During the period of 1975, Qin bamboo slips (referred to as "Yunmeng Qin bamboo slips" for short) were excavated for the first time in Yunmeng, Hubei Province. This is an important discovery in China's archaeological community, which not only greatly promoted the research process of Qin history, but also unexpectedly solved the truth of "burning books to bury Confucianism"!
These bamboo slips recorded the Qin law from the late Warring States to the Qin Shihuang period and became the original materials for modern scholars to study the Qin law. Later, more Qin bamboo slips containing Qin laws were unearthed in various places one after another, which unveiled the complete face of the laws that were uniformly implemented throughout the country in the early days of reunification.
After Yunmeng Qin bamboo slips were unearthed, there was no provision of "overtime beheading" in the unearthed Qin bamboo slips, and other lighter penalties were replaced. People began to wonder whether the Chen Sheng Uprising was due to the "kindness of princes" or their own "ambition of a swan". As a matter of fact, whether the Shengzai Chen Uprising was due to Qin Law's "Time waits for no man" or personal ambition is still inconclusive.
History records: "There will be heavy rain, the road is blocked, and the temperature has been lost." When the time is lost, the law will be cut. "The unearthed Yunmeng Qin bamboo slips describe the ambiguous law in this way:" It is impossible to do it. " "Three to five days overdue; Six to ten days, one shield; After ten days, you will get an armor. Water and rain, except xing. "
In other words, if there is no proper cut-off date, just reprimanding for being late, some fines will not be paid. However, if the "overdue" is caused by heavy rain, the corvee can be exempted.
Value importance:
The Qin bamboo slips Sleeping in the Cloud and Sleeping in the Tiger Land are classified as 10 chapters by experts. Administrative documents, medical works, and books about good days and bad days are all included. More importantly, Qin bamboo slips contain a large number of legal documents before and after Qin unified China. It is also the first systematic discovery of Qin Law, which fills the gap in the legal documents of Qin Dynasty, and is of fundamental significance in the legal history of China.
At the same time, the fonts on Yunmeng Qin bamboo slips are also very beautiful. They were written at the end of the Warring States Period and appeared at the same time as the official script of Qin Dynasty, which reflected the change from seal script to official script and provided rich and informative basis for studying China calligraphy and the political, economic and cultural development of Qin Dynasty.