Han Enlightenment And Social Crime Prevention

Crime and cultivation has been coexisting since time immemorial. The concept of"crime"in this thesis refers to a social phenomenon in the two Han dynasties. It is more than violations of the law and norm recognized as such. In fact, it also includes actions that threat the political and social orders and even ethics and therefore should be banned. The concept of"cultivation"refers to the moral educations for the people, conducted by the Han rulers to prevent crimes.This thesis will start with a general overview of the thoughts on cultivation in the pre-Qin schools of Confucianism, Legalism, Moism and Taoism, with reference to the crimes of the two Han periods. Then I will deal with the cultivation practices and thoughts on crime prevention in the Qin Dynasty. In the end I will present the general overview of the major Confucian thoughts on cultivation in the early Western Han, middle Western Han and early Eastern Han Dynasty. By doing this, the changes in the thought on cultivation can be revealed, and we can see how the thoughts could serve as guidance to the cultivation practices.According to the categorization of modern criminal laws and the function of cultivation, the crimes during the Han periods are hereby divided into three kinds: those that damage the social hierarchy, those that impair ethics and those that involve the deities. The first refers to all rebellions and actions that damage the social hierarchy, mainly including common ones like insurgence, rebellion, dereliction of duty, personal injuries and financial crimes. The second refers to those that are detrimental to the social ethic norm, which is the central target of cultivation. It mainly includes violations against the norm, such as refusal to perform filial duties, sexual crimes, killing as revenge, as well as the barbaric practices in the border areas such as infancide. The third refers to all crimes that are related to the deities, and involves politics, ethics, customs and other aspects. It covers a wide range and poses a great danger. This thesis will deal with crimes such as witchcraft, non-upright practices, political rumors, frauds under the name of religion, and offers a brief analysis of the reasons.The approaches and contents of crime prevention in the two Han periods mainly refer to the specific practices against crime. There are two kinds of measures: before the crime and after the crime. The former includes education, examination and setting up official posts. The latter is a manifestation of Confucianism in legislative and legal aspects. The legislative measures include divine right of kings, moral education first and punishment second, rituals being assimilated into the law, and passing judgments in spring and autumn. The legal measures include re-examination of the trials, amnesty and executions in autumn and winter.These measures are helpful in stabilizing the social hierarchy, improving morality and lessening mental confusions. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, they were especially effective. Compared with the Pre-Qin moral education, the cultivation practices in Han are original yet retain the characteristic of the previous dynasties. Compared with the Wei, Jin, Sui and Tang Dynasties, they were fundamental yet primitive. An inter-comparison of the two Han periods will show that the pattern of cultivation and prevention of crime are progressive stage by stage.The setting up of the pattern of cultivation and prevention of crime are successful in preventing some specific crimes. It also has side effects such as deceiving the people and hypocrisy. It causes the metaphysical thinking in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. What is more, the over-emphasis on private schools leads to the rise of aristocratic clans, which becomes the root of political division and unrest. This serves as a lesson for the later generations.