The legal system construction in Sui and Tang Dynasties played an important role in the history of ancient legal system in China. "Chinese legal system" is one of the most famous legal systems in the world, and Tang law is called the representative of "Chinese legal system". During this period, there are many places worthy of reference for future generations, whether in legislative form, legal content or judicial practice.
Sui and Tang rulers paid more attention to legislative work. And pay attention to summing up the legislative experience and technology of the previous generation, so that the legal form of this period reached an unprecedented level of completeness.
As early as the Qin and Han Dynasties, the Three Kingdoms, the Jin Dynasties and the Southern and Northern Dynasties before the Sui and Tang Dynasties, there were many large-scale legislative activities, which were inherited and innovated, and the north and the south came down in one continuous line, laying a good foundation for the legal system construction of the Sui and Tang Dynasties.
Sui and Tang rulers paid more attention to legislative work. Among them, major legislative activities focusing on amending laws have been carried out many times. For example, in the first year of Emperor Yangdi (58 1), as soon as Emperor Wendi ascended the throne, he ordered Minister Gao Jiong to sum up the legislative experience since Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, revise the new law, emphasize "timing", practice combining leniency with severity, and delete the harsh and severe laws of the previous generation. In the third year of Huang Kai (583), Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty found that the law was still too strict, and ordered Su Wei, Niu Hong and other ministers to make new laws. This was the law of Emperor Huang Kai, which set an example for later generations. Huang Kai Fa inherits the characteristics of "clear and simple laws" in the text style of the Northern Qi Law. When Yang Di ascended the throne, due to the confusion of the legal system, the penalty was too heavy in actual execution. In order to flaunt lenient punishment, Niu Hong and others were ordered to amend the new law, which was promulgated in the third year of Daye (607). It was basically the revival of the law in the Northern Wei Dynasty, and it was not as good as the law in legislative technology.
The laws of the Tang Dynasty basically inherited the "Huang Kai Law" of the Sui Dynasty. At the same time, according to the actual situation at that time, it was constantly adjusted and improved. At least 10 large-scale legislative activities. Among them, the early legislative activities were mainly to modify laws and other legal forms; Later legislative activities were mainly compilation (imperial edict issued by the emperor) and criminal law series (similar to legal compilation).
The legal forms in Sui and Tang Dynasties were mainly law, and there were also decrees, forms and forms. The explanations of laws, decrees, forms and forms in historical records are not completely consistent, and a general definition can be made by combining various explanations. 1 law. The law is about conviction and sentencing, but it covers a wide range, not just criminal aspects. Judging from the guiding ideology of the legal system in the early Tang Dynasty and the provisions of the Law of the Tang Dynasty, law is the most stable and has the highest status among the four legal forms. 2 orders. Laws and regulations stipulate various national systems, including almost all aspects of the system from the economic base to the superstructure, such as land equalization system and tax system. 3 grid. Ge is a law promulgated by the emperor to state organs respectively, which is published at any time because of people and events. After finishing and compiling, it is also called ge. For example, in the 11th year of Emperor Taizong's Zhenguan (637), 700 articles were deleted since the Wude period, with the ministries of Shangshu Province as their titles, among which those related to the daily business of each department and staying in the department were called "leaving the department"; During Yonghui years in Tang Gaozong, the county was awarded the title of "Scattered Award". Type 4. The type is the detailed rules and official document procedures of state organs. It has more titles than imperial edicts. All official business of the country must be carried out in the prescribed order, manner and style. Criminal acts such as violating orders and patterns should be judged and sentenced in accordance with the provisions of the law. Therefore, these four legal forms constitute the whole legislation of the early Tang Dynasty, involving all aspects of national and social life, and reflecting the coordinated development of feudal legal system.
