The Study Of The Crime Of Trafficking In The Qing Dynasty

The crime of human trafficking has been a serious crime since ancient times,which not only breaks up many families,but also endangers the normal social management order,so the rulers of successive dynasties have taken measures to crack down on the illegal sale of human beings.The crime of selling human beings in the Qing Dynasty was called the crime of trafficking,and this paper analyzes the material of The Great Qing Legal Code and Criminal Cases Overview to study the legal provisions,elements and judicial situation of the crime of trafficking in the Qing Dynasty,and points out the positive aspects and shortcomings of the crime of trafficking in the Qing Dynasty.We also hope that by studying the legislation and judicial situation of the crime of trafficking in persons during the Qing Dynasty,we can provide inspiration and reference for solving the problem of trafficking in women and children in China today.The Great Qing Legal Code-Criminal Law-Thieves and Robbers has a special provision on the crime of trafficking.The main changes between the legal provisions and the previous generation are concentrated in the examples,and the changes reflect the social characteristics and background of the Qing Dynasty,such as the prevalence of slave-holding and the increase in the number of hired workers.The elements of the crime of trafficking in the Qing Dynasty can be analyzed with reference to the "four elements" theory of modern criminal law.The crime of trafficking in persons in the Qing Dynasty has a wide variety of criminal subjects,which can be broadly divided into three types of sellers,buyers and helpers,and the penalty for buyers is the same as the abductors,reflecting the severe punishment for buyers in the Qing Dynasty.The subjective aspect of this crime requires a judgment whether the harborers,the buyers,and the intermediaries are "knowingly",a circumstance that relates to whether these three types of subjects are guilty of the crime.Women,children,and slave girls were the main objects of the crime in the Qing Dynasty,and the Qing Dynasty did not prohibit the legal sale of human beings,especially the sale of slave girls.So the object of the crime of the Qing Dynasty crime of trafficking is not the right of individual persons not to be bought and sold,but the ruling order of the centralized power.The objective aspect of this crime can be divided into four specific acts,such as enticing,trafficking,willing entice,and willing traffic.enticing and trafficking is against the will of the victim,the difference between the two in the degree of violence,willing entice and willing traffic is not against the will of the enticed and the sold,but the law imposes certain criminal penalties on both the enticed and the sold.This paper analyzes the cases recorded in the collection of cases such as Criminal Cases Overview,which shows that the central judicial authorities in the Qing Dynasty needed to consider whether to apply the legal text or the case law when dealing with the case of crime of trafficking,and strictly examined the sentencing circumstances,made detailed judgments about the possible occurrence of several crimes,studied the facts of the case specifically,and were able to determine the responsibility of the perpetrator in a fair and reasonable manner.The judiciary also used various methods such as analogy in handling the case,and was not bound by the provisions of the law,so that the case could be handled with a balance of reason and law,showing the wisdom of the Qing Dynasty justice in solving the cases of trafficking.Although the legislation and judicial practice of the Qing Dynasty on the crime of trafficking had commendable points,such as the determination of penalties according to local conditions in the legislation and the prudent conviction of difficult cases in the judiciary,it cannot be denied that there were also shortcomings in the legislation and judiciary on the crime of trafficking.There are examples of cumbersome and redundant provisions in the legislation and the phenomenon of unreasonable setting of statutory penalties,which is due to the inadequacy of legislative technology and the different time of enactment of each provision.There are also cases in which local courts do not strictly follow the provisions of laws and regulations,and there is a large discrepancy between the central judicial trial.This problem can not only be solved at the legislative or judicial level,but also subject to the influence of various factors in local society.In the late Qing Dynasty,due to the significant changes in society,the legal provisions of the crime of trafficking also underwent considerable changes,such as changing the status of untouchables and deleting the name of superior and inferior in the legislation,reflecting the importance of the basic rights of people and the progress of the legal system.The careful and cautious trial process of the difficult cases of the untouchables in the Qing Dynasty also reflects the importance attached to the right to life in the Qing judicial system.Through the overall study of the crime of trafficking in persons in the Qing Dynasty,the concept of specific analysis of specific problems in legislation and flexible handling of cases in judicial decisions can bring inspiration to the modern legislation and judicial practice of the crime of trafficking in women and children.