Interpretation And Study Of The Tangut Script "Hai Nian Xin Fa: Part Ⅲ"

The “Hai Nian Xin Fa”, written in Tangut Script, was another important statute enactedfollowing the “Tian Sheng Lü Ling”. It was unearthed in the ruins of Khara-Khoto, Ejin Banner,Inner Mongolia, and was collected by the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts in the RussianAcademy of Sciences. In1999it was published in Volume Nine of “Collected Manuscripts fromKhara-Khoto in Russia”. The current available versions of “Hai Nian Xin Fa” are all handwrittenmanuscripts, including versions Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Yi, Geng and Xin etc. Part Ⅲ, whichcomes in versions Jia and Yi, mainly recorded the legal provisions for crimes of theft, includingspecific provisions on domestic theft, gang robbery, embezzlement etc.This thesis is divided into five chapters. Chapter one is an interpretation of “Hai Nian XinFa” Part Ⅲ. It is based on version Yi, according to version Jia and with relevant content from“Tian Sheng Lü Ling”. This interpretation was first written by translating literally from Tangutscript and then paraphrased on the basis of this interpretation to provide a relatively completemodern Chinese version. Chapter two provides a comparative study between “Hai Nian Xin Fa”Part Ⅲ and “Tian Sheng Lü Ling” Part Ⅲ. This study indicates the developments and changes ofthe legal system before and after the Western Xia Dynasty. Chapters three and four provide acomparative study of theft law in the Western Xia dynasty （1038~1227）“Tang Lü Shu Yi”, aswell as theft law in the Song dynasty (960~1279). This study mainly uses a comparison oftheft-related contents in “Tian Sheng Lü Ling”,“Tang Lü Shu Yi” and “A Collection of TypedRules and Regulations in the Qingyuan Period” to achieve an understanding of the ‘history’ of thecodes of Western Xia and to understand which elements from laws in the Tang and Song dynastieswere used as references. Chapter five provides a comparative study of theft law in the WesternXia, Liao and Jin dynasties. No complete codes of the Liao and Jin dynasties have survived, butby comparing only a few relevant legal provisions in the “The History of the Liao Dynasty” and“The History of the Jin Dynasty” to gain an understanding of the similarities and differences of thelaws between the Western Xia Dynasty and the minority dynasties of the same period, it ispossible to understand the different characteristics of the three minority dynasties of Western Xia,Liao and Jin in assimilating and adopting the laws of the dynasties in the Central Plains. Throughcomparative study of the the Western Xia theft law, we can have a deeper understanding of theWestern Xia protection of public or private property, we can know the Western Xia protect the vested interests of the ruling class, maintaining social stability measures and changes before andafter, deepened our understanding about the Western Xia society, especially late Society.