Besides laws, decrees, styles and forms, the emperor's regulations played a special role and position in the laws of the Tang Dynasty. The article "Breaking Prison" in the Law of the Tang Dynasty stipulates that the crime of "punishing" is a "temporary punishment", which must be set as a standard before it can be used as a normal basis for judging a case, otherwise it will bear criminal responsibility. However, the system can temporarily punish crimes, which is an exception to this principle. In fact, control over all issues can be arbitrary at any time, which is the necessity of absolute monarchy. In this sense, it can be said that although the system is not defined as a legal form, its legal effect is higher than any other legal form.
It should also be mentioned that in the Tang law, there is also a "Six Classics of the Tang Dynasty". In the 10th year of Kaiyuan (722), Emperor Xuanzong personally wrote six articles, namely, Ritual, Jiaodian, Ritual, Zhengdian, Criminal Code and Poetry Code, and ordered his ministers to make them under the guidance and demonstration of Zhou Guan. Zhou Guan's real name is probably the official system of Zhou Dynasty compiled by later generations. It is divided into six officials: Tianguan (Tsuzawa), Diguan (Situ), Guan Chun (Zongbo), Xiaguan (Sima), (Four) and Dongguan (Sikong), who are respectively responsible for governance (write "Li" to avoid it. Due to the complexity and difficulty of this classification, it took the minister who undertook this task six or seven years to complete it in the sixteenth year of Kaiyuan (728). Because Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty had written the Six Classics in calligraphy, which was called the Six Classics. The Six Classics of the Tang Dynasty is a political book that systematically records and stipulates the official system of the Tang Dynasty. Its main content is about the establishment of state institutions, staffing, responsibilities, as well as the selection, appointment, assessment, rewards and punishments, salaries, retirement and other aspects of the system. After textual research, some people think that the Six Classics of the Tang Dynasty was not promulgated, but used again. To say that it has never been promulgated means that it has never been promulgated for 200 years after its formulation; The reason why it is used again is that it is a summary of the political, economic, cultural and other historical experiences of the early Tang Dynasty 100 years, and its contents are mostly found in historical facts before the middle Tang Dynasty. It is a simplified and comprehensive Historical Records of this period, which was regarded as an unpublished canon by the Tang people for a long time after Kaiyuan and Tianbao.
The basic contents and characteristics of laws in Sui and Tang Dynasties, especially in Tang Dynasty, indicate the maturity of legal system construction experience in this period. Therefore, the law of the Tang Dynasty had a far-reaching impact not only on later generations, but also on neighboring countries at that time.
Sui and Tang dynasties were a period of high development of feudal society. The laws of this period (including laws, decrees, forms and other forms of laws. ), especially those in the Tang dynasty, are mainly for maintaining feudal rule, consolidating the ruling foundation and maintaining economic and social stability and development in all aspects. (1) consolidate the feudal monarchy. This is the main content of the Tang law. It is embodied in various legal provisions. Among them, the most direct is to severely suppress the crimes that endanger the feudal regime, such as rebellion, rebellion and rebellion; Ensure the absolute safety and dignity of the emperor; Ensure that the emperor monopolizes all military power. (2) maintaining the feudal hierarchy. For example, officials and nobles are required to enjoy various privileges according to law; Strictly distinguish between good and bad, strictly distinguish between marriage and litigation. ③ Maintain the discipline and ethics of feudal families. For example, to ensure the authority of elders; Ensure the superior position of the husband in marriage; Severely punish relatives for adultery. (4) maintaining the economic foundation of feudal exploitation. For example, clearly stipulate the land sharing method and the rent adjustment method; Severely punish behaviors such as leaving home, leaking mouths, competing with each other, smuggling roads, etc., and ensure that the state controls enough labor and taxpayers. (5) to ensure the normal operation of the feudal state machine. If officials are required to stick to their posts, act according to law and be loyal to their duties; We should be honest and clean, and severely punish those who abuse their powers for favoritism and graft; Asking invigilators or invigilators to guard these officials with real power must abide by etiquette and seek truth from facts, and it is strictly forbidden to violate etiquette and practice fraud; Severely punish military and political dereliction of duty. ⑥ Defend the security of feudal countries and punish all behaviors that are not conducive to feudal rule. For example, it emphasizes that the security and economic interests of feudal countries are inviolable; Maintain social order, severely punish robbers and thieves, severely punish fights, injuries and murders, severely punish arson and burst banks, and maintain the order of city and market management. In addition, in the Tang Law, there are general provisions for all other possible criminal acts, so that all acts that violate etiquette and enter the law cannot escape legal sanctions.
