The Formation of Legal System in Ancient China

本研究以睡虎地秦简和张家山汉简为基础，阐明了中国古代法律的史上的两个问题：一是重建帝王程序，二是解决刑罚制度的历史转型。结论如下：（1）掌管帝王程序第一阶段的是名为乐礼的文书。尽管他们的官职很低，但他们的职责非常重要。他们通过讯问取得犯罪嫌疑人的口供，并根据成文法（庐陵）和判例（刑事）对犯罪嫌疑人进行定罪量刑。公元前3世纪，秦国已经建立了中央机构向下游地区分发法律的经验的制度<rd>。2）秦国的苦役制度中没有任何条款。除非是为了赎罪或特赦，否则囚犯不会被解救。汉武帝在公元前167年的改革，为苦役确立了一个明确的术语。《汉书》第23章中提到的汉武帝的诏书，我们必须将其翻译为法令，以确立一个明确的任期。但我们不能忽视这样一个事实，即除了终身苦役之外，还有一些一定期限的轻苦役。可以说，经过汉武帝的改革，我国的有期徒刑制度已经完全确立。

My research elucidated two problems on legal history in ancient China based on Qin bamboo-slips unearthed in Shuihudi and Han bamboo-slips in Zhangjiashan, i.e. 1)reconstruction of a regal procedure, and 2)solution of a historical transition of penal system. The conclusions are as follows :1)It was clerks called yueli that took charge of the first stage of regal procedure. Their duty was very important in spite of their low official position. They produced confession from a suspect through an inquiry and fitted the punishment to the crime in conformity to statute law (luling) and judicial precedents (xingshi). The institution through which the central organization distributed legal experiences to the lower reaches had been established in Qin state in 3^<rd> century BC.2)There was no term in penal labor system of Qin state. A prisoner was not rescued except for redemption or amnesty. It was the reformation by Han Wudi in 167BC that established a definite term for penal labour. We must translate an Imperial edict by Han Wudi mentioned in chapter 23 of Hanshu as an ordinance to establish a definite term. But we must not neglect the fact that there were some light penal labours for a definite term besides hard ones for life. It is safe to say that the system of penal servitude for a definite term was completely established through the reformation by Han Wudi.