Why did you say "ask after autumn" in ancient times?

The feudal superstition of the ancients was serious, and the execution of the death penalty was in autumn and winter, which was related to the concept of natural theocracy that the ancients believed in, that is, conforming to God's will. People's behavior, including political activities, should always conform to the weather, or they will be punished by the gods. The ancients believed that the emperor was the son of heaven and had to obey, especially so. Acting on the weather is like executing a prisoner.

In ancient times, people chose to execute condemned prisoners after the autumnal equinox and before beginning of spring, that is, "asking for guilt after the autumnal equinox". This is to adapt to the weather and the cold weather in autumn and winter. The original meaning of "question" is interrogation, and later it derives the meaning of "sentence", and "question and chop" refers to the death penalty.

In ancient times, after being sentenced to death, prisoners on death row were usually executed collectively. The reason why autumn and winter are chosen is that farmers are more free in autumn and winter, so they don't have to grow food and force others to watch it, which has a warning effect. Of course, this is also related to the ancients' consideration of "not delaying farming time"

Extended data:

Speaking of the word "autumn queen", it first came from Zuo Zhuan? Twenty-six years of "xianggong" This is related to the natural philosophy that we advocated at the beginning. Of course, the natural philosophy here is similar to what we call the concept of harmony between man and nature.

There is a lot of evidence that in the Han Dynasty, the execution of the death penalty was limited to autumn and winter, which is not only an idea, but also a fact deeply rooted in people's hearts.

Of course, the execution in autumn and winter was not strictly institutionalized until the Ming and Qing Dynasties. But it does not apply to crimes such as rebellion and rebellion, and it is often directly executed.

References:

Baidu Encyclopedia-Questioning after Autumn