If we carefully study the specific content of Tang Law, we can find that it has the following characteristics.
First of all, it is "some kind of ceremony". The first article of the Tang Law, Famous Examples, pointed out: "Morality is the foundation of politics and religion, and punishment is used for politics and religion." The virtue here mainly means that the monarch mainly "governs the world with benevolence" and should pay attention to "people-oriented"; Rites mainly refer to the education of subjects by feudal principles. Compared with punishment, the former is the foundation and should be the main one; The latter is used and should be supplemented. But virtue must be guided by the theory of propriety and put into practice. The process of giving legal form, or the combination of etiquette and law, began in the Han Dynasty and was constantly developed and perfected in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. Tang law is a typical example of this development and perfection. For example, the overall spirit of the Law of the Tang Dynasty is to implement the feudal "three cardinal guides" (the monarch is the minister's cardinal guide, the father is the son's cardinal guide, and the husband is the wife's cardinal guide), whether it is a famous article or other articles. It is considered to be the most serious heinous crime, and all penalties are acts that directly endanger the feudal "three cardinal guides". For another example, many laws and regulations in the Tang Dynasty were originally the content of rites, and they were directly introduced into the law by rites. "Eight Opinions" (discussing relatives, reasoning, virtue, ability, honor, nobility, diligence and being a guest), "three pardons" (the young and weak, the old and foolish can tolerate crimes) and "living together and hiding" (that is, "the father hides his son, and the son hides his father") are the contents of feudal ethics. Other laws made according to the spirit of etiquette can be seen everywhere. For another example, the Law of the Tang Dynasty, with the help of Yi Shu, quoted Confucian classics, fully expounded the "righteousness" of feudal ethics, while Yi Shu and the law had the same effect, which made ethics widely infiltrated and guided the application of the law. It is precisely because ceremony and law are so inseparable that the long-lasting prison sentence of quoting classics since the Han Dynasty became redundant and ended. This also shows the maturity of the feudal legal system in the Tang Dynasty.
Secondly, it is broad, simple, unified and flat. Wide is wide, simple is simple. Leniency mainly refers to the legislative content. The basic requirement is to make the punishment as light as possible, so that people can not fall into crime as much as possible, or be given a lighter punishment after committing a crime; Simplicity mainly means that the legislative form should be concise, so that the people can understand the content of the law as much as possible, and it is also convenient for judges to master it. Unity means that the spirit of legal provisions should be consistent, and the emphasis should be placed on lightness. Laws must be inconsistent and inconsistent, so that both officials and people can use them. Equality is an impartial and moderate provision of sentencing for designated crimes, especially sentencing, which is more obvious in the Tang law and its "five punishments" (slap, stick, exile, death penalty).
Third, the law remains relatively stable. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty once said: "Law cannot be changed constantly. If it is changed frequently, it will be very cumbersome, and officials will not remember it, which will be inconsistent. Law enforcement officers will take advantage of loopholes and engage in malpractices for personal gain. " This thought was basically implemented in the early Tang Dynasty. The laws, decrees, models and forms formulated by Fang and others in the early Tang Dynasty remained unchanged during the reign of Emperor Taizong. Of course, the development and changes of the objective situation require the revision of some outdated contents, which is normal. However, the revision of laws is generally carried out according to strict procedures, otherwise it will be regarded as illegal and criminal acts and punished. When Shangshu Province deliberates and amends laws, it must convene more than seven Beijing officials to discuss, make a resolution and report it to the emperor for a ruling.
