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 one of the "ten evil" crimes, which is the focus of punishment.
.Legislative ideas to safeguard hierarchical privileges. "Tang Lu 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 men 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 also 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 draw up 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 by five horses), and owl decapitation (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 whip. Those who are not treason and treason are not punished by their clan. To this day, all those who use it are the system of the government. "The death penalty review system was developed in the 15th 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 fusion 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 is 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 any violation of etiquette would be punished by punishment. Disloyalty and unfilial piety were both criminal acts. The articles of "Zhenguan Law" reflected the idea of ??combining etiquette and punishment in every aspect. It laid the foundation for Yonghui's Laws and Regulations. Secondly, legislation was 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 believe that although the law should change with the times, it should not be changeable. Changes in the law will cause great harm to officials. It is impossible to remember everything, 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 removing moths, turning heavy things into light things".
(3) Be cautious about prison and mercy, and ensure that it is "real"
In order to implement the orthodox legal thought of "morality dominates and punishment supplements", Li Shimin's ruling group not only emphasized simplification in legislation , law enforcement also emphasizes caution in prison and mercy in punishment, and strives to be truthful. It is roughly manifested in the following aspects: First, be cautious in prison but not generous in punishment. Li Shimin believed that officials often committed crimes and killed people, thus causing unjust imprisonment. He clearly ordered that judicial officials must be cautious in punishing and killing, and judge crimes in accordance with the law, whether serious or minor, according to customs. Second, establish the Jiuqing system of deliberation on punishment. In the early Tang Dynasty, the rulers were very cautious about the death penalty, and "all major crimes were punished by ordering Zhongshu, the fourth rank or above of the family, and the nine ministers of Shangshu to 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, and effectively avoiding unjust cases. Fourth, oppose harsh news and seek truth. Li Shimin's emperors and ministers took the Sui Dynasty's rigorous interrogation to extract confessions as a warning, emphasized the importance of paying attention to the facts in interrogation, and stipulated the principle of "not rigorous interrogation, no extraneous requests, and no expensive and excessive punishment" to prevent indiscriminate punishment.
(4) Reward and punishment should be clear and correct.
Taizong of the Tang Dynasty praised Zhuge Liang for not avoiding relatives in punishment and never leaving grudges in rewards. He asked officials to judge cases in prison and "just follow the law". He himself also took the lead in abiding by the law. When judicial decisions violated his own edicts, he refrained from obeying the law, so that judicial officers dared to uphold the law and directly remonstrate with them. (5) Combination of accepting remonstrances and enforcing the law. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty was very receptive to remonstrances. When his edicts contradicted the laws, he was often able to accept the remonstrances of the judiciary, endure small personal grievances, and maintain great faith in the law. Therefore, the interference of imperial power in the judiciary was relatively reduced, allowing the feudal orthodox legal thought to be fully reflected in judicial activities. }
To sum up, Li Shimin and his ruling group, based on summarizing the ruling experience of past dynasties, developed more rigorous legal thoughts that are more adaptable to social development and consolidate their rule. On the basis of "fairness", they acted in accordance with the law and strictly enforced the law, creating a rare and praised "rule of law" situation in Chinese society.
Liu Zongyuan's law originated from the legal thought of "power" and timely rewards and punishments;
The proposition that "nature and man do not predict anything"?
Liu Zongyuan once wrote " "The Theory of Heaven" is in opposition to Han Yu's theory of heavenly punishment. It believes that the survival, gain and loss of human affairs have nothing to do with heaven, and heaven cannot reward and punish people's 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. ?
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 more important than Tao." When applied to "governing the world", "In times of decline and chaos, rituals are relaxed and punishments are relaxed; in times of peace, punishments are spared and rituals are promoted; in times of peace, rituals are promoted. Then kill the ritual and let the Tao" ("Bai Juyi Ji·Xingli Dao") It can be seen that Bai Juyi's philosophy of governing the country is not only different from the radical legalists Shang Yang, Han Fei and others, but also different from the Confucian "centered on ritual," 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.