The Suihudi Qin Tomb is located in Yunmeng County, Hubei Province. The tomb contains more than 1,100 Qin Dynasty bamboo slips, as well as writing brushes, stone inkstones, ink blocks and other writing utensils.
The official script of the Qin Dynasty on the bamboo slips reflects the transformation stage from seal script to official script. Its content mainly records the law, medicine and many other contents of the Qin Dynasty. It provides a good basis for the study of Chinese calligraphy, the politics, law, and politics of the Qin Empire. The development history of economy, culture, medicine, etc. provides detailed information and is of very important value.
The owner of the tomb in the Qin Tomb in Suihudi is named "Xi". Xi was born in 262 BC. In 246 BC, when he was only 17 years old, he registered to serve as a corvee for the Qin State. Later, he successively served as Anlu Yushi, Anlu Lingshi, Yan Lingshi, Zhiyuan Yan and other low-level officials related to criminal law.
Xi joined the army three times in 245 BC, 244 BC and 233 BC, participated in many battles, visited several counties in Qin, and finally died in office. He personally experienced the entire process from the first emperor's personal rule to the unification of the six countries. The document chronicling Xi's life records the most glorious era of Qin.
Hisheng's former county magistrate Shi, that is, a minor official under the county magistrate, participated in "prison management." The legal provisions on the tomb bamboo slips are relevant legal documents copied while Xi was engaged in legal activities. They mainly copied legal provisions on administrative management and "prison management", and recorded legal provisions on criminal, economic, civil and official management.
These legal provisions are certainly not all the legal provisions of the Qin Dynasty, but they are commonly used legal provisions, and they also copy a law of the Wei State at that time on "brother-in-law", which may be the same as the Qin law and also applies to Legal activities in Qin.
The main forms of Qin laws recorded in Qin bamboo slips are:
"Lv": From the time of Qin Shihuang and Shang Yang, "fa" was changed to law. Qinlu *** 202 bamboo slip, located on the right side of the tomb owner's body, is 0.275 meters long and 0.006 meters wide.
The Qin laws*** include "Tian Law", "Stage Law", "Cang Law", "Jinbu Law", "Guanshi Law", "Gong Law", and "Gongcheng" , "Ji Gong", "Corvee Code", "Sikong", "Placement Code", "Xiao", "Junjue Code", "Shi Chuan Code", "Xingshu", "Nei Shi Za", "Wei Za" ", "Belong to the State" and other 18 types. The name of the code or its abbreviation is written at the end of each code. The content involves agriculture, warehouses, currency, trade, corvee, official appointment, military nobility, handicrafts and other aspects.
"Xiaolu": ***61 slip, located in the abdomen of the tomb owner, with a length of 0.27 meters and a width of 0.006 meters. The title is written on the back of the first slip. It stipulates in detail the verification of the material accounts of county and capital officials. The law is particularly strict in the management of weapons, armor, leather and other military materials. It also clearly stipulates the system and error of weights and measures.
"Qin Code Miscellanies": ***42 slips, located in the abdomen of the tomb owner, with a length of 0.275 meters and a width of 0.006 meters. Including: "The Law of Eliminating Officials", "The Law of Travelers", "The Law of Eliminating Disciples", "The Law of Zhonglao", "The Law of Tibetan", "The Law of Company Chariots and Horses Hunting", "Cow and Sheep Class", "Fu Law", "Tunbiao" There are 11 kinds of laws copied by the tomb owner during his lifetime, such as "Laws for Capturing Robbers" and "Laws for Guarding", among which there are many military-related laws.
"Legal Questions and Answers": ***210 slip, located on the right side of the tomb owner's neck, with a length of 0.255 meters and a width of 0.006 meters. The explanations of the provisions, terminology and the intention of the Qin Code in the form of questions and answers mainly explain the main part of the Qin Code, that is, the criminal law, and also explain the litigation procedures.
"Sealing Diagnosis Style": ***98 bamboo slips, located on the right side of the head of the tomb owner, with a length of 0.254 meters and a width of 0.005 meters. The title is written on the back of the last slip.
The brief text is divided into 25 sections. The first brief abbreviation of each section has a subtitle, including: "Prison Management", "Prison Interrogation", "Feng Shou", "You Ji", "Recovery" , "The thief accuses himself", "The horse is stolen", "The fight for the cattle", "The group of thieves", "Seize the head", "Inform the minister", "The concubine", "The mover", "The accuser", "The disease", "The Death of a Thief", "The Death of a Sutra", "The Robber of a Cave", "The Son is Born", "Poisonous Words", "The Tragedy", "The Death Comes Out", etc. There are two subtitles which are blurred and cannot be read.
The closure type refers to the regulations and cases regarding trial principles and the investigation, inspection, interrogation, and seizure of cases.