Moreover, the legislative technology is unprecedentedly perfect. The legislative technology of a code largely reflects the political, economic and cultural development at that time. The Law of the Tang Dynasty was formulated in the early Tang Dynasty when the feudal ruling order was relatively stable and the economy and culture were prosperous. It makes full use of the legislative experience of the previous dynasty and absorbs the previous legal research results, focusing on famous cases and aiming at the rest 1 1. The chapters are structured in an orderly way, and all kinds of behaviors that are not conducive to feudal rule, even possible behaviors, are included as far as possible. As mentioned in the Preface to Famous Examples, the laws of the Tang Dynasty have achieved "the articles of association are not damaged, and the big (big) fiber (small) equipment", while the laws are only 502, which is really "simple". The law in the famous examples echoes other provisions, the outline is open to everyone, and the same articles and items take care of each other. All laws are closely linked, which can be said to be "watertight". As for the conciseness, clear concept, rigorous wording, strict logic, theoretical depth and writing skills of this law, it is undoubtedly unprecedented in China's ancient code. The feudal legislation of later generations has been perfected in some places, but it has not been achieved in some places.
The ancient landscape has a great influence on the feudal legal system of later generations because the Tang law is the representative work of feudal codes in previous dynasties, which has the above characteristics and is also related to East Asian neighbors.
During the Five Dynasties after the Tang Dynasty, the laws that were greatly influenced by the Tang law, such as the Law of Daliang New Business Form, had exactly the same volume and content as the Tang law. The only law in the Song Dynasty, the Song Criminal Code, is almost a copy of the Tang law. Even the original version of the Tang law only divides each law into several sections, and attaches relevant regulations, orders, styles and "instructions" after each law, which only reforms the criminal system. In the judicial practice of the Yuan Dynasty, the laws of the Tang Dynasty were often cited as the basis. Ming Law, which was formulated in the early years of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty, has the same topic as Tang Law. In the twenty-second year of Hongwu (1389), it was revised into 30 laws, which were divided into six laws: official law, household law, ritual law, military law, criminal law and industrial law, and the name law was still the first. The Qing Dynasty Law adopts the style of Ming law, but its content and principles basically follow the Tang law.
The laws of the Tang Dynasty also had a far-reaching impact on the laws of neighboring countries in East Asia. In Japan, the historical and reliable Dabao Law consists of six volumes, including the title and order of 1 1. Just like the Tang Law, the contents of the laws are similar. In North Korea, the laws and regulations at that time were generally modeled after the laws of the Tang Dynasty. In addition, in the ancient codes of Vietnam and western countries, we can also find out the relationship with the Tang law. Therefore, if Roman law and Napoleonic code are codes of world significance in western slavery and capitalist society, then Tang law is at least typical in the feudal codes of neighboring countries in East Asia, which is completely certain. Of course, the profound influence of the Tang law on the feudal codes of neighboring countries in East Asia is the concrete aspect and inevitable result of all the political, economic and cultural influences of the Tang Dynasty on these countries.
In the judicial aspect, there are relatively clear and strict regulations on judicial institutions, litigation system, trial system and prison management. The more enlightened monarchs and ministers in Sui and Tang dynasties also paid attention to the careful use of punishment, with clear rewards and punishments and no favoritism. At the same time, there are also cases where the law is not complied with, the law enforcement is lax and even the punishment is abused. These, from both positive and negative aspects, had an impact on the society at that time.
The actual situation of judicial system and law enforcement is an important part of legal system construction. Generally speaking, the judicial system in the Sui and Tang Dynasties was sound. In the concrete implementation of the law, there are good aspects and bad times.
