窦娥的悲剧——传统司法中的证据问题

The Tragedy of Dou E: The Problem of Evidence in Traditional Chinese Justice

本文以元曲《窦娥冤》为材料分析该剧隐含的几个重要的法理学问题。作者论证了,剧本中没有证据表明窦娥的悲剧是官员贪污腐败的产物,不是官员的司法道德问题,而主要是由于裁判者的认知能力和传统中国社会科学技术不发达的局限;同时,分析了当代语境中的“铁证如山”、“无罪推定”、“刑讯逼供”等法律问题在历史场景中的意义;此外,对该剧的人物性格和戏剧结构以及中国传统的部分鬼戏作出新的解说。

This paper analyzes several important jurisprudential questions implied in Dou E Yuan (Injustice to Dou E), a traditional Chinese drama of the Yuan dynasty. According to the author of this article, the script of the drama does not seem point to corrupt officials as the cause of the tragedy. Rather, the tragedy was a result of the judge's limited ability to find the truth and the low level of development of technology and society in China at the time, rather than of corrupted judicial morality. Based on this, the author discusses the meanings of some currently prevailing concepts, such as “cast iron evidence,” “the assumption of innocence,” and “extorting confessions by torture” in their historical contexts. Analyses are also made about the characters and structure of the drama, accompanied with new insights into some of the ghost plays in traditional China.