Why is the Dengzhou Ayun case unsolved? Who is right and who is wrong, Wang Anshi or Sima Guang?
Dengzhou Yunzhong case"In fact, the case is not complicated, and the trial is also very smooth, but in terms of how to judge, the Song Dynasty has been arguing for more than ten years, and it involves a wide range, not only the dispute of criminal law, but also the change of legalism, the dispute of the old school, and even the dispute between the prudent punishment faction and the severe punishment faction, because of these reasons, the case has not been resolved for a long time, and even eventually led to a big reversal. For these reasons, the case remained in limbo for a long time, and even eventually led to a major reversal.
Ah Yun thought his fiancée was too ugly and wanted to kill her, but the other party was injured and did not die, and there were endless arguments in the court.
In the first year of the reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty (1068), there was a woman named Ayun in Dengzhou, who was engaged to a family surnamed Wei shortly after her mother's death, and went through the adoption procedures, that is, marriage. However, after Ah Yun found out that his fiancé was an ugly bastard, he was very reluctant. One day, she wants to kill her fiancé while he is asleep. But Ayun was still a woman, and in the end she only wounded him, not killed him. Seeing her fiancé wake up in pain, Ah Yun fled in a hurry, and her fiancé called the police.
The officials suspected that Ah Yun had done it, so they arrested her for interrogation, and before waiting for severe torture, Ah Yun explained what happened. Xu Zun, who was the governor of Dengzhou at the time, argued that Ah Yun was engaged to Wei during her mother's filial piety, and according to the law, this marriage was illegal, so it could not be punished for killing her husband, but should be convicted of a simple ** crime.
The case was transferred to the Yamen of Dali Temple, and the Yamen to"Wounding"Ayun was sentenced to be hanged. However, Xu Zun challenged the verdict, saying:"When Ayun was tried in court, he told the truth about what had happened. Therefore, he should be assumed'Turn yourself in'and to reduce his sentence by two levels in accordance with the principles of the Legality of Crimes"。
Since the two parties could not reach an agreement, Song Shenzong handed the case over to the Criminal Department for trial. The Criminal Department** believes that Xu Zun's reasons for exculpating Ayun are absurd, and the trial in Dali Temple is in accordance with the law. However, Emperor Shenzong believed that Ah Yun was in a miserable situation and that the law was only humane, so he specifically issued a decree to allow Ah Yun to pay the atonement money.
Who knows? This case is not over yet, it has just begun.
The court argued for a long time, but never reached a verdict.
Soon after this case, Xu Zun was promoted to the secretary of Dali Temple. However, the Shangshu of the Criminal Department wrote a letter against Xu Zun, saying that Xu Zun was in the Ayun case"Improper discussion", should not hold the post of Dali Siqing. Xu Zun said"The last decision of the Ministry of Justice to support Dali Temple was completely wrong, and Ah Yun's crime fully qualified for pardon. If the decision of Dali Temple is supported, the prisoner will lose the possibility of surrendering'There is no suspicion of guilt'The ancient precepts have lost their validity"。
Song Shenzong then handed over the case to Sima Guang, a scholar of Hanlin, to discuss with Wang Anshi, and as a result, Sima Guang supported the Criminal Department, and Wang Anshi supported Xu Zun, and Shenzong finally accepted Wang Anshi's opinion, and at the same time issued an edict in July of the same year"If the murderer injures another person, according to the person who wants to report it, the murderer will be reduced by two"。This ruling is written directly into law.
Although Song Shenzong issued a holy decree, many ministers in the palace were still unconvinced, believing that Xu Zun's statement was completely contrary to the decree, so he strongly asked the relevant departments to organize a review and asked for Xu Zun's Dali Temple to be removed from his post. Seeing that the crowd was angry, Song Shenzong issued an edict to let the Hanlin scholars Xu Gongzhu, Han Yi and Qian Gongfu re-examine it, and when the opinions of the three were consistent with Wang Anshi, Shenzong issued an edict again"Wang Anshi's opinion shall prevail"。On the other hand, the Dali Temple, the Criminal Department, and the Criminal Department**, which tried the Ayun case, were all used"Improper reporting"Convicted.