During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the central government took Dali Temple and the Ministry of Punishment as judicial organs, and Yushitai also participated in judicial work. Dali Temple is the highest judicial organ, which is responsible for hearing cases of crimes committed by central government officials and imprisonment above Beijing Normal University. The judgments of disciples and fugitives must be sent to the punishments department for review. The local death penalty mystery transferred by the Ministry of Punishment has the right of retrial, and the judgment of capital crime must be approved by the emperor. The Ministry of Punishment is the central judicial administrative organ, which is responsible for examining cases of imprisonment or above that must be reported by Dali Temple and counties. If there is any doubt in the review, the following cases shall be ordered to be retried by the original judicial organ, and the death penalty cases shall be transferred to Dali Temple for retrial. Yushitai is only the central supervisory organ. In the judicial aspect, it mainly supervises the judicial trial activities of Dali Temple and the Ministry of Punishment. If there are major doubts, they also participate in hearing or accepting cases related to administrative litigation. In the Tang Dynasty, the chief officials of Dali Temple, the Ministry of Punishment and Yushitai usually tried major cases and suspicious cases together, which was called "three divisions adjudicating cases". When necessary, the emperor also ordered the punishments to hold a meeting with Zhongshu and Xiamen provinces to show caution. Small cases, or major cases that are inconvenient to be escorted from all over the capital, are sent to the three secretaries and their subordinates for trial, which is called "Little Three Secretaries". In the Tang Dynasty, local justice was managed by state (county) county administrative organs, but the number of subordinate officials increased. The state tries to join the army (or join the army judicially) and accepts criminal cases; Set up a company to join the army and accept civil cases. The county has judicial assistants and historians to assist the county magistrate in handling civil and criminal cases. Counties, such as officials going to the countryside, Li Zheng, Zheng Fang and village administration, also have certain mediation or jurisdiction over civil cases, such as marriage and land. Those who refuse to accept it can appeal to the county for retrial, and criminal cases are directly tried by the county.
The litigation system is relatively strict. According to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, appeals must be filed from the bottom up, from the county and the state to the central government according to legal procedures. Generally speaking, it is not allowed to appeal beyond the level, otherwise it will be punished. Those who should be accepted by judicial organs but not accepted should also be punished. Those who can't complain normally because of serious injustice can complain directly to the emperor, but there are also some corresponding preventive measures. In order to prevent excessive prosecution and severely punish false accusation, it is stipulated that the accusation must indicate the year and month, refer to the facts, and cannot be suspected (that is, you are not sure whether it is true or not). If it is not true, you have committed the crime of anonymous accusation and falsely accused it. Anyone should expose the crimes of rebellion, rebellion and treason. For some crimes, according to the situation, there are some restrictions and sometimes convictions, mainly to implement the ethics of "hiding relatives", "humble and respectful" and "hiding slaves".
The trial system is relatively strict. According to the law of the Tang Dynasty, when trying a case, judicial personnel should first find out the case, carefully examine the words, expressions and reasons of the interviewee, and repeatedly compare, evaluate and verify them to understand the relevant facts. If the facts are unclear and cannot be judged, and interrogation is necessary, the case shall be put on file and the relevant personnel shall be interrogated. Otherwise, they will be punished. The charges and evidence are clear, and even if the prisoner refuses to confess, he can make a judgment based on the facts. When convicted and sentenced, "everyone's crime" is not allowed, that is, innocence is divided into guilt and misdemeanor is divided into felony; It is also forbidden to commit crimes, that is, to make a person innocent and a felony a misdemeanor. Otherwise, there will be corresponding punishment. When trying crimes, judicial personnel must strictly abide by laws, decrees, forms and formal texts. If it is not included in Ge Yong, it is not allowed to quote "post-comparison". If any quotation is wrong, it should also bear the corresponding responsibility. In order to prevent judicial personnel from intentionally committing crimes against everyone because of personal grievances, the corresponding avoidance system is stipulated. The judicial organs also have strict restrictions on "interrogation", such as no more than three interrogations. The total number of staff does not exceed 200, and those who have not confessed after copying 200 people will be released on bail pending trial; Those who enjoy the right to discuss, invite or reduce according to law shall not be interrogated. If pregnant women commit crimes, they must wait 100 days after delivery, and offenders will be punished by behavior and sticks respectively. After the trial of the case is completed, any criminal sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment or above shall announce the specific charges of the judgment to the criminal himself and his family, and be allowed to "plead", that is, appeal against the judgment. If you don't accept it, you must carefully review it. We should be more cautious about criminals sentenced to death, and their sentences must be reported to the emperor. Before being convicted and executed, you must report it three or five times and get permission from the emperor before you can be executed. If a woman commits a capital crime and is pregnant, she must wait 100 days after giving birth.
