#历史开讲 #
Wen 丨 Uncle Zhang watches the world
Editor丨Uncle Zhang views the world
preface
In ancient societies, the death penalty was not only a punishment for criminals, but also one of the means for rulers to maintain social order and consolidate their rule.
During the Song Dynasty, facing the threat of surrounding nomadic states and internal rebel forces, the rulers attached great importance to the control of social order.
The Song court enacted strict laws to regulate the behavior of the people, and repeated extrajudicial torture such as lingling, strangulation, nailing, and strangulation to crack down on behaviors that destabilized its rule, which had a profound impact on later generations.
From the perspective of system, the death penalty trial system in the Song Dynasty has been reformed many times and has become more stringent. As the main body of adjudication, the legal literacy of officials in the Song Dynasty was improved compared with the previous generation.
In the course of judicial trials, sentences should be used cautiously and judgments should be made in accordance with law. As the official orthodoxy, Confucianism had a great influence on death penalty trials in the Song Dynasty, and in judicial practice, trial officials paid attention to coordinating the relationship between Confucian ethics, law, and human feelings.
Under these circumstances, the death penalty trial system of the Northern Song Dynasty developed its own unique characteristics. This article will explore the characteristics and causes of death penalty trials in the Song Dynasty during the Northern Song Dynasty, so as to understand the social trends of the Song Dynasty.
The system of death penalty trials has become more stringent
In the Northern Song Dynasty, there were five punishments: flogging, rod, discipleship, exile, and death, and the prefect of the prefecture had the final right to adjudicate for crimes below imprisonment, and sentences for crimes of exile and capital crimes must be reported. "If the Dali Temple and the prefectures cut off the flow above, if they are removed, exempted, or held official positions, they will even write a case to apply for the province."
Compared with criminal cases that are not capital crimes, the trial system of death penalty cases in the Song Dynasty is more stringent, which is mainly reflected in the following three aspects. First, the trial process has gradually become stricter.
The first trial of death penalty cases in the Northern Song Dynasty was conducted in the prefecture and county where the case occurred, and the first trial had to go through five links: interrogation, recording, procuratorial law, discussion and preparation of judgment, and supervision of each judicial link also ran throughout.
Moreover, during the Northern Song Dynasty, the death penalty trial procedures were also improved many times, ensuring the rigor of the interrogation procedure by separating the interrogation and procuratorial links, increasing the number of interrogations and the number of recorded officials.
The second is the step-by-step review of death penalty trials. The verdicts in death penalty cases in the Northern Song Dynasty were reviewed step by step. The magistrate of Northern Song Prefecture does not have the final adjudication power in death penalty cases.
If a death penalty case occurs in the county, the county government will report the trial to the prefecture, and the prefecture will draft the sentence, and there is no doubt that the death penalty case still needs to be reported to the Criminal Department for review.
After Yuanfeng's restructuring, there is no doubt that the case needs to be reported to the road-level criminal justice department for approval. Difficult death penalty cases must be reported to the Dali Temple for review, and after the Dali verdict, it is sent to the Criminal Department for review, and after the review, it is reported to the emperor, who will make the final judgment.
In this way, different trial levels are responsible for trial matters within their respective jurisdictions, and review them step by step, so as to ensure the fairness and accuracy of death penalty trials to the greatest extent.
The third is to increase the procedure for reviewing death sentences. Whether in the Criminal Department, the Dali Temple, or the local prefecture capital, death penalty trials follow the principle of "Qiao, Zhao, and Discussion Division".
The death penalty trial in the Northern Song Dynasty not only required clear facts of the case and prudent sentencing, but also paid attention to whether the verdict was in line with the legal situation.
Therefore, a "detailed discussion" procedure has been established, in which persons or institutions other than the trial and sentencing process will review the results of the death sentence.
Zhu Xi said: "Today's prison, those who are sentenced to death are all from the prefecture to the prefecture, from the prefecture to the messenger, and those who have doubts are from the prefecture to the imperial court, from the imperial court down to the Thorn Temple, and the Thorn Temple is discussed and then refuted." It maintains anti-idleness, which can be described as thorough and scrutinized. ”
Judicial officials have a high level of legal literacy
Legal literacy refers to the ability to know and apply the law. Officials are the main body of the operation of the trial system, and their legal literacy determines their judicial practice ability, which is crucial to the operation of the death penalty trial system.
Deng Xiaonan also pointed out: "The front and back of the system are all 'people', and the behavior of 'people' in 'things' makes the system 'live'." "Compared with the previous generation, the legal literacy of judicial officials in the Northern Song Dynasty was higher.
The Northern Song Dynasty inherited the principle of "conviction of original circumstances" in the previous generation. Yuan Hong's "Later Han Dynasty" of the Eastern Jin Dynasty recorded: "Spring and Autumn Righteousness, Original Conviction", and in the Tang Dynasty, "original love conviction" became a statutory conviction principle.
