Why did ancient thinkers in China advocate revenge?

1, safeguard the legitimate privileges of aristocratic bureaucrats

As we know, the laws of the Song Dynasty basically followed the Tang law system, so some basic legal principles of entering the law during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, such as eight remonstrances, invitations, official duties, crimes of five servitude, etc., were also faithfully reflected in the criminal system of the Song Dynasty. In the judicial practice on weekdays, these principles have also been generally implemented. For example, in episode 5 1, Li Kui jy killed Yin Tianxi at his estate in Chai Jin. While letting Li Kui jy leave quickly, Chai Jin comforted the uneasy Li Kui jy: "I have my own Danshu iron coupon to protect myself." (1) The "Dan Shu Tie Voucher" here is a certificate issued by the emperor to the descendants of the former royal family. It is similar to the gold medal of avoiding death, and it can forgive everything except the ten evils. From the legal point of view, this kind of iron ticket is the realistic evidence of the privilege of the eighth session of "discussion guest" It can be seen that the Song Dynasty is no different from the previous dynasty in safeguarding the legitimate privileges of aristocratic bureaucrats.

2. Additional punishment-wide application of pricking and matching.

Stabbing and matching is an additional punishment, which was added to the main punishments such as staff, disciples and rogues in the early Song Dynasty, combined with folding staff, and was implemented as a substitute punishment for death penalty. According to the author's hasty statistics, there are seven people assigned in the water margin, including Lin Chong, Yang Zhi, Song Jiang, Song Wu, Zhu Tong, Lu Junyi and Pei Xuan, among whom Lin Chong, Song Jiang and Song Wu were stabbed to death with a crutch for capital crimes. (2) The geographical distance of stabbing depends on the severity of the crime. Except Song Jiang who sent money to Jiangzhou, a land of plenty, everyone else was sent to the hinterland, among which Cangzhou was the most popular. Both Lin Chong and Song Wu came here unfortunately. Cangzhou, an ancient land near the sea, has the saying that "the sea is bitter and the villages are sparse". There are no villages in Fiona Fang for miles, and the voices of chickens and dogs are not heard. Criminals were sent here, but they couldn't escape anywhere if they wanted to, so it was designated as the place where criminals were sent to the army. It can be seen that the location of prison city in Song Dynasty is very particular. How can a place with a vast territory and a large population take advantage of those prisoners? Another advantage of stabbing is that the "golden seal" tattooed on the face is not only a humiliating punishment, but also a mark that prisoners should remember when they escape. Therefore, in order to walk on the road conveniently, Song Wu had to pretend to be a walker, and when Jiang Menshen was drunk, he had to put two small plasters on his face to hide his identity. (3) In short, stabbing and matching was a unique punishment system in Song Dynasty, which was regarded as the restoration of corporal punishment and the retrogression of the legal system.

3. Improve the criminal procedure system.

In the Song Dynasty, after the evolution and development of the previous dynasty, coupled with the fact that the Song Dynasty itself valued literature over martial arts, in order to flaunt its purpose of valuing righteousness over morality, the criminal procedure system, as a procedural law, received great attention and formed a complete criminal procedure system. In the Water Margin, there are many complete cases. Here, Song Jiang's murder case is selected as the main case, and combined with other cases in the text, the criminal procedure system in Song Dynasty is systematically discussed.

1, case prosecution

After Song Jiang was killed, he was wronged in front of the county government, but after obtaining the testimony of Brother Hui and Uncle He Jiu in the case of killing Jinlian, he went straight to the government to complain. It can be seen that private prosecution was allowed in criminal cases at that time. After going to court, the magistrate summoned Zhang Wenyuan and asked him to help Yan Po write a complaint and file a case. It can be seen that prosecution requires a complaint. If there is no complaint, the official will help the victim write it. It should be pointed out that Song Jiang's own occupation is also a company (equivalent to the clerk of the grass-roots people's court or the clerk of the procuratorial department of the people's procuratorate), which should be regarded as a professional who is proficient in law, which has laid the groundwork for his future behavior.

2. Evidence testing

After the county magistrate accepted it at the yamen, he "called the local coroner, pedestrians, and cadres such as Di Xiang, Li Zheng, and Neiyou" to visit the scene. This is also in line with the situation at that time. Forensic medicine was very developed in the Song Dynasty. All official injuries, abnormal deaths of prisoners and abnormal deaths without close relatives must be examined by officials. The county commander led Bao Zheng, Jiajia, Zuo Zuo and pedestrian officials to check, and the families and neighbors of the victims could watch to avoid cheating. In the case of Pan Jinlian killed by Song Wu, the deceased Wu Dalang had to undergo the autopsy of Uncle He Jiu, the head of the local regiment (4), before he could be cremated. It can be seen that the Song Dynasty attached great importance to the acquisition and function of evidence, and it is not surprising that forensic doctor Song Ci appeared. Of course, this is another story.