The establishment and management of prisons are also relatively perfect. There is Dali Temple Prison in the center, where officials who were arrested by the emperor's decree and committed court murders are held. The capital has Jingzhao Prefecture and Henan Prison, which hold criminals in Kyoto. At the local level, all states and counties have prisons to hold local prisoners. All prisons have full-time prison guards in charge of prison management. At the same time, there are detailed regulations on how to imprison prisoners and what kind of instruments of torture to use.
Judging from the specific judicial practice, the more enlightened monarchs and ministers in Sui and Tang Dynasties paid great attention to administration according to law, maintained the unity and justice of the law, and distinguished rewards and punishments, regardless of personal interests. For example, this was the case in the early days of Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty. Emperor Taizong regarded this as a basic principle of governing the country and safeguarding the country. He particularly emphasized that law enforcement should be cautious and refused to draw conclusions easily. It was he who proposed and wrote the death penalty into the criminal law. Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty, Emperor Taizong and other emperors often personally recorded prisoners, and once they found grievances, they immediately took revenge. For those who violate the law because of their relatives, they can also be punished according to law and refuse to destroy public law by private means. Driven by the monarch's example, many praised officials and good officials appeared in this period, such as Gao Jiong and De Renjie. They all adhered to the principle that "the monarch commits the same crime as Shu Ren", enforced the law without being strong, and at the same time paid attention to preventing severe punishment and peacefully redressing unjust, false and wrong cases. All these played a positive role in the construction of the legal system at that time and the stability, tranquility and development of the whole society. The emergence of feudal prosperity in this period is inseparable from their efforts in this regard.
However, at some times, due to various factors, some officials and ministers in this period were unable to abide by the law, lax in law enforcement, unfair in rewards and punishments, and even changed the law at will and were ruled by cruel officials. For example, in the last years of Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty and Yang Di period, laws were often put aside. Arbitrary conviction and punishment, excessive reward and punishment, so that "cruelty is competent, law-abiding is cowardly", which seriously damaged the legal system at that time, especially the judicial system, thus accelerating the demise of the Sui Dynasty. In some periods of the Tang Dynasty, there were also acts that seriously undermined the judicial system. For example, when Wu Zetian was in power, in order to prevent Li Tang's imperial clan from rebelling, Lai Junchen, Zhou Xing and other cruel officials were employed, killing people indiscriminately, resulting in countless unjust, false and wrongful cases, which seriously threatened the security of the ruling clique and brought disaster to the people. In the late Tang dynasty, the central government had no way to ask about it because of the separatist regime of the buffer region and the free killing of each other within its sphere of influence. Eunuchs usurped power, factional disputes, framed crimes, extra-judicial punishments and even massacres are common occurrences. This greatly accelerated the decline of the Tang Dynasty.
In the legal history of Sui and Tang Dynasties, there are many things that can be ignored by future generations, such as attaching importance to the construction of the legal system, combining leniency with severity, handling the relationship between etiquette and law, taking the lead in obeying the law, and maintaining the unity and stability of the law.