"Chronicle": ***53 bamboo slips, located under the head of the tomb owner, with a length of 0.232 meters and a width of 0.006 meters.
The brief text is written in two columns, upper and lower, recording year by year from 306 BC to 217 BC, that is, the Qin Dynasty's war to destroy the Six Kingdoms, as well as the life experience of the tomb owner.
"Yushu": ***14 bamboo slips, located in the lower abdomen of the tomb owner, with a length of 0.278 meters and a width of 0.006 meters. The title is written on the back of the last slip.
"The Way of Being an Official": ***51 slip, located under the belly of the tomb owner, with a length of 0.275 meters and a width of 0.006 meters. The content is mainly about the rules of being an official, for officials to learn.
"Rishu": Type A "Rishu" ***166 slips, located on the right side of the tomb owner's head, 0.25 meters long, 0.005 meters wide, with characters written on both sides. There are 257 bamboo slips of Type B "Rishu", located at the feet of the tomb owner. The length of the slip is 0.23 meters and the width is 0.006 meters. The last slip has the title "Rishu" on the back. Type A "Rishu" contains a comparison of Qin and Chu records.
The unification of Qin is an inevitable trend of historical development, but compared with the six eastern countries, Qin did play a greater subjective and active role in the preparation and implementation of unification. This is fully reflected in the Qin Code.
The landlord class was on the rise at that time, so the content of the Qin Code also contained a vigorous and enterprising spirit of innovation.
The policy of farming and war is the basic national policy of Qin. "The reason why a country thrives is agricultural warfare." From Shang Yang to Qin Shihuang, the Qin State has always adhered to this policy. Under this policy, the people worked hard to engage in farming and warfare, which made Qin rich and powerful and prepared a solid material foundation for Qin Shihuang's unification.
The Qin bamboo slips retain many legal provisions on the agricultural policy. For example, the "Tian Law" stipulates that after the occasional rain, or when natural disasters such as drought, waterlogging, insects, wind, etc. occur, local officials must promptly report the benefits and affected area to their superiors, so that their superiors can understand the agricultural production situation and take corresponding measures. .
There are also regulations in the "Stable Garden Laws" and "Cattle and Sheep Classes": If you raise farm cattle well, you will be rewarded with a pot of wine and 10 pieces of dried meat by the farm steward, and the cattle will be given 30 days of hard work, and you will be exempted. The breeder has to work for one month; if the cattle are not well fed, the farmer will be reprimanded and the breeder will be punished with two months of hard labor; if the cow loses fat, the person responsible will be beaten.
These regulations can also promote the development of agriculture and animal husbandry.
Due to frequent wars at that time, in order to ensure sufficient agricultural production labor force, the "Garrison Law" stipulated: "No two people living together can guard the border at the same time." When county officials, lieutenants, and officials are required to serve in the garrison, if they violate this regulation, they will be fined two armors.
The "Sikong Law" also stipulates that people who use labor as compensation for fines can "return to the fields and farm for twenty days each during the busy farming season."
The "Cang Code" occupies a considerable space in the Qin Code, formulating detailed laws and regulations from grain collection to processing and use. For example, when grain is put into a warehouse, it is "registered", that is, the number of stones is registered, and the names of warehouse managers such as the warehouse manager, Zuo, Shi, and Linren are noted, and they are sealed together. Grains must go through the same procedures when leaving the warehouse.
If there is a deficit, concealing it or transferring the winnings to make up for the deficit is the same crime as theft. If the food is damaged due to poor storage and cannot be eaten, if the food is less than a hundred shi, the official will be reprimanded; if it exceeds 100 shi to 1,000 shi, the official will be punished with 1 armor; if the amount exceeds 1,000 dan, the official will be punished with 2 armors, and the official will be punished. Redundant officials and corrupt officials are compensated with grain and grain.
Not only large losses of food will be punished, but even small losses will not be punished. If there are more than 3 rat holes in the warehouse, you will be fined one shield.
The strict warehouse storage system reduces corruption and loss during grain storage. Whether a feudal country had enough food was not only related to the development of the agricultural economy, but also affected the consolidation of the landlord class's power. It is from this aspect that "Cang Lu" reflects the Qin rulers' physiocratic thinking.
In addition, in the "Golden Rules" and "Xiaolu" and other legal texts, there are also several regulations on unifying the currency, unifying weights and measures, and restricting the speculative activities of merchants. These regulations will accelerate the development of the feudal economy. Development also played an important role.
Since Shang Yang’s reform, the Qin Dynasty has implemented a military merit system, using heavy rewards to encourage people to kill enemies and perform meritorious services in war. There are two cases of "seizing the first place" and "fighting for the first place" in "Feng Di Shi", which vividly reflect the situation of Qin's implementation of the military nobility system.
