The laws of the Chinese feudal era were generally higher than those of Europe in the same period, and had a more simple legal spirit. In the Chinese feudal era, the law not only emphasized the death of the murderer, but also paid more attention to "heavenly reason, state law and human feelings", which means that what is done is reasonable, the law of the land, and the people' feelings. "For important cases, it must be approved by the emperor.
For example, now, a married woman commits adultery with someone else, and her husband is so angry that he beats the adulterer. The adulterer took her husband to court. As a result, the husband was imprisoned. According to our consciousness, including the Confucian tradition, it is perfectly normal for an adulterer to have an affair with someone and the husband to beat him up. But in a society governed by the rule of law, it is no longer legal for husbands to beat people, but the adulterer has the upper hand. In this case, the final conclusion was that the husband who had justifiably beaten the man had been sentenced. For example, what happens when an enemy who kills a loved one appears in front of him. In the Tang Dynasty, there was such a case of personal revenge and murder, so how did the judges at that time deal with it?
The incident occurred during the reign of a generation of female protagonists, Wu Zetian, according to the "filial piety" record of the New Book of Tang. A post station (official guest house) in Tongzhou, Guannei Province, in Xiayi County (Weinan City, Shaanxi). On this day, the station lived in a person named Zhao Shiyun, although this person was only a county lieutenant (the county public security bureau chief) but the style was not small, shaking his head and shaking his ass, making people look very disgusted, the small official of the station naturally had to be fully willing to receive, when the small official arranged Zhao Shiyun to the corresponding room, this zhao Shiyun was not only furious, not only to let the station's eunuch personally receive, but also to live in the room. This little official is also rough and inky, knowing that such a person can't afford to provoke, he doesn't know which big person is standing behind him, the small official immediately informed the yi cheng, at this time the yi cheng has slept, and now it is disturbed to sleep naturally unhappy, heard the small official's warning, and heard the description of Zhao Shiyun's appearance, and looked at the famous post (introduction letter). Yi Cheng's brain stirred, and he said in his heart, How did this person come, this Yi Cheng immediately said to the little official, you can't afford this person, don't look at the county lieutenant now. But has been promoted to imperial history. Now that he has entered Beijing to accept the appointment, you let him live in the next room, and he is naturally unwilling. I personally went to receive it, and the little official thought to himself: Such a person can also be a royal history, this is really my big week no one (Datang). This must be someone in the official's house, alas, dog urine moss grows in the Golden Ruan Hall that is the Lingzhi grass.
We do not mention the heart of this little official who is worried about the country and the people, and let us say that this YiCheng personally came to Zhao Shiyun's residence and repeatedly apologized. Moreover, Zhao Shiyun was arranged to the upper room, and it was again a wine banquet. Finally, a clever little official was arranged to serve at any time. A night without words. Early the next morning, Yi Cheng personally came to invite Zhao Shiyun to dinner. When the stagecoach came to the door of the upper room, he found that the door was hidden. And a strong bloody gas swept over his face, Yi Cheng suddenly felt an ominous premonition rush into his heart, Yi Cheng had the courage to push open the door and fix his eyes on it, Mom, Yi Cheng screamed and scared to move. It turned out that this Zhao Shiyun was dead and had been stabbed in the chest, which was not bad, but after a brief lapse of concentration, he immediately ordered his subordinates to immediately seal the front and back doors of the station, and those who dared to enter and leave without permission were captured on the spot, and then immediately sent someone to report to xiayi county ya to report the case.
After the county order of xiayi county was reported, it was also a big surprise that the imperial history of the current dynasty who was about to go to office actually died in the place under his jurisdiction, and if the superior knew that it would be difficult to escape the guilt of curing himself of a people's uneasy customs, so the local county order immediately prepared to rush to the scene to solve the case, and at this moment, Yi Cheng led the murderer to personally surrender. It turned out that the murderer was the little official who had been waiting for Zhao Shiyun that night. The murderer claimed to be Xu Yuanqing, and his father Xu Shuang was killed by the county lieutenant Zhao Shiyun six years ago, because he was not at home, and by the time he returned home, Zhao Shiyun had already been transferred. There is a way that the revenge of killing his father is not shared in the sky, Xu Yuanqing heard about it and was bent on revenge, looking around for Zhao Shiyun and not seeing him. Last year, he saw the station recruiting a coachman, and in order to eat a full meal, he had to change his name and surname to be a coachman at the station. Wan Wan did not expect that on this day, he actually met Zhao Shiyun in the station to enter the lord, which was really a no-brainer to step on the iron shoes and find nowhere to go, and that night he caught up with his rotation, Xu Yuanqing then personally killed Zhao Shiyun. Now that the great vengeance has been repaid, it will be repaid as desired, and in order to avoid implicating others, he will surrender himself and report to the officials for his guilt.