Attaching importance to the construction of the legal system is a necessary condition for the stability and prosperity of the country. Some people in modern society often think that ancient society, including feudal society, had no legal system at all, and the emperor had the final say, and the rise and fall depended on whether the emperor was wise or not. Actually, it is not. As long as we turn over the history of China for thousands of years and study it carefully, it is not difficult to draw a conclusion that it is important whether the emperor is wise or not, but the construction of feudal legal system is also closely related to the rise and fall of dynasties. The prosperity of Qin depends on Shang Yang's political reform, changing law into law and perfecting the legal system. Although Shang Yang died personally, Qin Law was not defeated. The prosperous period of Han Dynasty is also consistent with the good period of legal system construction. On the contrary, any weak or even declining dynasty, or the weakness of a dynasty in a certain period, is related to the imperfection or destruction of the legal system, which will inevitably cause or aggravate the weakness or decline of the dynasty. The rulers of Sui and Tang dynasties, especially the founding and enlightened rulers, have a clear understanding of this. As a feudal emperor, of course, I was superstitious about the role of individuals in reversing Gankun in history. But at the same time, they also realize the power of the people and the importance of coordinating and regulating the interests of all classes and strata, and the law is the will of the ruling class that has risen to the will of the state. As the will of the ruling class, it can represent the interests, wishes and purposes of the ruling class and is naturally beneficial to the ruling class; As a national will, it represents the interests and aspirations of all the people and is an authoritative force to coordinate various relations. Because of this, in general, the rulers of Sui and Tang Dynasties paid more attention to and strengthened the legal system construction than those of other dynasties in the past. This can be clearly reflected from the major legislative activities in this period, the unprecedented completeness of legal forms, the richness of legal contents and principles and the closeness to actual needs. The unprecedented prosperity and development of society in this period naturally cannot be separated from attaching importance to and strengthening the guarantee role of legal system construction.
Paying attention to combining leniency with severity is the basic method of governing the country in ancient China, and it is also the basic principle that should be followed in legal system construction. The so-called leniency means political justice and lighter punishment; The so-called fierce, refers to the steep political punishment. Combining leniency with severity means that according to the situation in different periods, light punishment is used and heavy punishment is used alternately, which complement each other. At that time, Zhuge Liang ruled Shu with fierce and lenient tactics. Because in Shu before him, the punishment network was wide and the laws were lax, people did not know that they were afraid of punishment and needed to be treated with heavy punishment. Moreover, in 10 years, no one was pardoned, and finally Shu was greatly governed. Sui and Tang dynasties, before the founding of their respective countries, accepted the political foundation of severe punishment and severe law, so we should combine leniency with severity. Therefore, the original intention and content of legislation in the Sui Dynasty were to ban internet access, broaden the scope and lighten the punishment, which really achieved remarkable results. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, the criminal system was so bad that its severity was almost unbelievable. Therefore, when Tang Gaozu started fighting, everything was abolished except 12. The laws and regulations formulated after the founding of the Tang Dynasty are also based on the imperial law, which has a wide criminal network, and this purpose is basically implemented in the law of Zhenguan, the law of eternal emblem and even the law of Kaiyuan. At the same time, with the development of society, it tends to be moderate to better meet the needs of governing the country, developing production and prospering economy and culture. In the late Tang Dynasty, the abuse of punishment by separatist regime and local separatist forces will inevitably lead to civil strife and deepen the degree of social unrest.
