A Study On Judging Cases By The Confucian Classics In The Wei Jin And The Northern And Southern Dynasties

“Judging cases by the Confucian classics” generated from the cultural soil of “using laws and courtesy simultaneously” in Pre-Qin times.Since the Qin and Han Dynasties,there has been a major turning point in legal culture,especially after Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty adopted the idea of “paying supreme tribute to Confucianism”,the law system and legal theory were consciously closer to Confucianism.The six Confucian classics are the most concentrating embodiment of Confucianism,compared to other classics,Chun Qiu is easier to operate.After Dong Zhongshu put forward the idea of “judging cases by the spirit of Chun Qiu”,“Confucian classics came into the rites” and “judging cases by the Confucian classics”gradually emerged,this natural transformation was one of the basic embodiment of the Law Confucianization.After having accumulated for several hundred years,the idea and the judicial practice of “judging cases by the Confucian classics” were gradually mature,furthermore,they became more prosperous during the Wei Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties.“Judging cases by the Confucian classics” during that time is one part of the whole research in ancient China,it is also an indispensable component of the legal thought history.Taking it as the main research object has two meanings and purposes: on the one hand,the study is conducive to deepening the overall study of “judging cases by the Confucian classics” in ancient times,on the other hand,the historical references and wisdom of traditional justice can be explored.“Judging cases by the Confucian classics”,which is the so-called “judging cases by the spirit of Chun Qiu” and also known as “using the Confucianism moral principles decide the cases” and so on.Its emergence is closely related to the transition of ideological system and the inherent defects of the legal system in the early Han Dynasty.It includes two definitions and forms: judging cases by the spirit of Chun Qiu in the narrow sense and judging cases by the Confucian classics in the broad sense,it also includes associated behaviors such as explaining the law by quoting the Confucian classics,in other words,the judges cite the Confucian classics like Chun Qiu to interpret specific legal provisions.In this study,the broadsense has been adopted,it means that if the judges were deciding the cases,they could discard the constraints of specific legal provisions and use the Confucian classics such as Chun Qiu as the main judicial basis;or interpreting legal provisions according to the Confucian classics like Chun Qiu,explaining relevant political events with Confucianism's “rule of rite”.For a more detailed understanding of “judging cases by the Confucian classics”,we need to explore its original meaning and extension,clarify related concepts like rites,classics,ritual philosophy,rule of rite,law,punishment and so on,only in this way can we deeply understand the meaning and value of “judging cases by the Confucian classics”.Therefore,the introduction defines the relevant concepts first in an attempt to expect the reality to correspond to the name.On this basis,there are four chapters in this article to analyze judging cases by the Confucian classics and relevant issues in the Wei Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties.Chapter one is called the Ideological Sources and Development of Judging Cases by the Confucian Classics in the Wei Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties.This chapter mainly discusses three problems,it aims at exploring the cultural environment,gene and transformation of “judging cases by the Confucian classics” during this period.Firstly,the historical origin of judging cases by the Confucian classics is sorted out.It generated from “rule of rite”,which can be understood as “using laws and courtesy simultaneously”.In the Western Zhou Dynasty,the rulers preliminarily established the “rule of rite” and “classics”,the operation method of “sentence by balancing the criminalmotives”was similar to “judging cases by the Confucian classics” in the later period,which demonstrated that “judging cases by the Confucian classics” was originated from “using laws and courtesy simultaneously” in legal practice in the Western Zhou Dynasty.In the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period,the Confucian views like “governing by virtue” “rule of rite” and “policy of benevolence” were evolved from the thought of “using laws and courtesy simultaneously”,under a background that the etiquette and music are broken up,“rule of rite” and “classics” were redefined.The Qin Dynasty ruled by law,“rule of rite” and “classics” suffered a recession,they gradually recovered and paved the way for“judging cases by the Confucian classics” until the Early Han Dynasty.Therefore,the Pre-Qin times to the Early Han Dynasty was the germination period of the thought.After the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty,Neo-Confucianism became the main reference ofgoverning policy,the Confucian classics and Confucian scholars became more involved in the legislative and judicial process.From the beginning of Dong Zhongshu,“judging cases by the spirit of Chun Qiu” as a judicial principle began to appear,and got further development under the promotion of Zhang Tang and other successors.During the reign of the Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty,“judging cases by the spirit of Chun Qiu” and “using the Confucianism moral principles decide the cases” were established after a nationwide discussion of legal thoughts,finally became the main principle of justice in the Han Dynasty.Then the policies were summarized and implemented by the Emperor Zhao and Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty,“judging cases by the spirit of Chun Qiu” and “using the Confucianism moral principles decide the cases” were really popularized in law enforcement,a large number of important law works emerged,at this point,the thought of “judging cases by the Confucian classics” was formed and laid the foundation.Secondly,the development status of judging cases by the Confucian classics in the Wei Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties is summarized from three aspects.First of all,the theory and practice of judging cases by the Confucian classics were relatively mature during the Han Dynasty,however,it was still a consensus among etiquette and law which based on public opinion.Until the Wei Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties,relevant principles of courtesy law became the country's formal laws and came into operation.Consequently,there was closer combination of rites and law;second,“judging cases by the Confucian classics” was not limited to the Chun Qiu in this period,it was from the narrow sense to the extensive use of Confucian classics and then to the legalization of the Confucian classics,which indicated that the degree of fusion between the law and Confucian classics was further deepened.Due to the closer integration of the law with the Confucian rites,the connotation of “judging cases by the Confucian classics” was richer;third,the influence of the thought was not only reflected in the legislative and judicial fields,but also in the political and social fields,the denotation extended to the broader field.Thirdly,this part reviews the development of Confucian classics in the Wei Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties,and discusses its influence on “judging cases by the Confucian classics” from the perspective of Confucian classics.During this period,the study of Confucian classics had divorced from the dispute between Jin-wen school(based on contemporary script)and Gu-wen school(based on traditional script),accordingly,threemajor academic trends including Zheng's theory,Wang's theory and Metaphysics successively appeared,the academy was developing towards fusion and innovation direction;the cultural heritage of “Confucian orthodoxy” was from first to last;the influence of foreign cultures on the study of Confucian classics was expanding.In the Wei Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties,the current of Confucian classics deeply affected the idea of “judging cases by the Confucian classics”,the emerging thoughts were mainly as follows: rites dominated law,Confucian classics came into the law,the Athority got changed,the law favoured clear and simple thoughts.These thoughts reflected the troubled times of the Wei Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties and affected the legal construction and judicial culture in the development of Confucian studies.Chapter two is called Judging Cases by the Confucian Classics and the Legislation in the Wei Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties,which mainly discusses the influence of this idea on legislative activities.Firstly,this chapter analyzes the political and legal background of “judging cases by the Confucian classics” in the Wei Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties.During this period,the degree of the Law Confucianization was further deepened,and the thought of convicting cases with Confusianism gained wide consensus in the society,there was closer combination of rites and law.“Quoting etiquette into law” and “judging cases by the Confucian classics” occured on a large scale and finally changed the dominant position of Legalism since the Qin and Han Dynasties.Influenced by this ideological trend,in many important political events the rulers consciously cited Confucian classics as the main basis for reward and punishment,many imperial edicts and local regulations which covered a lot of ground were influenced by the thought of “judging cases by the Confucian classics”.Secondly,the relationship between judging cases by the Confucian classics and legal interpretation is expounded.During the Wei Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties,many Confucian ethics became the important basis of legal decisions with the development of Confucian classics.“Judging cases by the Confucian classics” was more frequently used in the field of judicatory,as for the relevant judicial interpretation,more attention was paid to follow the Confucian classics and blend rites with law.At the same time,the theory of law was developed and a great number of famous legal scholars emerged,the proper legal termswere interpreted in accordance with the Confucian classics and finally settled,the confucianization of classics and legal annotations turned up.Thirdly,on the relationship between classics and legal forms,this paper points out that the deep Law Confucianization in the Wei Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties makes the classics and the legal forms more closely.Sometimes the Confucian classics were directly promoted as the relevant content of law,which was typical in Chinese history.The imperial edicts which had the same legal effect often cited the Confucian classics as the main content,this phenomenon also reflected the social influence of “judging cases by the Confucian classics”,therefore,it should also attract the attention of scholars.Chapter three is called Judging Cases by the Confucian Classics and Justice in the Wei Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties.This part mainly discusses its influence on the construction of judicial system,and makes a monographic study on the important judicial issues.Firstly,on the “judging cases by the Confucian classics” and judicial system in the Wei Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties.The thought not only profoundly influenced and shaped the legal system of this period,but also played a great role in the judicial practice.Under the influence of “judging cases by the Confucian classics”,the system of eight categories,the system of judicial review of death,the system of the amnesty were formed in this time,which had a positive impact on judicial activities in a specific historical period.Secondly,this part summarizes the key issues of the “judging cases by the Confucian classics” which were involved in the judicial practices in the Wei Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties.The main judicial practices of this period mainly included the following:the scholar-officials served as envoys to borderland in the political landscape,the conflict of humanism and law behind the discussion of “blood revenge”,the construction of penalty system in the discussion of “reserving and abolishing corporal punishment”,the banning rebellion