After the county order of the county court learned of the situation, he deeply felt that the case was serious, and this was not something that he could decide, so he immediately reported it to the Criminal Investigation Department for handling. It should be noted here that there is no record of why Zhao Shiyun killed Xu Shuang in the main history, but it is certain that it is not because Xu Shuang violated the law. The killing was a personal act of Zhao Shiyun. After the case was reported to the Ministry of Punishment, some people advocated killing to pay for their lives. Xu Yuanqing was immediately sentenced to death, but some people opposed it, since he surrendered himself and avenged his father, he should be treated leniently, because the differences were too big. In the end, it was only submitted to Empress Wu Zetian for personal disposal. After Reading the file, Wu Zetian was grateful for his filial piety and wanted to pardon Xu Yuanqing's capital crime, but this practice was opposed by Chen Ziang (writing "I didn't see the ancients before, and I didn't see the comers later", that one). Chen Ziang's meaning is: "Xu Yuanqing deliberately murdered, the facts of the case are clear, according to the law of the land should be sentenced to death, but in his revenge for his father's filial piety, it is forgivable, it is recommended that after he is sentenced, he will be commended for his behavior." (The law of the land is dedicated to the death of the killer, Yuan Qingyi is the law of the land, and then the tomb of The Lu is in honor of his filial piety and righteousness.) This proposal was agreed by all the courtiers. However, the final verdict of this matter is unknown.
The same thing happened more than fifty years later, twenty-three years after Tang Xuanzong's kaiyuan, someone reported that Zhang Zhensu, the governor of Yanzhou, was corrupt and bribed, and Tang Xuanzong sent inspector Yushi Yang Wang to investigate and handle the case with all his might. However, Yang Wang was not moved, and played "Zhang Zhensu is suspected of plotting rebellion", and the well trial executed Zhang Zhensu according to law, and his second sons Zhang Xuan and Zhang Xuan were sentenced to exile in Lingnan because they were not adults. Later, the two brothers absconded back to Luoyang. Ready to avenge his father, Yang Wang at this time was already a palace attendant. Changed his name to Yang Wantian. The two brothers killed their father's enemy with a knife at night, and then the two of them put the letter of injustice on the axe of the killing tool and surrendered themselves. After the case was announced, the public opinion at that time supported the righteous deeds of the two brothers Zhang Xuan and Zhang Xuan.
Prime Minister Zhang Jiuling believed that it was advisable to pardon him for his crimes, that is, not to sentence them to death, while Vice Chancellor Li Linfu believed that if he pardoned these two people, he would damage the law of the land. In the end, Li Longji decided: The state set up a law to prohibit private vendettas, if everyone can avenge their father privately and kill each other, when can they stop, the law must be strictly enforced, even if the great filial piety has participated in the killing, it must be executed, and this mouth cannot be opened. So it must be executed. After the two brothers were executed, they received sympathy from the public opinion at the time, and the melon-eating masses paid for the cemetery they bought. Due to the great differences between the government and the people, this case has caused certain criticism.
Regarding the Xu Yuanqing case, decades later, Liu Zongyuan questioned the verdict of this case, Liu Zongyuan's judgment on Xu Yuanqing's case was that it was necessary to analyze the specific situation in detail, if Zhao Shiyun abused and killed innocents, and the magistrate did not pursue his guilt, but the officials protected each other, Xu Yuanqing could not obtain justice through legal channels, and instead deliberately plotted to avenge and kill people, "it is to observe etiquette and act righteously", then Xu Yuanqing should not be executed; if Xu Yuanqing's father himself committed a crime, Zhao Shiyun killed him, and did not violate the law, then he "did not die in the official, Is it to die in the Faye", Xu Yuanqing is guilty and deserved, should not be praised, "insist on it, so the state code, and why Jingyan?" ”
In today's view, the act of personal revenge is a violation of the rule of law in the country. However, in the feudal period, blood revenge was once allowed in ancient China and Europe, huan wen killed the three sons of his father's enemy in the spiritual hall, and was actually recognized by public opinion at that time, and the emperor Sima Changming at that time married his daughter Princess Nankang to Huan Wen. Because people at that time believed that the interests of the family were above all else. Personal injury to a person in the family is an infringement on all members of a family, so it advocates tit-for-tat revenge. The so-called "father's enemy and common heaven, brother's hatred does not rebel against the army, and the enemy of travel is not different." "In addition, in ancient times, filial piety was attached importance to filial piety, so blood relatives revenge was popular, but there were restrictions on blood relatives' revenge in all generations, and revenge could only be limited to once, and both sides were not allowed to take revenge. The Eastern Han Dynasty Emperor Jian'an Ten Years Order: "No personal vendetta shall be restored." Emperor Wen of Wei of the Three Kingdoms decreed: "In the beginning of the sea, those who dare to have private revenge are all clans." "Tang Dynasty law was more restrictive to blood revenge. Although the Song Dynasty law restricted blood relatives to revenge, it stipulated that it should be analyzed on a case-by-case basis. Later, except for the Yuan Dynasty law, which tended to allow blood relatives to take revenge. The laws of the Ming and Qing dynasties all inherit the laws of the Tang and Song dynasties, and have strict restrictions on blood revenge!
It should be said that Chen Ziang's views are simply untenable, and they are severely punished by law, praised by the people, and connived and encouraged. Punch yourself in the face. From a personal point of view, Liu Zongyuan's view is most in line with legal sentiments, relatives are killed for crimes, there is no reason to take revenge; relatives are wrongfully killed, you can take revenge. Similarly, it is inappropriate to take revenge on those who carry out the mission, or to target the initiator. In your opinion, how should these two cases be handled.
I am clear water, the watchman of history, looking forward to your attention and comments.