A Study Of The Punishment Of Accepting Bribes In The Middle And Late Tang Dynasty

Bribery is the behavior of the public servants of the state for profit,which infringes on the integrity of the state staff and the non-buyability of the position.From ancient times to the present,the bureaucrats are the implementers of the national laws and the executors of the policies.The punishment of accepting bribes has also been attached importance to by the governors of the past.The Tang Dynasty was even more so.However,since the late Xuanzong,the punishment effect of accepting bribes began not good.Judging from the punishment of bribery crimes in the middle and late Tang Dynasty,legislation in the Tang Dynasty inherited and developed the previous bribery laws and formed a complete legal system for bribery."Tang Li Shuzyi" as a master of the Chinese legal system,the punishment for accepting bribery involves as many as more than 10 articles,different circumstances to distinguish between punishment,the provisions of the penalties and other methods,including different ways of punishment It also deals with the handling of stolen goods after the punishment,and in order to prevent the collusion and protection of officials,it also stipulates the responsibilities of the common bribery and the recommender.The Tang law stipulates the subject of punishment,including the emperor and Dali Temple.Yu Shitai and others are statutory subjects of punishment;in the late stage of the emperors also issued different orders,the bribery offense was strictly controlled by the law,and the different circumstances of the bribery legislation distinguishing the crime of accepting bribes can be seen through the different links in bribery punishment.Tang Law's stipulations on the punishment of accepting bribes are comprehensive and rigorous.However,judging from the judicial practice of punishing bribery offences,Xuanzong began to impose strict punishments on bribery offences in accordance with the law.Through sorting out the judicial practice during the period from the 24 th year of Kaiyuan to the end of the Tang dynasty,it was found that there were many problems.In the middle and late period,the sale of officials was a serious phenomenon.The seller was actually a disguised form of bribery,but the emperor had a kind of hold on the seller.Indulgent attitude;In addition to the comparison of the same crime in the practice of accepting bribery,it was found that the same crimes occurred in the case of different penalties;in the middle and late Tang Dynasty political changes,the emergence of a situation of multi-polar rights,penalties for accepting bribes often become political The means of struggle.In short,the administration of bribery in the middle and late Tang Dynasty has great arbitrariness.The punishment of a crime requires not only comprehensive legislation as a support but also strict punishment according to the law.Legislation and justice are indispensable.From the punishment of accepting bribes in the middle and late Tang Dynasty,it can be seen that the comprehensiveness of legislation is in sharp contrast to the arbitrariness of the judiciary,which results in the ineffective punishment of accepting bribes in the middle and later periods.However,the implementation of the law is merely a representation.It should be noted that the reasons behind the failure of law enforcement and the poor punishment of accepting bribes are not only limited by the inherent limitations of the “human governance” society but also by the specific factors in the middle and late Tang Dynasty.