The "Military Rules" in the Qin Bamboo Slips stipulates that "service in the army should be judged according to work and rewards", that is, rewards should be given according to merit. "Qin Lu Zachao" also stipulates that the deceased in battle will be rewarded, "on the subsequent", that is, the title of the deceased will be awarded to his descendants.
If you flee in battle, you will be punished by "being considered a subordinate".
Due to the implementation of this strict system of rewards and punishments, when the people of Qin encountered war, "the father left his son, the brother left his brother, the wife left her husband, they all said: 'No return.' With the three armies, they follow orders like a stream of water and do not turn around until they die." This made Qin's army the most powerful force in combat.
Qin Lu also attached great importance to military training and weapons and equipment. For example, "Qin Code Miscellanies" stipulates: If a miser fails to hit the target with a crossbow, he will be punished with two armors and removed from his post. If a charioteer is appointed for four years and cannot be driven, he must be compensated for the four years of corvée service, and the instructor must be fined a shield and removed from his position as coach. If the weapons issued to the soldiers are not perfect, the Prime Minister, Ku Che Fu, and Li Jia will be punished, their posts will be revoked, and they will never be used again.
Qin Law often punishes those who violate various laws and systems with a number of armors or shields. This is also related to the fact that the unification war requires a large amount of weapons and equipment.
In addition, the law also stipulates that for all cavalry, horses are given first, and then soldiers are selected. After joining the army, there will be a class test. If the horse is rated as inferior, Ling, Cheng, and Sima will all be punished. With such a strict assessment system, it will naturally have the effect of strengthening the troops and horses.
Whether Qin's laws can effectively play its role and whether Qin's farming and war policies can be implemented depends to a large extent on whether officials at all levels can faithfully implement them.
The Qin Slips "The Way of Being an Official" lists the "five virtues" and "five faults" of officials, and "Yushu" clearly raises the issue of "good officials" and "evil officials". Those who have done many evil things among them must be recorded in the records and reported to all parts of the country as examples of evil officials.
The Qin Code preserves a large number of provisions regarding the appointment, dismissal, promotion, rewards and punishments of officials. These provisions all run through a basic spirit, that is, whether they are familiar with and able to implement the law is the main criterion for evaluating officials. .
Qin Law places great emphasis on the rule of law, and first requires officials at all levels to know the law, follow the law, and enforce the law, and must not break the law. For example, "Legal Questions and Answers" has a special article explaining what "violating the order" and "abolishing the order" mean: "What the law calls, if the order says not to do it, and you do it, it means violating the order; if the order says to do it, don't do it, It means law (abolishing) orders. "Any official who violates or abrogates orders must be punished according to law.
The "Removal of Officials Law" also severely punishes those officials who violate the policies and laws of the central government and refuse to implement them. "Xingshu Law" even stipulates that all "order letters" and urgent matters must be executed immediately; if they are not urgent matters, they must be processed on the same day without delay. Those who delay will be punished according to law.
Qin Law attaches great importance to the selection and appointment of officials at all levels. For example, the "Laws on the Appointment of Officials" stipulates that when officials such as "Liwei" are appointed, if they appoint people who should not be appointed, and let them come to their posts or dispatch them without the approval of their superiors, they will be punished according to law.
"The Law of Eliminating Officials" and "Miscellaneous History of Internal Affairs" more clearly stipulate: "Those who appoint legal (abolition) officials are officials, and they are paid to Erjia." It is prohibited to appoint these people as officials or to serve as security guards in forbidden gardens. , which is of great significance for consolidating the power of the feudal landlord class.
In order to improve the administrative efficiency of the government and strictly prevent officials from violating laws and disciplines, Qin Law also placed great emphasis on the official responsibility system and implemented an evaluation system for officials. The "Laws of Imitation" stipulates that officials each have their own duties, and if they fail to perform their duties, they will be punished.
"The Way of Being an Official" listed the scope of responsibilities of the county-level political institutions at that time. They not only had to execute various orders and edicts issued by the supreme ruler, collect taxes, corvees and military service; they also had to manage Farmland water conservancy, government handicrafts, warehouses, gardens and other matters, there are no less than twenty or thirty items in total.
Each item has a dedicated person responsible for it, and special systems and laws have been formulated. If an official neglects his duty or is passive and slow in his work, he must be punished according to the law; for the losses caused, he must be ordered to compensate according to the seriousness of the case. Officials who deceive their superiors and commit crimes will be severely punished.
The "Legal Questions and Answers" stipulates that if an official commits fraud and commits a crime exceeding a fine of a shield, he must not only be punished in accordance with the law, but also be removed from office and never be appointed. In addition, the Qin Code also lists punishment regulations for officials who abuse their power, pretend to be public for personal gain, forge orders, steal official seals, misappropriate public funds without permission, and disrupt farming and warfare.
In short, it can be seen from the Qin Law that the feudal state tried to make officials at all levels a handy tool of the landlord class regime through legal guarantees. Because only Qin officials at all levels can faithfully perform their duties, can the state machine of the landlord class play its due role.
