The Study Of The Case Of "Tax Horse-feed Bean Entering The Water" In Ming Da Gao

The formulation and promulgation of four editions of Ming Da Gao,which Zhu Yuanzhang,emperor of the Ming dynasty,took part in,became an important legislative practice during the Hongwu period.It had an important influence on the administration of law enforcement,social life and the fate of officials and people in the early Ming dynasty.The Ming Da Gao also became an important legal book at that time.The case of “Tax Horse-feed Bean Entering the Water”,which comes from The First Edition Da Gao of Tax Horse-feed Bean Entering the Water No.Fifty-three,reflects the ruling class’ attitude to the petty officials crime and the ruling idea of that time.Started with this case,this article is going to find the reasons why “Petty Officials”was sentenced to capital punishment in the first edition,which is heavier than the provisions of the Daming Law.Based on this core issue,the author will ana lyze the reasons behind it and the views on the practice of the political and legal system of the Emperor Taizu of Ming.Comparing the punishment of capital punishment to petty officials in this case with that stipulated in the Daming Law,the author will briefly introduce some of the systems involved in the case.And the reasons why the punishment of “Petty Officials” in Da Gao is heavier than that of Da Ming Law will be analyzed from the following aspects: influence from the political characteristics of the Yuan dynasty,the importance of the horses and beans’ storage in the warehouse,the policy of the Hongwu Emperor,the concept of the rule of law,personal feelings and character traits,and the influence of Guo Huan’s case.In order to reflect the political practice of the Emperor Hongwu in Ming dynasty,some cases concerning the Petty Officials in four editions of Da Gao will also be sorted out.Next,the author will further explain why the Emperor Hongwu must punish the illegal petty officials with severe punishment from the power source of establishing the rule in Ming dynasty and the conflicts between the core interests of the Emperor Hongwu and the interests of petty officials.At the end of the text,the author will give an evaluation and reflection on the political practice of “officials management by severe laws”embodied in Da Gao by Hongwu Emperor.The harsh Da Gao did not achieve the expected effect but aggravated the political atmosphere of terror.In the practice of the rule of law,we should take it as a warning and stick to the idea of putting people first and attaching equal importance to both morality and law.