The Autumn Assizes in Ch'Ing Law

Abstract

The basis of the Chinese emperor's power was his vocation to keep order in the universe. His task was to ensure that the celestial, cosmic, or harmony or order, the t'ien-ho X*Q, be maintained. That task included the guarantee that the natural or constant relationships among the people, the ch'ang-lun g{f were maintained, so that every citizen behaved well and fulfilled the duties and obligations which belonged to his station in life. The maintenance of order naturally included also the protection of the citizens' lives and goods. Ideally the order was maintained by moral education, but where education was proved of no avail, punishment was needed. When we say that justice is done, the expression reveals satisfaction at the victory of the good, the just over the unjust, the evil. With a good deal of exaggeration we might say that the attitude of the Chinese government towards punishment was that of regrettable necessity; it should be sparingly used.' Therefore a strict balance should be observed between the seriousness of the crime and the heaviness of the punishment (p'ing-yun JIL).2 This is to a certain extent true of any penal system, but the factors which determined the seriousness of the crime were different in China. The relationship between criminal and victim was one of the most important determinants of the gravity of the act, it was even more important than the intention with which the crime had been committed. Relationship; intention; the weapon that was used in homicide; purpose of the crime, were taken together in the concept of ch'ing-hsing I'Fg); they were all elements of the crime, and contained in the qualification