3. Criminal pursuit

Next, although the magistrate of a county is willing to exonerate Song Jiang, he still wants to send someone to arrest him, because "if you don't move a person with him, it will be beneficial to complain to this aunt's boss." In the Song Dynasty, it was allowed to appeal step by step, which could be carried out by the relatives of the victims. If the magistrate refuses to accept it, Yan Po can complain to the state and government step by step, or even directly. In addition, when Hui Zong was in Huizong, the ban on appeal was lifted, and Yan Po could also go beyond the appeal. "People's lives are as big as the sky", and things get too big, and the magistrate's office is hard to protect, so he "moved a piece of paper to arrest Song Jiang". The "sea arrest document" is a document that the government orders all localities to arrest at any time when the prisoner is at large, which is equivalent to the current wanted order.

Many Liangshan heroes have enjoyed the "treatment" of such documents, such as Li Kui jy, Lu Da and Lin Chong. As mentioned earlier, the application of stabbing is also to facilitate the pursuit of criminals. Have you noticed that if Lin Chong wants to leave Cangzhou City, he must be mixed in the hunting party in Chai Jin, and he can only fly away with Chai Jin's personal relationship and trust in the leader. This also reflects from one side that this match is quite suitable for the social reality at that time.

4. Trial of the case

After Song Jiang was arrested, the magistrate of a county did not make a judgment after obtaining the confession, but "understood Song Jiang and the case file and listened to it in Jeju". This is because, according to the law at that time, cases of flogging were executed by county judgment; In cases with imprisonment or more, the county magistrate collects evidence, interrogates the offenders and transfers them to the country, which is called "reconciliation". The state has the right to try all cases ranging from imprisonment to death penalty, so Song Jiang was sentenced to death by the state magistrate. But it should be noted here that Song Jiang, who is proficient in law, did not confess honestly, and the magistrate of a county did not examine the case clearly. Because according to Song Jiang, Yan Poxi was his concubine, and he was "quarreling and fighting over wine" and "manslaughter". In the Criminal Code of Song Dynasty (V), the article "Husband and wife fight for murder" stipulates that "whoever kills a concubine will be reduced to the second class" and "whoever kills by negligence, regardless", so Song Jiang should be innocent. In the case of Song Wu killing Jinlian, Song Wu's punishment was basically the same as that of Song Jiang, but Song Wu surrendered himself, which was proved by many neighbors, and in the face of Confucian legal thought, Song Wu's crime was far lighter than that of Song Jiang. After all, the actions of Ximen Qing and Pan Jinlian have seriously violated feudal laws and ethics. So the prefect stabbed Song Jiang to death because he didn't accept his confession. According to the theory of the procedural law of the Song Dynasty, Song Jiang killed his concubine with a knife, reduced the mortal punishment to three thousand Li, and folded it into twenty spinal rods according to the rod folding method, serving for one year. In addition to forgiveness, sung river should be lighter than this punishment. However, in the late Northern Song Dynasty, when the law was replaced by law and broken by example, the criminal code of the Song Dynasty was basically retained and no longer used. So the conviction of Song Jiang is not based on it, but on facts and examples. In addition, in Hui Zong, stabbing is prevalent, with "emphasizing law and law" and "thieves emphasizing law". At this time, Song Jiang committed a crime and was in a place where the law was severely punished, and he was sentenced to a heavier punishment of "stabbing Jiangzhou prison city with twenty sticks", which was also in line with the legal situation at that time.

5. Judicial officials

The law enforcement class in ancient China was a class with a large team and complicated structure. Due to the characteristics of ancient Chinese laws, administrative officials often participated in judicial work, and at the same time hired some private professionals to take charge of coordination and consultation. The personnel who specialize in law enforcement are mostly at a disadvantage in status and power. Therefore, the thoughts within the law enforcement stratum in ancient China society are very complicated. People at the upper level of this class are closer to the concept of the upper rulers because of rights and other reasons. The lower class of this class is closer to the lower class because of rights and other reasons, and their ideas are closer to the lower class. Moreover, due to the complex structure of these people, their ideas are different, and they value justice over profit, and strive for power and profit, so it is inevitable to practice favoritism and malpractice in the process of judicial enforcement. In Water Margin, the experiences of heroes mixed up many phenomena in judicial practice at that time from both positive and negative aspects. Now, let's try to give some examples in order to find some clues.

Example 1. Lin Chong was trapped by Gao Qiu and sent to Kaifeng, South Asia. Gao Qiu must ask him a capital crime of "holding a sword, so he entered the festival hall and killed this officer". At the time of the crime, Sun Ding was not afraid of power. According to Lin Chong's confession, he was classified as "hanging a sharp sword around his waist, straying into the festival hall, carrying twenty sticks, and stabbing him with far-away evil troops." Teng Yin Fu also agreed with this sentence and explained the reasons to Gao Taiwei many times. "Gao Qiu didn't understand and hindered the prefect, so he had to allow it." Sun Ding's behavior is precisely the behavior of protecting justice by law.

