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| A Study of the Rules Governing Ranks and Penalties in the Qin and Han Dynasties |
| Huang Hai |
| Institute of Law, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing 100720, China |
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Abstract Reward and punishment were the traditional measures of social governance in ancient China. They were connected by many specific rules. This research aims at the connections between the ranking system and the legal system in the Qin and Han Dynasties. The ranking system in the Qin and Han Dynasties was called Ershidengjue (二十等爵). The ranks in this system were acquired by meritorious military services. It gave various privileges to people who owned certain titles.Specifically, there were four basic categories of the rules in the Qin and Han Dynasties, which were Juejian (爵减), Juemian (爵免), Jueshu (爵赎) and Duojue (夺爵). Juejian, Juemian, and Jueshu were the rules that stipulated how to apply penalty privileges when a titled person violated the law. Duojue was the punishment only for the titled person. The specific meaning of Jueshu is unclear. It should mean transforming severe penalty to redemption based on the title.As is in Han Jiuyi (《汉旧仪》), there is a traditional impression that the penalties included ranking reduction and banishment, but this impression is not always true. There are exceptional cases. Based on “Jiejue Chuzishu Ling” (解爵除赀赎令) in the bamboo slips of Qin Dynasty kept in Yuelu Academy, we know that a title was possibly removed when the penalty was Zishu (赀赎).The penalty privilege rules were based on the Ershidengjue system which was connected with the formation of the centralized governing system. In its development process, the transformation of the military system was the key point. During the Warring States Period, noble private armies gradually disappeared. Almost all the armies of the state were directly controlled by the King. To encourage his soldiers to fight bravely, the King needed a reward systems, a military glory system called Ershidengjue in the Qin State, and it was extended to the Qin and Han Dynasties.
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Received: 02 November 2022
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2023, Vol. 53 
