In the history of the Qing Dynasty, there are three most famous guests (masters), one is the mysterious Wu Sidao of the Yongzheng Era, one is Wang Huizu during the Qianlong Period, and the other is Zuo Zongtang in the late Qing Dynasty. Wu Sidao and Zuo Zongtang are well-known, and there are not many tables here, but this article mainly talks about Wang Huizu.
Wang Huizu, a native of Xiaoshan, Zhejiang, was born in the eighth year of Yongzheng (1730). In the early years, he also wanted to enter the army through the road of the imperial examination, but he had no luck and fell off the list several times. It was not until the forty years of Qianlong (1775) that he was admitted to the Jinshi, when he was already 45 years old. Wang Huizu's family was not well-off, and before he passed the entrance examination, he had been entering the curtain to be a master for his livelihood.
There are many types of masters in the Qing Dynasty, the most important of which are criminal names, money and grain masters, wang Huizu is a criminal name master, and the reason why he is famous is his extraordinary ability to judge cases. In the nearly two decades since his entry into the curtain, Wang Huizu has experienced countless large and small cases. From conspiracies and murders to robbery and theft, there are at least dozens of cases that he needs to deal with every year.
However, in Wang Huizu's own view, his most commendable thing is a small civil case. As we all know, there are times when laws are not sound in any era, and some things cannot be relied upon. In the feudal era, this situation was even more obvious. Then, when there is a case that is not expressly stipulated by the law, it is necessary to rely on the wisdom of the magistrate. In ancient times, the problems that the law could not solve can be found in Confucius's Analects.
In the thirtieth year of Qianlong (1765), Feng Mou of Wucheng County, Zhejiang Province, had no children, and the Benzong brothers had no sons and nephews to succeed him, so they succeeded the grandson of Benzong's aunt as a stepson. After Feng's death, the stepson inherited Feng's considerable family property. If this matter is placed in the ordinary family until this point, it will end here, and the bad thing is that Feng Mou's family property is mouth-watering. When economic interests are involved, there is often no tranquility.
Feng Mou's bones were just cold, and one of his own families jumped out, accusing Feng Mou's stepson of a different surname and could not be an heir, and it should be legal for his own son to inherit. According to the "Great Qing Law", it is true that a different surname cannot be inherited. However, the plaintiff Feng and the dead Feng have the same surname and are not from the same sect, and the Qing Dynasty law contains a clear text that the childless should choose to adopt the younger generation of the same sect, and there is no mention of whether those with the same surname and different clans can inherit the heir.
Although this civil case seems to be small, because the law is not perfect, it has caused a small problem for Zhixian and Shiye. Feng fought several times, and the previous Zhixian failed to come up with a reasonable trial, making this small ethical case an unresolved doubt. The two sides fought back and forth for more than a dozen rounds, from the county to the province, from the province to the province, and finally back to the county for retrial. After several years of such delay, the case fell into the hands of Wang Huizu.
After Wang Huizu carefully read the file, he felt very tricky, it was not difficult to judge the case, if he encountered a greedy zhi county, whoever gave more money would be judged to whom, anyway, it was also impossible to rely on, all rely on the local officials to subjectively judge the case, and they were not afraid to sue anywhere. But Wang Huizu is an upright person, he knows that it is easy to judge cases, but it is difficult to convince people.
Just when Wang Huizu was anxious, he inadvertently read the Famous Confucian work "Beixi Ziyi" by the Song Dynasty scholar Chen Chun, which had a record: "The same surname is not the same, that is, there is no difference with the different surname." After seeing this record, Wang Huizu decisively sentenced the case: although the plaintiff Feng mou had the same surname as the deceased Feng Mou, in fact, he and the successor party were considered to be "different surnames", and although the successor party was a different surname, it was personally chosen by Feng, so it could inherit all the family property as a stepson, and others could not compete for succession. Sure enough, as soon as this batch came out, the plaintiff Feng Mou was dumbfounded, and the doubtful case for many years was finally closed, and the results were satisfactory to himself, the parties, and the leaders.
Judging from modern legal norms, this case belongs to the typical rule of man. However, after carefully tasting it, I feel that it can withstand the test of history, and it can also be called a very accurate and correct judgment. The case was not decided according to the provisions of the law, but according to Confucian studies. However, the result has been recognized by all aspects of society.
This is not surprising, because the basis for maintaining the regular etiquette of the entire feudal society is Confucianism, and the formulation of laws is also based on Confucianism. In this way, the Analects are the "mother law," and the other laws are "child laws." As long as there is no basis in the law, it can be found in the Confucian classics, which is also a good choice.