Research Of Jingu In The Wei Jin Southern And Northern Dynasties

Jingu was a punishment method, which exempted guilty officials incumbent official in the ancient time, and deprived the complex official qualifications within a certain period of time or permanently. As a kind of ancient punishments in China, Jingu originated from the spring and Autumn Period, got the initial shape in the Han Dynasty and became a term of penalty. It mainly punished those officials who corrupted, cliqued and violated other laws. This kind of punishment was always as a kind of measure to keep the quality of the candidates, or as a power tool to fight each other between the ruling classes of various interest groups, or both. It was very popular in the ruling classes, and had a profound impact on the contemporary and later Dynasty.However, either in historians or jurisprudence, the research of Jingu is very limited. And it almost confined in the suppression of the conspiratorial cliques of the Han Dynasty, probably because of the damage degree and influence of the suppression of the conspiratorial cliques is always much valued. But it is very bad for the comprehensive understanding of Jingu.Jingu was also used in the Wei Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties. Compared with the other dynasties, there were extremely defining festures. So it is very meaningful to research Jingu in the Wei Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties. In this period, Jingu had close contact with political criticism by scholars, became an important method to punish the behavior of violating feudal ethical code. Morality was the most important factor of Jingu. Political criticism by scholars was valued in the law of the Jin Dynasty and the Southern Dynasty. People who violated it always be imprisoned all the life. So Jingu was an important way to punish the behavior of violating feudal ethical code in the Wei Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties. Certainly, the officials who had such behaviors as corrupted, improperly elected and others would also be imprisoned. But in the Wei Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties, the major target of Jingu was no longer cliquing but violating of Confucian ethics behavior. From this point of view, we can see the historical background of Introducing Confucianism into laws and the Confucianization of law in the Wei Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties.This article is divided into three chapters to research Jingu in the Wei Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties. The first chapter is a brief introduction and discussion about the meaning, properties of Jingu, and the imprisonment before the Wei Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties. In the second chapter,I discuss the law and practice of Jingu in the Wei Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties, such as the applicable objects, the confines of the collateral scope, the penalty term, the release method and so on. In the third chapter, I talk about the influence of this kind of punishment to the scholars, bureaucrats and the affairs of state.In the Wei Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties, the applicable objects of Jingu includes corrupt officials, members of a clique, the object of political criticism by scholars and so on. At that time, the confines of the collateral scope just included the officials themselves. Relatives, disciples and old followers or minor officials and other people who closed will not be implicated. Compared with the Eastern Han Dynasty, this is a certain development and progress. The penalty term of Jingu was very unstable and changeable, which displayed in two aspects, the time limit was varied and the penalty term was different with the actual execution time. And as in the Han Dynasty, the emperor issued an imperial edict was still the mainly way to lift durance in the Wei Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties. Otherwise, the imprisoned officers reinstate means that Jingu is released.The role and significance of Jingu had a good side, it could motivate scholars and bureaucrats to be strict with themselves, abide by the rules of etiquette. It could improve their literacy, do good to the cultivation of good social atmosphere. But on the other side, the application of instability extremely expanded the element of the rule of man, and made it become a power tool to fight each other between the ruling classes of various interest groups.As a punishment method, Jingu originated in the spring and Autumn Period, it was always in the process of development and evolution, and had a certain effect to the future generations. It had continuity and succession in ancient Chinese. It had deep historical origin and historical foundation. So there is a deep and comprehensive research in the development, applicable objects, penalty term, release form, significance and influence of Jingu in the Wei Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties in the article, and I hope to be able to fill the gaps in this area.