| Beginning with the ancient Chinese law book "Zhe Yu Gui Jian", which is written by Zheng Ke, this paper includes four parts: the overview of "Zhe Yu Gui Jian"; The art of trial, which includes ancient methods for investigation and Zheng Ke's thinking of trial; Methods of determining a case: the understanding and flexible application of Written laws; the Spirit of case disposal, beginning with Strict and impartial and ending up with Mercy and prudence.Part I: An Overview of "Zhe Yu Gui Jian".In the introduction part of Zheng Ke and "Zhe Yu Gui Jian", its case sources, versions researches, and the nature of "Zhe Yu Gui Jian" that it is a casebook rather than a collection of case-study precedents are described and accompanied with Zheng Ke judgement where it is necessary. Then we have a description of the Song Dynasty and an analysis of the origin of "Zhe Yu Gui Jian". Generally speaking, there are three forces that help bring up this book: First, the Song emperors practiced the rule of law personally; second, influences of Scholars'Legal Thought in the era of change; third , the impact of attitudes toward litigation.Part II: The Art of Trial: Ancient Methods for Investigation and Zheng Ke's Thinking about Trial.Examples and assessment towards the types of ancient investigation methods in "Zhe Yu Gui Jian": firstly, divine Judgement, which gives evidence that there are rationality for the ancients to determine the merits of the true and false by gods'judgment early in human society. Second are the methods of investigation and interrogation. Due to the growing number and the complication of crime case, interrogation methods gradually replaced the gods'Judgment, extorting confessions by torture, as a kind of methods in investigation and interrogation ,won the rationality in the ancient society, when inquisitorial system united with investigation and trial system ,which was reflected in the legislation as a statutory way to get rapid development in the process of judicial practice, and directly led to the prosperity of torture methods. In addition, the judges paid more attentions on interrogation techniques and the psychology of the ancient crime. Third, the methods of inquesting and identifying. It can make up for the lack of investigation and interrogation methods when there were not criminal suspects and in the presence of unknown circumstances, which made the investigation and trial separated in a sense. Fourth, the methods of survey and reaserch .it can make the judges take the initiative to view the case and collect evidence, which made a combination of the litigant's accusement and judge's inspection. Fifth, secret investigation method. It prevailed in the detection of enemy military struggle and throughout the judge's investigation methods, making a significant development for the secret investigation. The understangdings of Zheng Ke to trial were reflected from types of investigation methods from ancient times: First, Zheng Ke analysisd the reasons of causing the miscarriage of justice since the ancient time. Second, the means for him to dialysis injustice, which included offerings to help, observing moods, color, words, emotion, deeds, and using deceits. Third, sense and feeling ensured reliability and authenticity of the means to trial and the importance of bravery and personal loyalty for interrogation ideas.Part III: Method of determining case: the understangding and flexibility to Written laws.The Chinese judges'analysis to the application of laws, understanding based on Written laws in Ancient, included the four aspects, one is to uphold the law as the basic criterion for evaluation of cases, judge the cases according with the law and stress that whether the fact need legal evaluation. Second, the facts of the case should coincide with Legal requirements, at the same time, strictly control the scope and condition of how to use laws in sepcial cases, that is not only by universal rules, but to have a reasonable way to handle the case, which stressed that the fact of the case itself needs what kinds of law evaluation. Third, it described positive and negative evaluation among the cases, then considered using the suitable law after uderstanding the intent of the laws. Fourth, the ancient judges combined truth, law and sentiment into one. It reflected the legislative and judicial stability or adaptation through the change of laws or not. There was a tradition to maintain writeen laws in Ancient China before chunqiu period, especially maintain the stability and flexibility of them. Implemented to judicial practice, Judicial field wanted to achieve its adaption more than the stability of the laws: on the one hand justice wanted to guarantee the stability and authority of the law itself. On the other hand, justice wanted to achieve its adaption, that is it should impartial to specific case. In the ancient view, it is more important to pursuit real legal meaning than the legal system itself. Justice can not confine the legal system itself. Aftert introducing mercy into the situation of the Administration of Justice, the law can not only ensured predictability, stability and maintenance of the written laws, what's more, it can deal with the matter that justice of specific case in the process of justice's administration through the legislative means.Part IV: the Spirit of case disposal: begainning with Strict and impartial, ending up with Mercy and prudence.Strict and impartial is not only a category in "Zhe Yu Gui Jian", but also is a the spirit of case disposal promoted by "Zhe Yu Gui Jian". Which run through the detection and verdict and grasped or refined by the ancient outstanding officials on handling of cases. On the one hand, the laws and human nature should come to a integration by the standard of reference to the judgement of cases: combination of laws and human nature was used as a standard of reference to the judgement of cases in "Zhe Yu Gui Jian" .At the same time, Zheng Ke made Strict and impartial to a separate catagory, and expounded the meaning of Strict and impartial in the old chinese idioms of "how Hewu handle a case" and "the means of Zhang Yong to judge a case" ,which were the opening chapter of "Strict and impartial" : the combination of law and human nature was the spirit of case disposal. The two cases in the chapter" Strict and impartial "gave a detailed description to the relationship between law and humanity, that is to achieve a fair judgement, we must refer to the law and look over human nature, understanding of the law with human nature view, then using the law to explain human nature, in a word, jurisprudence reasons is the idea " Strict and impartial "and human nature is "Mercy and care". Compared with" Strict and impartial", judges should realize "Mercy and care ", which is the creation and art of verdict. On the other hand, it is the dedicated attitude as a official. Ancient judges can decide cases strictly and carefully, with the precondition that adherence to the dedication attitude as a official, that is they must put cases in the heart deeply and try their best to handle them. There were explainations of "dedication" in Zheng Ke's discourse everywhere, especially in the process of detection and case disposal. Dedication is the official attitude of the judge. It is throughout the whole process when the judge handled the case and was an inherent requirement of strict judgments. Only so they can be a needle-sharp watch .From the view of "Zhe Yu Gui Jian", "Mercy and prudence" is the police throughout the case in the process of detection, resided in the process of case disposal and was the performance that the author of the book, "Zhe Yu Gui Jian", valued the life of the people, which became the case disposal spirit of a judge to settle a lawsuit. After careful analysis to the case disposal spirit of a judge to settle a lawsuit pursuited in ancient, it can be summed up that on one hand, against unintelligible and rigorous law, advocating the original situation conviction. Zheng Ke opposed to decide cases simply by the reference of the law, especially without considering the specific circumstances of the case to handle it using unintelligible and rigorous law. He claimed to advocating the original situation conviction, to examine the specific case when they decided cases strictly according to laws ,even if the judge got a promotion for punishing evil, but it is legitimate only when what is based on the facts that the original situation conviction and valued the life of the people. On the other hand is a moral education, focusing on social effects. Compared with unintelligible and rigorous law, the spirit of Mercy and prudence would like more emphasis on the role of moral education. In order to serve the society, and compared with considerations of the strict laws, moral advision realized the significance of eliminating contradictions in dealing with family conflicts and civil disputes.
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