The Collation And Research On The Files About The Asset Of Tomb-related Dispute From The Family Tree In Huizhou Of Ming And Tsing Dynasties

On the basis of collecting and collating the files about the asset of tomb-related dispute from the family tree in Huizhou of Ming and Tsing Dynasties,this essay uses this batch of documents as the core historical materials and gives us a bird's-eye view of the general situation about the asset of tomb-related dispute in Huizhou of Ming and Tsing Dynasties.And then it is taken as a type of dispute into the local society of Huizhou during the Ming and Tsing Dynasties for in-depth investigation,to explore the asset of tomb-related dispute of the Huizhou clan in the Ming and Tsing Dynasties and the mediation or referee of the local officials on the asset of tomb-related dispute,and to make a simple response to the relevant research on the history of the legal system.The files in this essay are collected from the family tree of six subordinate counties in Huizhou of Ming and Tsing Dynasties.The files,with total number of 73,has over 90 thousand Chinese characters.The distribution is as below: 10 in Shexian County,4 in Xiuning County,42 in Wuyuan County,1 in Jixi County,13 in Qimen County,and 3 in Yixian County.These files are mostly appeared in the tomb map part of the family tree or are shown separately.Some of the family tree will be collected in jottings as well.Most files about the asset of tomb-related dispute from family tree in Huizhou of Ming and Tsing Dynasties are incomplete.However,they still have a high academic value.From the spatial and temporal distribution,the files collected by this essay show a higher number on tomb-related disputes in Tsing Dynasty and Wuyuan County.This probably attribute to the fact that the author fail to or can't collect the history of the whole family tree.After drawing the table through statistics,we can know that there are more individual disputes and less clan disputes among the asset of the tomb-related disputes in Huizhou of Ming and Tsing Dynasties.And a vast majority of these disputes had filed a lawsuit.In addition,according to the differentinfringement targets in the asset of the tomb-related disputes,the author divided the asset of tomb-related disputes in Huizhou of Ming and Tsing Dynasties into three types: infringement of property rights,infringement of geomantic omen,and infringement of the two aspects.Through analysis we can know that the disputes have more direct relationship with property but less related to geomantic omen,whose dispute number are only 23.The clans in Huizhou of Ming and Tsing Dynasties took tomb property seriously and carried out rigid protective measures.When the tomb property were in danger,they always fought back with the force of all family.To deal with the expensive legal costs,the clans in Huizhou usually raised funds by the three ways—apportioned the costs with each tribe,public expenditure,or from tribal donation.Generally speaking,gentry play the leader role in the clan tomb-related disputes,but upper and lower gentry play different role among them.Normally,lower gentry would took part in them personally,while upper gentry won't appear personally,sometimes tend to handle the disputes through the hidden rules of bureaucratic politics.In the Ming and Tsing Dynasties,the solutions of Huizhou government on the asset of tomb-related dispute were mainly handled by mediation and refereeing,with the majority of the referees.Most of the mediation is carried out by the gentry,the Lao-ren,the Li-zhang or the Xiang-yue.A very important part of the government's trial of the asset of tomb-related disputes was the on-site reconnaissance which is mainly executed by the civil service of Lao-ren,Li-zhang,Xiang-yue and sometimes with deputy officials.After the government's judgment on the asset of tomb-related disputes,the notices are sometimes posted.The plaintiff often engraved the verdicts or notices,and the inscriptions are also recorded in the family tree.All of these strengthen the protection on the asset of tomb-related.It can be seen from the judgment of the local officials of Huizhou in the Ming and Tsing Dynasties on the asset of tomb-related disputes that the first principle generally followed by the government in civil justice is to protect rights and respect the deed.Under this premise,sometimes the fait accompli and the economic situation of the litigant will be taken into consideration,that is,the case will be decided byreference to "sense".But we cannot overestimate the "sense" factors in traditional civil justice.