The Crime Of “Descendants Violating The Decree” In The Qing Dynasty

The Crime of “Descendants Violating the Decree” refers to descendants who violate the decrees of their grandparents,parents or failed to support them and thus violating the national constitution.The law of Qin and Han Dynasty had appeared similar charges or even earlier and the Crime of “Descendants Violating the Decree” established in Tang Dynasty formally.To the Qing Dynasty,more extensive crimes and severe punishments were contained.Except for violating the decree and failing to support the elders,the law also included crimes of indirect cause of parents' death by descendants,like poverty,steal,and rape.The law also provided that parents had the right to claim punishing the unfilial descendants.According to the law,“Descendants Violating the Decree” refers to the decree which can be obeyed but is violated.“Failing to Support Parents” refers to those descendants who can support their parents but failed.In the judicial practice of Qing Dynasty,descendants would be severely punished if violating the decree,regardless of neither the legitimacy of the decree nor whether the descendants can support.The intention of the “Crime of Descendants Violating the Decree” was to advocate filial piety,which had its own rationality and necessity.However,in Qing Dynasty,it lost the legislative intent and its corresponding social role.The power of the decree stretched,which fostered the evil of the elders and distorted the personality of the descendants.When revising the law in the late Qing Dynasty,School of Feudal Ethics tried their best to retain the crime of “Descendants Violating the Decree”,but it still didn't work.