古汉语刑罚命名与古代刑法文化

On the Punishment Naming in the Old Chinese and the Culture of the Law in the Ancient Time

古代汉语里,表示刑罚名称的词语名目繁多。这是因为,在古代,刑罚的命名方式呈现出多元化的格局,有对施刑方式和施刑过程直接描述的,有以施刑时所使用的刑具而命名的,也有许多种刑罚的名称是以其凄惨的结局而命名的,还有以施刑的处所命名的,命名角度和着眼点的不同,使得刑罚命名的理据多种多样。刑罚名称的标词方法也有差异,有专门为刑名构制本字的,这些字的形体构造由施刑工具及施刑部位合成,正显示了此种刑罚的形式和内容;也有一些刑罚名称是借用其义有所引申的其他语词来标示的。从历史文化方面来看,在长期的奴隶社会和封建社会里,阶级压迫和斗争异常激烈残酷,为了镇压人民的反抗,历代统治者都用严刑峻法来宣示其权威,以达到震慑的目的。名目繁多的刑罚名称就是这种社会现实的真实写照。

In the ancient Chinese, there were many kinds of words showing the meaning of punishment, this is because that in the ancient time, the ways of punishment naming were in the pluralistic situation. Some punishments got their names according to the direct description of the punishing ways and its process ; some got their names according to the punishing tools ; some got their names according to the miserable results and some got their names according to the punishing places. Since the punishment resources were different, the theories of punishment naming were varied. The symbolic meanings of the punishment naming were also different. Some were used to form words showing punishment and the structure of these words were formed by the punishing tools and punishing position ; some words were formed by the extended meaning and figurative meaning of the other words. From the point of the history and cuhure view, in the long period of slave society and feudal society, the class repression and class struggle were very serious. In order to suppress people＇s rebellion ,all the rulers in the long history used the most cruel law to show their authority. In this assay, the author first, from the point of linguistic view, explains the 4 theories of the punishment naming in the old Chinese by analyzing the words forms, the source of the words meanings and the inner forms of the words ; then the author, from the point of culture view, explains the relationship between the punishment naming and the law, law thought and law culture in the ancient time and at last the author makes a research on the cultural meaning behind the punishment naming.