) Be prudent in prison but compassionate in punishment, and strive to be "real"
In order to implement the orthodox legal thought of "morality dominates and punishment is supplemented", Li Shimin's ruling group not only emphasized simplification in legislation, but also emphasized caution in prison and compassionate punishment in law enforcement. Seek truth. This is generally manifested in the following aspects: First, be careful about prison sentences and avoid punishment. Li Shimin believed that officials often committed crimes to kill people, so he made it clear that judicial officials should be careful about punishment. Killings were determined according to the law, whether serious or light. Secondly, the rulers of the early Tang Dynasty were very cautious about the death penalty. "In large-scale crimes, they ordered Zhongshu, the fourth rank and above, and the Shangshu Jiuqing." "Discuss it". Third, improve the death penalty review and approval process. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty changed the death penalty from three repetitions to "five repetitions", which were repeated five times in two days in the capital, giving the emperor sufficient time to consider life and death, effectively avoiding unjust cases. . Fourth, Li Shimin's emperor and ministers used the Sui Dynasty's strict interrogation to force confessions as a warning, and stipulated the principle of "not rigorous interrogation, no extraneous requests, and no extravagance" to prevent abuse.
(4) Reward and punishment should be clear and correct.
Taizong of the Tang Dynasty praised Zhuge Liang for not avoiding relatives in punishment and not leaving grudges in rewards, and asked officials to judge cases in "one decision." "With the law". He himself also took the lead in abiding by the law. When judicial decisions violated his own edicts, he would obey the law, so that judicial personnel dared to uphold the law and directly remonstrate against violations. (5) Combination of accepting remonstrance and law enforcement. Admonition Ruliu, when his edicts conflict with the law, can often accept the admonitions of the judiciary, tolerate his personal irritation, and have great faith in the law. Therefore, the interference of imperial power in the judiciary is relatively reduced, allowing feudal orthodox legal thought to remain in place. Fully reflected in judicial activities }
In summary, Li Shimin and his ruling group, based on summarizing the ruling experience of past dynasties, developed a more rigorous system that is more suitable for social development and consolidation of rule. Legal thought. They acted in accordance with the law and strictly enforced the law on the basis of "fairness", resulting in a rare and praised "rule of law" situation in Chinese society.
Liu Zongyuan's law originated from "power" and rewards and punishments. Timely legal thought;
The proposition that "Heaven and man do not predict each other"?
Liu Zongyuan once wrote "Tian Shuo" to compete with Han Yu's theory of heaven's punishment, believing that the gain and loss of human affairs are related to the success and failure of human affairs. Heaven has nothing to do with it, nor can Heaven punish people for their mistakes.
Rewards and punishments are timely?
Liu Zongyuan analyzed the relationship between natural conditions and human activities in "The Theory of Seasons" and "The Theory of Punishment", and criticized the view that things must be done according to the seasons. He criticized the fallacy of "rewarding in spring and summer and punishing in autumn and winter", emphasizing that rewards and punishments should be timely to improve governance efficiency. He believes that punishments and rewards and punishments are used to encourage and punish people. Only when rewards and punishments are timely can the effectiveness of exhortations and punishments be obvious. The idea of ??executing punishments according to the will of God is just a lie. ?
Does law originate from "power"?
The development of human society has its inevitable "power", and the emergence of the country and law depends on "power"; with the development of the times , the law must also change accordingly, thus negating the traditional theocratic legal thought. ?
The basic principles of punishment and ritual are harmonious, but their uses are different.
The basic principles of punishment and ritual are harmonious, but their uses are different. Their fundamental principles are the same. , and their purposes are very different; punishment is to punish illegal crimes, and etiquette is to commend good deeds. The two should not be confused. He also emphasized that conviction and sentencing must be based on facts and must be both legal and reasonable. This is the so-called "use of reason to determine rewards and punishments, and true feelings to reward and criticize." ?
Liu Zongyuan’s legal thoughts had a certain influence on later generations.
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Liu Yuxi’s legal thoughts;
Liu Yuxi’s legal thoughts were formed in the long-term debate on the issue of “the relationship between heaven and man”. Its basic content mainly includes three aspects: firstly , he believes that the legal system is the code of conduct for people to judge right and wrong, good and evil. Secondly, he believes that the legal system is the fundamental guarantee that "man can conquer heaven". Finally, he believes that the legal system should reflect social fairness and justice.
Bai Juyi's legal thoughts on the overlapping use of punishment, etiquette, and Taoism. ?
With a profound insight into the political situation in the mid-Tang Dynasty, Bai Juyi put forward the realistic concept of "penalties, rituals, and Tao" in a very pragmatic manner. Bai Juyi said: "Husband's punishment can restrain people's evil, but cannot prevent people's emotions; ritual can prevent people's emotions, but cannot control people's nature; Taoism can control people's nature, but cannot prevent people's evil. "In view of the fact that punishment, ritual, and Tao each have their own unique governance functions and have their own shortcomings, Bai Juyi believed: "There are three of them in the king's transformation, just like the two stars in the sky and the four seasons in the year, one cannot be abolished. ” He also emphasized that the three must “circulate inside and outside, and use each other in conjunction.” He also pointed out that when these three are specifically applied to "governing people", "punishing evil and suppressing adultery will cause people to be fearful, so don't punish them first; evil and suffocating desires will cause people to feel shameful, and don't follow etiquette; on the contrary, Harmony and simplicity lead to people being honest and honest, and nothing is greater than Taoism." When applied to "ruling the world", "In times of decline and chaos, etiquette is relaxed and punishments are relaxed; in times of peace, punishments are spared and etiquette is promoted; in times of peace, etiquette is promoted. Then kill the rituals and let the Tao go." ("Bai Juyi Ji·Xingli Dao") It can be seen that Bai Juyi's governing philosophy is not only different from the radical legalists Shang Yang, Han Fei and others, but also different from the Confucian "centered on rituals. The dualistic concept of “ritual and law combined governance”. With an inclusive and open-minded attitude, he advocated the policy of alternate application based on the respective governance functions of punishment, ritual, and Tao. At the same time, Bai Juyi also broke the Confucian tradition of etiquette predominating over laws and etiquette first and punishment second, and advocated that punishment, etiquette, and Tao are mutually exclusive, and that the three have their own priorities due to different events, times, and situations.