New insights into Emperor Wen of Han’s 167 BCE legal reform : the changes in the grading system for illicit profit from robberies

Abstract

Recognized as a pivotal moment in early Chinese legal history, Emperor Wen of Han’s 167 BCE legal reform raises significant unresolved questions due to limited available evidence. This paper aims to investigate the reform’s impact on the grading system for illicit profit resulting from robberies. By analyzing recently published legal manuscripts discovered in Tomb No. 12 at Hujia caochang, Hubei, this study reveals that the reform introduced a more structured and coherent grading system for illicit profit, aligning it with the newly-established hierarchy of fixed-term hard labor punishments. By placing this reform in the context of the early Han dynasty, this research offers an alternative perspective that challenges the prevailing assumption that “Han continued the institutions of the Qin.” 漢文帝前元十三年的刑制改革，一向被視為中國古代刑制史上的重要時刻。受史料局限，過去諸多關於此次改革的問題均未能得到圓滿解決。本文以新公布的胡家草場12號漢墓出土的法律文書為主要材料，研究此次改革對盜贓等級帶來的影響。作為此次改革之一環，新制度下的盜贓等級顯得更為系統和規整，其對應刑罰與新建立的有期徒刑等級變得一致。把此次刑制改革重置於漢初的歷史脈絡，有助我們重新反思「漢承秦制」的假說。