"zuo Zhuan" Penalty Applicable

On the basis of research and conclusion for the past experience of punishing the criminals, the Penal Book(Xingshu), the collection of penal norms,was formulated and promulgated. Since the laws have always been the laws of action, the research on the legal practice during Spring and Autumn Period helps not only the understanding of the main contents of the Penal Book(Xingshu), but also the knowledge of the nature as well as the features of Chinese ancient law. As far as the penal norms are concerned, many scholars have done a great deal of research on reliable resources such as Zhouli Zuozhuan and Guoyu, laying down basis for the further study. However, the research through the discipline of legal history should focus on the operation even the reasons for it besides the contents of the penal norms. This dissertation purports to answer this question: What are the grounds of applying punishment during Spring and Autumn Period? The dissertation will begin with following aspects.With the application of punishment in Zuozhuan as the research topic, the author defines the concept of criminal punishment, on the basis of which the types of punishment in Zuozhuan can be in turn specified. Having analyzed the historical data, he classifies the criminal punishment into the following types: The penalty of death(It was extensively applied to the nobles), Physical penalty (which includes different methods to impose physical sufferings), The punishment of depriving the freedom, The punishment of exile(by which the offenders and their family members were driven out of the states), The penalty of property, the punishment of war and other penalties which are hard to be classified. This dissertation concludes the major features of criminal punishment in the Spring and Autumn Period. Firstly, since the criminal penalties were not all clearly promulgated in the norms, it's difficult to claim that one criminal penalty was only applied to certain crimes damaging one or several social relations. Secondly, despite of the differences, the penalties would surely apply to the persons or groups who disrupted the social order. Last but certainly not the least, doctrine of retributive punishment can be regarded as the ground theory for this period, although the doctrine of prevention was claimed by small group of politicians at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period.therefore,the goal of punishment is always read as retribution, and the question of grounds of applying punishment is studied according to doctrine of retributive punishment.The application of penalties within the kinship is discussed too. After the brief introduction of patriarchal system adopted in West Chou, the author analyzed the internal social relationship within the kinship on the basis of related data provided by Zhouli, Yili and Zuozhuan. It is supposed that the members of the clan had personal bondage to the suzerain or patriarch, and the difference of status of other family members is too little to be noted. Because of some powers, the suzerain or patriarch were authorized to punish those who violated against the expected behaviors and acted out of lines. Within this time period, the following acts were punished due to their undermining the normal social relation within the kin: Impious, Killing of kinsman, Discord, Internal Disorder, Incest, Killing of suzerain, Insuiting family, Extermination of family, etc. As the consequence, the punishment helped to recover the social relation.Next, the dissertation analyzes the application of penalties in the principalities through the progressive stages of the establishment, the constituents and the social relations of these principalities. The author advocates that the social structures in the principalities presented themselves like pyramids with the kings staying at the tops and other following officials helping them deal with government and punishment. The inferior were subordinated to their superiors and they were punished for the following acts: killing of the kings or crown prince, unauthorized making of kings, assisting the rebellions, resisting the king's orders, treasons, usurping power, stealing, speaking ill of others,spreading misleading orders,disturbing military procession,losing war, taking bribes, sin against propriety, destroying agreement, etc. The goal of punishment is to recovery destoried social realationship,safeguard interest of rulers of principalities. Of course, application of punishment help to maintain social order.At the beginning, the leaders of the Chou Dynasty had established a great number of institutions which helped to maintain the order and which strongly influenced the relationship between the kingdoms. The dissertation studies the social relations formed by these institutions by researches on the data in Zhouli, Yili and Zuozhuan. It is advocated in this dissertation that Spring and Autumn Period witnessed a special political structure in which Chou Royal Family occupied at the top, followed by the powerful leader, then the principalities and client states. Specifically speaking, Chou Royal Family, which was obeyed by the principalities with the leadership of the powerful, lorded over all the territories. The principalities performed obligations for the powerful leaders instead of the Chou Royal Family. The relationship between the vassalages and their suzerains equals to that between the principalities and their powerful leaders. In order to keep these relations, the acts deemed spoiling them such as disobeying the king's order, failure to have an audience with the Chou Court, treason, violating the oaths,failing to tribute, failing to attend meetings, etc.were severely punished.The goal of punishment is to recover social realationship between states,safeguard the position of Chou Royal Family and powerful leaders.The author does not satisfy himself with presentation of these acts, he goes three further steps progressively to investigate the nature of all the punishments so as to ultimately understand the grounds for criminal penalties in the Spring and Autumn Period.. At first, with the theory on the nature of crime formulated by Max and Engles, which has been conceived by the author as the only scientific explanation after his comparison with other western theories, he supposes that all the acts punished spoiled the social relations within and between the kinship and principalities. Second, the author is of the point of view that the basic reasons for these criminal acts, in other words, the nature of crime under Chinese background can be found in Li. Through Emile Durkheim's theory on the nature of crime, he thinks that those acts violated the morals of that time, therefore, "Li" in Chenchong's words "Acts which are against Li must be penalized" can only mean the spirit, the morals. This conclusion is the combination of the theory on nature of crimes of Max and Engles with Chinese characters. The third is the core of this research which can be expressed in one question: What are the ultimate grounds for all the penalties? The answer lies in the faith in the God of Tian. Basing himself mainly on the materials in Zuozhuan, the author has rejected the previous scholars' opinion that the faith in Tian had been shaken and spoiled in this time period as the product of garbing according to their instant need, he states that, they had not given up the worship of the god of Tian, that the declaration of satisfying the god of Tian with moral deeds gradually became the prevailing ideology and greatly influenced the later generations including the Spring and Autumn Period, and that owing to the domination of Tian over people's life, undoubtedly, some people or groups who were conceived wrong received penalties from the god of Tian, the will of which became the ultimate ground of crime in this period.Besides the above seeking for the ultimate ground, this dissertation explicates another social fact that in spite the reciprocity requirement between the inferior and the superior such as the generosity and filial obedience between father and son, the inferiors tended to be punished even though sometimes they stood on the right side. It relates again this fact to Li, some parts of which were enjoyed only by kings, suzerains or other nobles. Monopolizing the communication with the god of Tian through Li, thus controlling the fates of the inferiors, who had no way but to submit to them.