读律与哀矜：清代中国听审的核心概念

Law Reading and Compassion:on the Core Concepts of Hearing in Qing Dynasty

读律与哀矜,既是清代中国听审经验之总结,又是听审实践之指南,因此成为清代听审折狱的核心概念。司法官员是否具备法律知识与能否依法听审,乃是清代法律的关键问题。清代法律有"讲读律令"的专门规定,司法官员是否"讲读律令",是否"通晓律意",是他们在听审断狱时能否"具引律例"的一个前提条件。另一方面,儒家倡导的"仁政",是"爱"或"爱民"的政治,也是以情感为基础的政治。"哀矜"是司法官员的同情之心和怜悯之情,也是"仁爱"的一层意思。哀矜与读律、慎刑、中罚、心服等司法的核心理念之间,都存在着关联。清代中国"情法两尽"的司法模式,与要求司法官员以"读律与哀矜"来听审,实际上是一种互为因果的关系。

Reading law and compassion played a basic and key role in the hearing of Qing Dynasty.They were not only the summary of Chinese hearing experience,but also the guidelines to hearing practice.Therefore,they became the core concepts of hearing in Chinese Empire.Whether the judicial officials had legal knowledge and whether they could hear according to law,were the key issues of law in Chinese Empire.As there were special provisions of reading and preaching law in law rules of Qing Dynasty,whether judicial officials read and preached law and whether they understood meaning of law was a prerequisite of whether they could cite statutes at hearing.On the other hand,Confucian concept of 'benevolence' is 'love' or 'loving people' politics,but also emotionally based politics.Compassion is justice officials' sympathy,and also has the meaning of love.There are correlations between compassion and a series of core judicial concepts just like reading law,cautious penalty,appropriate penalty,and convinced.The justice model as 'meeting both emotion and law' in Qing Dynasty actually has a reciprocal causation relationship with the request for judicial officials reading law and compassion at hearing.