新出土金文所见西周罚金刑研究

On the Pecuniary Penalty of the Western Zhou Dynasty through the Newly Unearthed Bronze Inscriptions

学术界对西周罚金刑制度一直存在模糊不清的认识,对西周有无罚金刑这一问题存在着重大争议。通过对新出土西周金文与传世文献的综合研究,西周罚金刑制度可以得到较为清晰的呈现。西周罚金刑是五刑之外既可以单独适用也可依附五刑适用的附加刑,多与鞭刑一起适用,罚金的数额与鞭刑的数量往往相同;西周有五个等次的罚金刑,即所谓的"五罚";西周罚金刑适用于不构成"五刑"的轻罪;通过罚金刑所获得的财物既可能由胜诉的一方当事人获得,也可能由政府获得。由于文献不足的原因,夏商没有发现罚金刑制度,西周的罚金刑实为中国古代罚金刑制度的源头,对春秋战国乃至秦汉的罚金刑制度产生了重要的影响。

Scholars have vague opinions on the pecuniary penalty system of the Western Zhou Dynasty. The majority of scholars argue that there is no pecuniary penalty system in the Western Zhou Dynasty, but a few scholars think that the Western Zhou Dynasty has its pecuniary penalty system. With the comprehensive research on bronze inscriptions and classics, the pecuniary penalty system of the Western Zhou Dynasty can be clearly described. The pecuniary penalty of the Western Zhou Dynasty was an additional penalty that could be applied separately or in addition to the five penalties. It was mostly applied together with caning, and the amount of fine was often the same as the amount of caning: firstly, the Western Zhou Dynasty has five classes of pecuniary penalty, which are the so-called ‘five penalties’;secondly, one-act which cannot be judged in the light of five penalties will be judged in the light of pecuniary penalty;thirdly, the property which is obtained through pecuniary penalty system can be owned by the winning party in a case or by the government. Due to insufficient literature, there is no evidence of the pecuniary penalty system in the Xia and Shang Dynasties. The pecuniary penalty system of the Western Zhou Dynasty is the source of the pecuniary penalty system in ancient China, which had an important impact on the pecuniary penalty system of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and even the Qin and Han Dynasties.