But it's not over yet. Qi Chou, Wang Shiyuan, Cai Guanqing and others continued to write the book, insisting that the opinions of Xu Gongzhu and others were unreasonable. Shenzong then forced Wang Anshi, Wang Shiyuan and other ** with different opinions to debate many times, but both sides reached an impasse, and no one could convince anyone. Shenzong had no choice but to issue an edict in February of the second year of Xining (1069)."From now on, whoever kills or injures anyone, if he surrenders, will be brought to the court, and the court will pronounce the sentence. "
Liu Jiu and Ding Feng, the Shangshu of the Criminal Department, put forward opinions on the edict of Shenzong, believing that the edict of Shenzong was not clear enough and could not be issued. Therefore, Emperor Shenzong re-issued the edict:"In accordance with the position of the edict issued in July last year, the previous edict will be reinstated in the future when such a situation occurs"。
But Liu Shu and others continued to oppose, so they asked the Zhongshu Province and the Privy Council about the previous decrees, Wen Yanbo, Lu Gongbi and others opposed Wang Anshi's opinion, and Fubi's prime minister advised him not to insist on his own opinion, but Wang Anshi did not listen, so the matter was delayed for a long time. In August of the same year, Shenzong issued another edict"Such cases can be based on the February decree of this year", Liu Shu and others were deprived of their official positions, Sima Guang and others were deprived of their official positions, and Shenzong ignored them.
In the eighth year of Yuanfeng (1085), Song Shenzong died, Song Zhezong ascended the throne, and Sima Guang took the throne again, which caused controversy again. In October of the same year, Song Zhezong issued an edict"Whoever surrenders to sin, there is no need to punish him"。As a result, **'s view of the case was reversed. Seventeen years have passed since the Xining incident.
The lengthy debate as to why this issue has not been resolved goes far beyond the issue itself.
The reason why this matter has been controversial for more than a decade is that the focus of the controversy is not only the issue itself, but also some other factors.
1.Criminal law controversy. According to the criminal law of the Song Dynasty, children are expressly forbidden to honor their parents during marriage, so even if Ah Yun and Ah Wei are engaged, it is still a legal law and cannot be supported by the government, which is also what Ah Yun has never been identified"**Husband"The reason for this, no one disputed. At the legal level, the focus of the dispute is whether Ayun should or not"Commutation of sentence"。According to the provisions of the "Song Criminal Rule-Name Law-Extradition for Unconvicted Crimes", there are five main situations for extradition and commutation: first, the crime has not yet been discovered or reported by the victim, but the offender voluntarily surrenders; (2) where it is discovered that the offender has committed a crime, but the offender voluntarily confesses the facts of the crime and has not yet been discovered; (3) After committing the crime on their behalf, the offender allows others to surrender voluntarily; Fourth, the offender is powerful or a subordinate accommodates his conduct. if the offender's relatives or ministers or servants who have such power surrender on his behalf; Fifth, after being caught by the officials, the offender voluntarily confessed to the accidental crime that the officials were investigating. According to the provisions of the "Song Law", Ayun's"Confess leniently"Obviously, it does not belong to any of the circumstances of voluntary surrender and commutation of sentence, so Xu Zun's statement that Ayun should be commuted according to voluntary surrender is not in accordance with the law.
2.The conflict between the Punishment Faction and the Torture faction. In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin, Taizu of the Song Dynasty, and Zhao Guangyi, Taizong of the Song Dynasty, thought it was necessary"Strict to save the disease"Therefore, the implementation of strict criminal laws throughout the country, most of the highest levels of law enforcement, hard law enforcement. Therefore, although the penal system of the Song Dynasty basically followed the Tang Law and Discussion, there is no doubt that the punishment in the early Song Dynasty was stricter in practice than the world conditions in the early Northern Song Dynasty. With the gradual stabilization of the political and social situation, it is obvious that it is no longer feasible to impose strict punishments, and many judicial authorities hope to do so"Misdemeanors"As a general rule of prison administration and legislation, as a temporary measure of extrajudicial leniency, this is the main position of the Prudential Punishment faction now. On the other hand, the Severe Punishment faction believes that it is necessary to respect ancestral traditions and old precedents, and adhere to strict punishment and strict laws to ensure the deterrent effect of crime"。The Dengzhou Ayun case occurred at an important turning point in the transition of the law from strict to lenient, and the two sides naturally argued endlessly.
3.The contradiction between the reformers and the old-fashioned"。"Dengzhou Ayun case"When it happened, Song Shenzong appointed Wang Anshi to change the law, and Wang Anshi's series of policies to change the law obviously touched the interests of a group of people, and these people naturally opposed Wang Anshi. The purpose of these old-fashioned factions is to crusade against the reformers at all costs, they do not care about the cause itself, they oppose whatever Wang Anshi supports, and they support whatever opposes Wang Anshi. This is the main reason why the contradictions continue and gradually spread, and it is also the main reason why the case was basically invalidated during the Zhezong period.
In summary,"Dengzhou Ayun case"It doesn't seem to be very complicated, but it contains too many factors. As for Sima Guang's argument that the punishment of Ah Yun was in accordance with the Song Law, to maintain the dignity of the ** Law, or just to act in accordance with the law, or even to suppress the reform faction, we do not know.