Historical Studies (Chinese Edition)

No.4, 2013

 

Xíngmíng Learning and the Compilation of Ancient Legal Codes: Clues from the Tsinghua Bamboo Slip Collection and the Yellow Emperor's Books    

(Abstract)

 

Wang Pei

 

The term míngxíng (明刑) in the Huangmen (皇门) text in the Tsinghua Collection of Bamboo Slips refers not to criminal penalties but to norms or guidelines in the general sense. From this derives the phrase xíngmíng (刑名) in the Eastern Zhou term "xíngmíng learning" (刑名之学). The Băoxùn (保训) text points out that in conducting a trial, the doctrine of the Mean (中, zhōng, literally middle) should be combined with the measurement of yīn and yáng and with making a distinction between name and reality. These were features of xíngmíng learning in the transitional period. The Huang Lao xíngmíng school represented in the silk manuscript of the Yellow Emperor's books advocates the establishment of a complete and rigorous system of rules founded on the Dào (道, Way). These ideas had a tremendous influence on ancient Chinese legislation. The successive popularity of the ideas of the xíngmíng school in the Warring States period and the Wei and Jin dynasties directly propelled the transformation of legal forms and the development of the basic legal codes of ancient China.