Department of History, Jao Tsung-I Academy of Sinology & Mr. Simon Suen and Mrs. Mary Suen Sino-Humanitas Institute, HKBU

Abstract

Until the discovery in 1975 of legal documents in tomb #11, Shuihudi, Hubei, belonging to a Qin scribe who died in about 217 BCE, virtually nothing was known of actual Qin legal practice or how it was transformed in the early Han dynasty. Scholars had to rely on the descriptions presented in transmitted historical texts such as the Shi ji (Historical Records) composed by Sima Qian (died ca. 86 BCE), and other works. The legal reality of the Qin and early Han was vague in the extreme. This paper will focus on the types of legislation, the ways in which legislation was created, how it was applied in practice, and some fundamental legal concepts, based on recently excavated documents including the Qin materials excavated at Shuihudi and those from the archives of the Qin County of Qianling, found in Well no. 1, Liye, Hunan Province. Materials retrieved from other scientifically excavated tombs and the looted Qin documents held by the Yuelu Academy, Hunan University will also be reviewed. How Qin law was transformed by the Han government will be analyzed through a discussion of the legal documents found in Tomb 247, Zhangjiashan, Hubei, dating to approximately 186 BCE, from the legal documents published this spring (2023) retrieved from Tomb no. 336 in the same cemetery, dating to Han Wendi’s reign, and other legal materials of comparable date.