in political struggle,the kinship and ritual system embodied in “mourning ceremony”.In addition,some cases were used to make arguments.Through the systematic judicial practices,“judging cases by the Confucian classics” in the Wei Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties reached an unprecedented prosperous period in history.Under the environment of “blending rites and law”,the judicial trial continued to run in and deepen withthe Confucian classics,which laid a good practical foundation for the further development of the legal system in the Sui and Tang Dynasties.Chapter four is called the Characteristics and Contributions of Judging Cases by the Confucian Classics in the Wei Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties.On the basis of previous analysis and textual research,this part makes a comprehensive analysis and evaluation on the characteristics and contributions of judging cases by the Confucian classics in this period.In the section of the characteristics of judging cases by the Confucian classics in the Wei Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties,it states the following facts: compared with judging cases by the spirit of Chun Qiu in the Han Dynasty,judging cases by the Confucian classics in the Wei Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties had some new characteristics of the times.The first feature was many classics were adopted and one confirmed the other.The classics cited in the judgments were not limited to Chun Qiu,other classics were often used in many cases,because there was no serious conflict in the basic connotation of Confucian classics.The second feature was Chun Qiu and Three Rituals were highly respected,the wide-spread use of Chun Qiu was due to “judging cases by the spirit of Chun Qiu” had formed the tradition since the Han Dynasty.The wide application of the Three Rituals was determined by the background of “blending rites and law”,which was caused by the Law Confucianization in the Wei Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties.In the section of the differences between judging cases by the Confucian classics in the Northern and Southern Dynasties,it states the following facts: the development of the Confucian classics at the time resulted in different historical characteristics of judging cases by the Confucian classics.Comparatively speaking,the Southern Dynasties prefered the Mourning Apparel while the Northern Dynasties favoured Zhou Li;the Southern Dynasties advocated the original while the Northern Dynasties advocated realistic character;the Southern Dynasties advocated Metaphysics and Buddhism while the Northern Dynasties advocated Divination of Confucian.In the process of judging cases by the Confucian classics in the Northern and Southern Dynasties,the attitude towards the classics was different.Generally speaking,the Northern Dynasties directly inherited the characteristics of confucian classics in the Han Dynasty,which emphasized serving for reality,treated the classicsseriously and seeked its essence,when judicial officers were judging cases by the Confucian classics,it was always in strict accordance with the historical documents;however,the Southern Dynasties mainly inherited the characteristics of New Learning from the Wei Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties,in the study of Confucian classics,they paid much attention to exploring the artistic conception of classics and made much account of the idle talk,as a result,many new ideas emerged.Their attitude towards the classics was relatively straightforward and they often adopted a flexible attitude towards “judging cases by the Confucian classics”.In the section of the influence of judging cases by the Confucian classics on later generations in the Northern and Southern Dynasties,three viewpoints are put forward:Firstly,“judging cases by the Confucian classics” has affected the judicial tradition of common sense.“Judging cases by the Confucian classics” gradually internalized into the ancient judicial tradition from an abrupt typical phenomenon.Its vitality did not lie in its passing down from generation to generation,but in the continuation of the judicial tradition.Therefore,although Dong Zhongshu's “judging cases by the spirit of Chun Qiu” died out after the Song Dynasty moved the capital to the south,this kind of judicial tradition which laid emphasis on original heart and reason was not interrupted and still had vast living space.Secondly,“judging cases by the Confucian classics” was helpful to construct the system of etiquette.“Explaining the law by quoting the Confucian classics” and “quoting etiquette into law” reached the climax in the Wei Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties.During this period,Confucian classics such as Zhou Li were incorporated into the legal system and many Confucian ethics which had been regarded as ethical norms before became specific legal provisions.The deep Law Confucianization prompted the classics and law more closely,even the Confucian classics were all-round promoted as the relevant content of law.Thirdly,“judging cases by the Confucian classics” promoted the development of judicial practice.The thought deeply influenced and shaped the legal system,and played a great role in judicial practice.After a long period of development,its own connotation was becoming increasingly broad and the word “classic” was constantly expanded.At the macro level,it means that the legal system and judicial system were established and enforced which were guided by Confucian culture and ethics;from the micro level,the judges used to judge casesby Chun Qiu when hearing cases and then they quoted more Confucian classics or Confucian theories.In conclusion,in the era of the Wei Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties,the historical origins of “judging cases by the Confucian classics” were Confucian ideology from the Pre-Qin and institutions from the Qin and Han dynasties.The purpose of this paper is to analyze “judging cases by the Confucian classics” in the Northern and Southern Dynasties from multiple angles,to make a clear analysis of it after the Han Dynasty,and to supplement the omissions of previous studies,so as to deepen the overall study of “judging cases by the Confucian classics” in ancient China.