Northern Song officials also paid attention to the original conviction in the trial of the case. Cai Jiuxuan emphasized in the article: "To make a decision to open up public affairs, we must see the cause of the perpetrator's dispute, and the so-called original circumstances convict are also Ye." ”
In the trial of cases, judicial officials take the subjective malice of the perpetrator and the objective harm of the criminal facts as one of the criteria for conviction. This is consistent with the principle of "unity of subjectivity and objectivity" in modern criminal law.
For cases where subjective malice is not strong and the facts of the crime are less harmful, the trial officer will reduce the sentence as appropriate. For example, the Song Law stipulates that "those who send the grave are added to the conscription stream; Those who have opened the coffin are hanged".
However, regarding the special situation of "the father dies and the mother remarries, the son waits for the mother to die, and the mother's coffin is stolen and buried with the father", Su Yin, a detailed judge of the Dali Temple, said: "If the son steals the mother's coffin and takes it in the father's tomb, how can it be compared with the person who takes wealth from the grave?" Request for a commutation of his death sentence.
Shaanchuan Tong sentenced Sun Tangqing to also believe: "It is to know that there is filial piety, but not to know that there is a law." Explain it one by one. Shaanxi's prison official Hou Jin even asked Su Yin to be written in order for future generations to follow suit. Another example is the case of the people of Yuezhou (present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang) who drunkenly cursed their grandfather.
According to the "Song Penal System", "The descendants and grandparents and parents, if the relationship is not smooth, they will be hanged." But at that time, "the ancestor has already repented of it", crying in the court: "The old man has no children, and Lai Sun thinks his life." ”
Zhizhou Renbu acquitted his grandson and wrote to impeach himself. The imperial court also did not hold him accountable, indicating that officials at the time approved of Ren Bu's handling and reduced his sentence for such a serious case.
Compared with the previous generation, the rulers of the Northern Song Dynasty paid more attention to the judicial literacy of officials. Since Emperor Wudi of Han, Confucianism has become the orthodox ideology of ancient China, and officials have the status of Confucianists.
Chen Jingliang pointed out that Han and Tang officials were "better than righteousness and neglect of official affairs" in the judicial process. The selection of officials in the Tang Dynasty paid attention to the examination of scripture and poetry.
When criticizing the imperial examination system of the Tang Dynasty, Zhao Kuang, a thorn in Yangzhou (present-day Yang County, Shaanxi), said: "Those who enter the rank are noble, the master is praised, the poetry is really talented, and the beauty is perfect, and this is a virtuous ... Ming Jing reads, he has been diligent, his mouth asks righteousness, and he recites loose texts, exhausts his essence, and learns the cause of not being in a hurry... And to decide on the matter, take the mouth of the Xu official. ”
He believed that there were few competent officials at that time because "what is learned is not used, and what is used is not learned." After the imperial examination, the Tang Dynasty people also had to pass the examination of the officials before they could be appointed to official positions.
The criteria for the selection of officials in the Tang Dynasty included four articles: "body, speech, writing, and judgment", of which "judgment" is the judgment, but "the merits of the judgment are all in the quotation of allusions and the brilliance of the article".
From "Xi is not in a hurry, decide on people's affairs, and take the mouth of Xu officials" to "Jing Sheng Ming Law, Law Officials Understand the Scripture", it can be seen that the Northern Song Dynasty had higher requirements for judicial officials, so the legal literacy of Northern Song officials was improved compared with that of officials in the Han and Tang Dynasties.
In judicial practice, Northern Song officials insisted on sentencing according to law and used punishment carefully. Shi Dongmei pointed out in "A Study of the Death Penalty System in the Tang Dynasty" that the judicial power of the Tang Dynasty was interfered with by the prime minister and eunuchs.
During the Northern Song Dynasty, Hongzhou (present-day Nanchang, Jiangxi) "prefecture beat his nephew and half-brother, and his nephew killed someone"; At that time, Ge Yuan first joined the army as the left commander of Hongzhou.
The state said to Ge Yuan, "Both of them are nephews, and the murderer is his brother, I know." The surname of Pi Da is also not mistaken by the division, otherwise, this prison will be overcome! ”
Faced with the threat of his top boss, Ge Yuan still tried the case impartially. In the fourth year of Emperor Renzong's reign (1037), Wang Ze, a powerful man in Mizhou (present-day Zhucheng, Shandong), was discovered by his neighbors brewing wine, and Wang Ze "made the slaves kill the four fathers and sons of his neighbors."
The prefecture only sentenced his domestic slaves to death, and the case was reported to the central government, and Prime Minister Chen Yaozuo approved of the prefecture's verdict. In the face of pressure from the prime minister, Song Jiao, the chief criminal officer, still argued for reason, and finally sentenced Wang Ze to death according to law.
For example, during the Jingyou reign (1034-1038), Dali Temple dismissed the case of Wanzhou (present-day Wanzhou, Chongqing), arguing that Zhizhou was guilty of death.
Pu Shen, the official of Wanzhou, argued with Dali Temple in secret, and Zhizhou thought it was impossible, saying: "Can you argue with the court captain?" Pu Shenmi replied, "The Dharma is guarded by the whole world." This crime is not worthy of death by the law, and it is not possible to fight without dispute. ”
Zheng Ke commented: "The ancients abided by the law and dared to argue with the Son of Heaven. The state general is very wrong to think that 'you must not fight with the court captain'. "Regardless of the position, in order to adhere to the law, dare to fight with the court captain, dare to fight with the prime minister, and dare to fight with the Son of Heaven, which reflects the good legal quality of judicial officials in the Song Dynasty."
