This project shall examine the five topics described below in order newly to understand an aspect of Ancient Chinese society by focusing on the Han Legal Code, "Er nian lü ling." (1) The order of governance and document delivery via the Codes of ...
This project shall examine the five topics described below in order newly to understand an aspect of Ancient Chinese society by focusing on the Han Legal Code, "Er nian lü ling." (1) The order of governance and document delivery via the Codes of Qin and Han dynasties. In addition to "Er nian lü ling", I will investigate document delivery and the provisions of its penalty by examining the materials of other bamboo slips recently presented. The main thing focuses on the 268th slip. According to the illustration of bamboo slips (shiyi tu) each excavated site of the slips and their numbers of the arrangement are as follows: 268th (C190), 278th (C191), 265th (C192) and 270th (C193). Among these four slips, 278th (C191) belongs to the code of compulsory labor. Thus, the sequence of slips is atypical. The 273th (C236) has corporal punishment and monetary penalty like ‘whipping so-and-sos and fine OO liang.’ Based on this slip, I shall analyze the provisions of document delivery and its punishment. 2) ‘Er nian lü ling’ slips via its written format. I will reexamine some problems of interpreting the slips on ‘Er nian lü ling’ in the current researches by analyzing the contents of the illustrations published both in 2001 and 2007. Therefore, I would like to investigate how and why they are written by focusing on what the characters are ( the characters as recorded) in the ‘Er nian lü ling’ of 247th. Based on my study of current researches as well as the illustration of bamboo slips indicating excavated sites, I got conclusion as follows: the process of arranging the slips and written format would not have a complete formation from the starting point. 3)The system of register and the pattern of family in Han dynasty via ‘Er nian lü ling’: focusing on comparison with the Qin Bamboo Slips of Liye. In the Qin bamboo slips of Liye on register, the main contents indicate emergence of both a direct family and a united family in studying the history of family in Qin dynasty. Hence, I will clarify the relationship of family type between Qin and Han by analyzing the Qin Bamboo Slips of Liye, which is earlier than ‘Er nian lü ling’ slips. By defining types and characteristics of the crime occurred within family, I will spell out changes in governance and social structures of family (jia) for establishing the imperial order of ancient China. 4)The Land system in Early Han and Late Qin: the issue of land related to family system and property inheritance. Just as "prince considers people as the heaven and people consider food as the heaven", so I pay attention to realities of the land system, which is one of the most important things in understanding ancient China. By considering all factors related to the land system, I elucidate the causes of changes from the land system enacted during Early Han to possession of large-landed property at Emperor Wu of Han. 5) The Mitigation and Prisoner Labor of Women in the Ancient China: In the ancient China, there are the punishments like castration and removing whiskers, which cannot biologically impose on women that might inevitably have different punishment. It seems that women are categorized into such wards as the old and children. If she violates twice a crime for removing whiskers penalty, then she would be under sentence of the penalty. It is obvious to reduce penalty to crimes committed by women. To women, however, reduction of the lingering death or cutting off waist is a superficial reduction of brutal penalty to general death for political crimes like treason, which women do not commit. For women, the forced labor with cutting off heel is reduced to forced labor with tattooing on face. These forced labors are limited to male prisoners. In this case, the reduction of penalty for woman is derived not from paternalism, but from labor penal system that had been maintained during Qin-Han periods.