Ex. 2: Song Wu revenged his brother privately, carefully planned, killed Pan Jinlian and Ximen Qing, and took Wang Po to the yamen in yanggu county to surrender. The magistrate of a county thought he was a loyal Han, so he consulted with his ministers: "That fellow thought he was a righteous man, which made people plead guilty and changed it to:' Song Wu sacrificed his dead brother Wu Da, but his wife was not allowed to sacrifice, so he argued for it. The woman knocked down the spiritual bed, rescued her dead brother, Shen, and fought with her sister-in-law, and was killed at one time. After that, Ximen Qing came to defend her for adultery with his wife, so he made a big fight, refused to bow to the other side, wrestled with the Lion Bridge, and even committed suicide. ""revenge without permission, intentional homicide, has been rewritten as passionate homicide and fighting homicide, and the death penalty has been changed to exile. According to "Song Punishment System". According to the relevant provisions of "Prison Break Law", this kind of behavior in yanggu county is obviously a "crime-causing" behavior. In this regard, Dongping magistrate Chen Shen has an experience. Because Chen is an "observant official" and "knows about it". However, after reading yanggu county's application, he not only didn't criticize it, but also re-recorded the confession of the first instance in the way of yanggu county's application, and "lightened the file of this manuscript" before "applying to the provincial court for detailed trial charges". Moreover, he "made a confidant, signed an urgent secret book, and voted for the capital to do it for him at night." Chen of the Ministry of Punishment has a good relationship with him, and this matter has been reported directly to the officials of the provincial court. In the end, Song Wu, who should have been sentenced to death, was only sentenced to "forty crutches, stabbing two thousand miles away". Chen Yixin defended him, only pitying him to avenge his brother. He is a "brave Han".

In ancient China, there was an era when individuals were allowed to take revenge and kill people privately, that is, in Quli, the so-called "the revenge of the father and the death of * * *, the revenge of the brothers did not turn against the soldiers". Personal revenge was still allowed in the Han Dynasty. During the Three Kingdoms period, there were certain restrictions on personal revenge. Revenge was completely banned in the Northern Zhou Dynasty. From then on, personal revenge killing was regarded as illegal customization, and personal revenge killing was regarded as murder. However, in the traditional China society, despite the strict legal sanctions, the atmosphere of private revenge is still very prosperous, and this kind of time appears constantly in history. Many people would rather stand up and accept punishment than forget their unfilial behavior for fear of death. (5) Song Wu's parents died when he was very young, and he was raised by his brother with difficulty. If he can't avenge his brother, it's against the ethics at that time. At the same time, revenge for relatives and friends has always been regarded as a courageous act. Therefore, people with righteousness will go to France to avenge their relatives and friends. In the class of law enforcers, there are also law enforcers who protect the Avengers everywhere, thus acting as a charity sale law.

It is not unusual for criminals in prison camps to send money to prison officials. Song who arrived at Mengzhou Chengying in advance and arrived at Jiangzhou Chengying in advance all had similar situations. Officials in the penalty enforcement department are greedy for money, and officials with investigation and trial power are also greedy for money. Yanggu county magistrate of a county who tampered with the case for Song Wu was actually a profiteer. Before killing Sister-in-law and Ximen Qing, Song Wu reported the evidence to the county government and wanted to ask Yanggu magistrate to punish Ximen Qing and Pan Jinlian according to law. However, "it turns out that all county officials are related to Ximen Qing. Needless to say. " "On that day, Ximen Qing learned that his confidant had come to the county, Xu Guanyin". "This county official is greedy for bribes", so it is difficult to avoid this case. Song Wu was forced to challenge the law and take revenge in private. Therefore, the Yanggu magistrate acted as a charity sale afterwards, and changed the sentence of Song Wu's crime lightly, largely out of his own guilt.

"The Water Margin" is a profound work, its content involves all aspects of social life at that time, especially the description of the law, because in a strict sense, Liangshan heroes are really a group of criminals gathered in the mountains, and they are inextricably linked with the law. Studying these legal issues reflected by it plays an important role in our study of China's legal history. It can prove the official history, disprove it, and supplement the "vague words" in some aspects of the official history.

Of course, the author's shallow analysis and interpretation of Song Jiang, for example, is far from explaining all the historical materials of the legal history of Water Margin, and at best it is only some immature attempts. If this kind of attempt can play a role in attracting jade, the author's wish is enough. Some people may think that fiction has nothing to do with serious scholarship. One is for the beauty of chin, and the other is for Chun Xue. However, the author believes that real literature and art are both refined and popular, and Water Margin is such a literary work. Since "Human Comedy" can become the historical data of Marx's study of French history, it will benefit a lot. Since A Dream of Red Mansions can be used as historical materials to study the social situation in Qing Dynasty, a special knowledge-A Dream of Red Mansions has been formed. Since The Romance of the Three Kingdoms can be a historical material for studying the history of the Three Kingdoms, and it can show its great power in military wars and shopping malls, why can't Water Margin, as one of the world's famous works, be a historical material for studying the history of the Song Dynasty, especially the history of the legal system?