Study Of The Qing Dynasty Ordinance

In the Qing Dynasty Tiaoli was a significant form of law in the legal system andplayed an important role in the social life. From the constitution of the "Qing law" inShunzhi Tiaoli had been codified and formally become one form of law whichpossessed legal force. The "Punishment Ministry Existing Zeli" in Kangxi madeTiaoli outside of the law and greatly enhanced its status. The "Zeli" was combinedwith the "Qing law" and the application of Tiaoli was normalized in Yongzheng. The"Qing law" in Qianlong developed the stereotyped system of Tiaoli and establishedthe regular compilation of Tiaoli.Many forms of law were called "Li" in the Qing Dynasty, such as Tiaoli, Zeli,Shili, Shengli. Tiaoli was a criminal statute which was also known as "Li"; Zeli andShili were mainly administrative regulations; Shengli was a local regulation. Tiaoli inthe Qing Dynasty could be called the judge-made law in a broad sense because theway of thinking and the spirit tendency of it were had in common with thejudge-made law in the common law. Tiaoli in the Qing Dynasty was very pertinentand flexible. The nature had a momentous impact on the law.The popularity of Tiaoli in the Qing Dynasty was not accidental. First, theprosperity of pragmatism in the Qing Dynasty provided a theoretical guidance andintellectual basis for the implementation of Tiaoli. Second, the great change of thesocial structure caused by the developed commercial economy in the Qing Dynastyboosted the active action under the law, and provided a profound social backgroundfor the implementation of Tiaoli. In addition, the popularity of Tiaoli in the QingDynasty was also the internal requirements of the development of law.The connection of Lv and Tiaoli in the Qing Dynasty could be grasped in theirinteraction. On one hand, Lv provided the guidance and restriction for the constitutionand implementation of Tiaoli; On the other hand, Tiaoli provided the supplement andconsummation for the establishment and practice of Lv. At a given time and location, Tiaoli could also virtually negated the original intent of Lv on a given incident, andsurpassed Lv.The comprehensive application of Tiaoli in the legal practice in the QingDynasty led directly to the progress of the legal science. In order to guide theimplementation of Tiaoli, legal experts written books and articles to clarify theconnection of Lv and Tiaoli and to annotate Lv and Tiaoli. So the legal scienceflourished.The case law system which had Tiaoli in the Qing Dynasty as a representationwas the inherent tradition of the Chinese legal culture, and rooted in soil of theChinese land. It had provided the useful guidance to the case practice of the nationalChina Daliyuan, and would also be the indispensable reference of the establishment ofthe modem Chinese case law system.