Properly handling the relationship between etiquette and law is the most distinctive experience in the legal construction of Sui and Tang Dynasties. The relationship between etiquette and law is also a problem that China's ancient politicians attached great importance to when governing the country, and it has been difficult to handle it well. This is also related to the influence of different ideas of governing the country between ancient Confucianism and Legalism. Before Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, it seems that legalists and the theory and practice of governing the country with law as the mainstay prevailed. There are successful examples and painful lessons. The rise and fall of the Qin dynasty also proved these two points. After Emperor Wudi of the Western Han Dynasty "ousted a hundred schools of thought and respected Confucianism alone", Confucian ethics gradually gained the upper hand in the general plan of governing the country, and accordingly adopted the "spring and autumn judgment" (that is, conviction and sentencing by Confucian classics). Until the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, etiquette and law gradually unified in constant friction and collision. In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, especially in the Tang Dynasty, the process of this combination was basically completed, so there was a "one size fits all" Tang law. The so-called "one size fits all" does not mean that all moral norms directly become legal provisions, but that the basic principles and spirit of moral norms have penetrated into legal provisions. Such a combination and unification is of course very beneficial to the ruling class in governing the country and safeguarding the country. At the same time, it is beneficial and sometimes harmful to the civilization and progress of society. This leads to a question, is the Tang law lenient or strict? Some people say it is lenient, because the punishment is obviously lighter than that of the previous generation; Some people say that it is strict because it turns words and deeds that just violated etiquette into illegal words and deeds, and words and deeds that were not sanctioned by law into words and deeds that were sanctioned by law. These two statements are of course reasonable, but they only see one aspect of the problem, not all. Generally speaking, the laws of the Tang Dynasty were indeed lenient. Of course, there is also a question of position and evaluation criteria. We can only look at historical issues from the perspective of historical materialism. The actual effect of Tang law also proved that it was lenient and moderate at that time, which was conducive to the progress of social civilization. Otherwise, it will not have such a far-reaching impact on future generations and East Asian neighbors.
The monarch and ministers took the lead in obeying the law, which was the key factor for the success of the legal system construction in Tang Dynasty. Here, we don't mean all your themes, or all your words and deeds. But compared with the previous generation, there were more law-abiding monarchs and ministers in the Tang Dynasty. In feudal society, the supremacy of the monarch, the rise and fall of laws, and the life and death of officials are often in the words of the monarch. We often say that in feudal society, "a monarch who breaks the law is as guilty as Shu Ren", as if everyone was included here. In fact, if you taste it carefully, the emperor is not included here. The emperor is an exception at any time. He is the supreme ruler who combines legislative power and judicial power. Under this autocratic monarchy system, the quality of the emperor himself and his attitude towards the law are directly related to the success or failure of the legal system construction. The legal system construction in Sui and Tang Dynasties was fruitful, which was directly related to the emperor's emphasis on taking the lead in law enforcement. There are many convincing examples, which are recorded in ancient books. When the legal system was seriously damaged, it had a lot to do with the emperor's own disobedience, and there were many examples. And the attitude of many courtiers under the emperor to the law is also very important. A good law enforcement team can ensure the correct implementation of the law to a great extent, and sometimes, it can deter some illegal acts of the emperor. During the reign of Emperor Kaidi, Zhenguan and Kaiyuan, it was precisely because the emperor himself paid attention to taking the lead in obeying the law that most courtiers acted according to the law, which made the court affairs clear and the country revived, prospered and revived. Otherwise, even if there are more and better laws, it will not naturally produce good results. This involves a long-debated topic, that is, the relationship between the rule of man and the rule of law. I think in this relationship, it is still people who start and end their work, not the law. Because the law is made by people, and the law is enforced by people. Only when everyone consciously abides by the law becomes a habit can the rule of law override or decide the rule of man. This is a moving process, and we can't just cut off a paragraph to demonstrate it.
Maintaining the unity and stability of the law is also a successful experience in the legal process of Sui and Tang Dynasties, and there are also lessons of failure. This truth is very simple, the law is not unified, and the people are not satisfied; The law is unstable, and it is difficult for people to survive. Therefore, enlightened monarchs and ministers such as Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty and Emperor Taizong often emphasized this article. Of course, emphasizing unity and stability does not mean that we will not adjust or change. As long as the actual situation changes and needs to be modified or changed, it should be modified or changed, but it should also be carried out according to legal procedures, otherwise it will cause confusion. Arbitrary change is a taboo, including the construction of contemporary legal system, and it must not be taken lightly.