Xun Kuang once traveled around various countries and later entered Qin. Qin Prime Minister Fan Sui asked him: "What did you see when you entered Qin?" Respectful, loyal and not? Look at the scholar-bureaucrats, who come out of their sect, enter the public sect, come out of the public sect, and return to their family. They have no private affairs, no comparison with the Zhou Dynasty, no clique, and they are all arrogant and open-minded. His court and his court were idle, and he was as calm as if he had no rule. Therefore, it was not a matter of luck that he was victorious in the four generations."
I think Qin was the best governed country at that time. The vassal states of the Qin Dynasty are close to the state of "ruling the country to the extreme", and they hope that the Qin State will continue to work hard in order to "order the world."
As expected by Xun Kuang, after Qin Shi Huang ascended the throne, it only took him 10 years to destroy the six kingdoms and complete the great cause of unifying China.
Qin's unification war was not smooth sailing, and there was a tortuous process in the middle. The Qin Bamboo Slips "Chronicle" records a series of wars fought by Qin against the three Jins, Qi and Chu over a period of more than 80 years from 306 BC to 224 BC.
Thirty-eight years ago, King Zhao of Qin, under the guidance of the wrong policy of Ranghou Wei Ran to attack close friends from far away, although wars were frequent, Qin actually gained little.
After the thirty-nine years of King Qin Zhao, the situation has changed a lot. Due to the adoption of Fan Ju's correct policy of making friends far away and attacking closely, the war targets were concentrated on the neighboring three Jin Dynasties. Since Han was the first target of the attack among the three Jins, within a few years, they successively captured Huai and Xingqiu of Wei and Shaoqu, Gaoping and Yewang of Han. These battles were of great strategic significance in weakening Han and Wei, strengthening Qin's power, and creating a situation in which they could attack at any time.
In particular, the victory of the famous Battle of Changping in 260 BC annihilated Zhao's effective strength. From then on, the three Jin Dynasties were no longer able to confront Qin.
After Qin Shihuang took office in 231 BC, he continued to implement the policy of distant relations and close attacks. The expected process is to destroy Han first, then Zhao, Wei, Chu and Yan, and finally Qi. During the Unification War, the closer the feudal separatist forces of the six countries came to their end, the more they had to fight to the death. The struggle between unification and separatism reached an unprecedented intensity.
"Chronicle" also reflects this situation to a certain extent. For example, in 228 BC, "Nanjun Bei Jing (Police)", "In the 20th year, the King of Han lived in Mount □", "In the 21st year, the King of Han died", these are not found in historical records.
228 BC was the 19th year of Qin Shihuang, the third year after the destruction of Korea, and the unification war had just begun. Nanjun was originally the seat of Ying, the old capital of Chu. The northern border of Nanjun was close to the southern border of the old Han Dynasty.
"Historical Records·The Chronicles of Qin Shihuang" records: "Xinzheng rebelled in the 21st year." Xinzheng was the capital of Han, so Han was also called Xinzheng. Combining this record with the records in the 19th, 20th, and 21st years of the Qin Slips "Chronicles", we can see that after the fall of Korea, the Korean nobles were not willing to fail and were still trying to restore themselves. and launched a rebellion. The State of Qin was also always on guard against the restoration rebellions of Korean nobles.
The "Xinzheng Rebellion" and the "King of Han's Death" happened in the same year. It is not accidental. It shows that once the Korean nobles launched a rebellion this time, they were quickly suppressed by Qin and fell into failure, and the King of Han also fell. He ended up with his body and head missing.
"Historical Records·The Chronicles of the First Emperor of Qin" records: In the 23rd year, "Chu General Xiang Yan established Lord Changping as King of Jing and rebelled against Qin in Huainan." In the twenty-fourth year, "Wang Jian and Meng Wu attacked Jing and defeated the Jing army. Lord Changping died, and Xiang Yan committed suicide." These two records are about the same thing. Lord Changping should be the fault of Lord Changwen in the Qin bamboo slips, and the other deceased in the bamboo slips may be Xiang Yan.
Qin Shihuang also mentioned this matter after unifying the six kingdoms: "The king of Jing presented himself to the west of Qingyang, and he made an appointment to attack our southern county, so he sent troops to kill him, captured his king, and then settled the land of Jing." This time, the Chu aristocrats headed by Xiang Yan and Chang Wenjun openly raised the banner of anti-Qin in Jiangnan. However, within a year, the entire army was annihilated. Chang Wenjun died and Xiang Yan committed suicide.
To this day, the complete code of the Qin Dynasty has not yet been seen, and the most legal provisions that have been seen are only the Qin Dynasty provisions recorded on more than 1,000 bamboo slips in Yunmeng Bamboo Slips in Suihudi.