At the same time, judicial officials of the Northern Song Dynasty emphasized the prudent use of punishment in their trials. When Chen Xun of the Northern Song Dynasty was serving as the regimental training officer in Changzhou (present-day Changzhou, Jiangsu), he once proposed: "Killing people without crime is no different from killing people with a blade." ”
It can be seen that judicial officials must be more cautious in the use of death penalty cases. For example, someone in Yuan Prefecture (present-day Yichun, Jiangxi) was killed by the owner while stealing, and Zhizhou sentenced the owner to death.
Hu Xiang, who joined the army, pointed out that there is a legal difference between killing a thief by the owner and killing in a fight, and that the owner did not intentionally kill someone, believing that "the law should be used as a rod".
Another example is the case of "Yan Si drowned to spare 14 in order to fight for money". Yan Si ferryed people and collected 17 wen at a time, while the ferryman Rao 14 was only willing to give 5 wen, and the judgment recorded: "Ying Zhou has gone offshore and made trouble again."
It shows that the two had already quarreled once on the shore, and in this case, Yan Si did not drive people off the boat, but waited until the boat was offshore, and asked for the boat fee again, and the two quarreled again.
"Rao Fourteen threw his fist first, Yan Si responded, and then hit him in the face, and Rao Fourteen fell into the boat and drowned." After examination, Rao Fourteen had fist marks on his face, and there were no other injuries.
According to the actual situation in the jurisdiction and relevant laws, Fan Xitang made a legal, reasonable and reasonable judgment on the case. First, the previous verdicts of the case of "Yan Si drowned to spare 14 in order to cross money" are all related to tyranny and extortion of money.
The fact that the judges were all Fan Xitang shows that there is a bad custom of ferrymen extorting money while traveling on the boat, and Fan Xitang, as a magistrate, already knows about this situation.
In Yan Si's case, if according to the provisions of the "Song Penal System": "The brawler, Yuan has no intention to kill, and kills because of the fight", Yan Si should be hanged.
However, Yan Si was not blackmail, he only wanted to collect the remaining money, and Rao Fourteen drowned, "unexpectedly", and sentenced to hanging, which is indeed inappropriate.
If it is punished according to Yan Si's "ill-thought-out and manslaughter", it will be ransomed. But apparently Yan Si did not have the corresponding economic capacity.
In the end, the judge Fan Xitang sentenced him to "cross people in deep and dangerous places, intimidate and beg for money and goods, and steal with a rod", but because "Yan Si needs no more than seventeen letters, and his income is not more than five, he is not allowed to be rich, and he is given a hundred rods." Drowned by Rao XIV.
Because of Yan Si, he was sentenced to Yan Si with twelve rods and stabbed the city. "The judgment made by Fan Xitang based on the law, the public situation, the motive for the crime, and the actual situation of the parties to the litigation cannot be described as imprudent.
The author's opinion
Under the influence of multiple factors such as system, ideology and social reality, the death penalty trial in the Northern Song Dynasty showed its own characteristics.
The reason for this is, first of all, that under the influence of the Confucian concept of prudent punishment, the rulers have continuously improved the judicial system, paid attention to the examination of officials' legal literacy, and ensured judicial fairness to the greatest extent possible.
In order to control the number of death sentences, the rulers commuted the sentences of prisoners who committed miscellaneous capital crimes, and set up death sentences such as rods and military staffs and life imprisonment.
Second, the reform of the judicial system, changes in the criteria for selecting officials, and the increase in punishment for "death penalty for death for death toll" require officials to continuously improve their judicial capabilities.
The complex social reality and Confucianism also require officials to use punishment carefully in the trial process, and pay attention to coordinating the relationship between heavenly reason, law and human feelings, so as to achieve social stability and harmony.
Finally, the rulers of the Northern Song Dynasty advocated Confucianism and promoted the development of Confucianism. As one of the main schools of neo-Confucianism in the Song Dynasty, Cheng Zhu Lixue had a dual impact on the death penalty trials in the Song Dynasty in the process of development.
Physicists not only developed the traditional Confucian idea of prudent punishment, but also provided an ideological basis for the cruelty of the execution method in the Song Dynasty.
bibliography
[1] Wang Yunhai. Zhengzhou: Henan University Press, 1992
[2] GUO Dongxu. Research on the legal system of the Song Dynasty[M].Baoding:Hebei University Press,1997
[3] Zhang Jinfan, editor-in-chief. General History of China's Legal System[M].Beijing:Law Press,1998
[4] CHEN Yinke. Jinmingguan Series 2nd Edition[M].Beijing: Life, Reading, New Knowledge Sanlian Bookstore, 2001
[5] Xue Meiqing, Zhao Xiaogeng. General Theory of the Legal System of the Two Song Dynasties[M].Beijing:Law Press,2002