《史记》“失期,法皆斩”辨疑--关于陈胜暴动起因的史学史考察

Historiographical Investigation on the Cause of Chen Sheng’s Riot in the Historical Records

陈胜发起反秦暴动,“天下云集相应”。《史记》记载陈胜暴动的直接原因是往渔阳戍所的役人“会天大雨,道不通,度已时期”,因“失期,法皆斩”,于是决心“举大计”,“为天下唱”。有人据睡虎地秦墓竹简《徭律》“水雨,除兴”提出质疑,否定秦法严酷之说,推想“失期,法皆斩”与“丹书”“鱼腹”“篝火狐鸣”等类同,也是陈胜等鼓动同行戍卒“举大名”的策略。考察相关史事,可知秦代“徭”与“兴戍”不同。从战国至汉代对于军事行为“失期”的惩处都是严厉的。后世继承军法这一传统,虽然有“藉弟令毋斩”情形,但是也有处罚更为残酷的史例。对于“失期,法皆斩”与相关历史迹象,应当从考察秦王朝国家控制方式的角度予以全面理解。

“Heroes throughout the nation converge”in response to the anti-Qin riot launched by Chen Sheng.As is recorded in the Historical Records,the direct cause of Chen Sheng’s riot is that the drudges heading for Yuyang would be decapitated,according to the law,for missing the deadline due to heavy rain.Because Law of Corvee unearthed in the Qin tomb states that corvee would be exempted in times of rain or flood,some scholars question the recorded cause of the riot and further reject the view that the Qin had cruel law.Their presupposition is that“decapitating all the drudges missing the deadline in accordance with the law”is similar to other superstitious excuses of the riot.They were the strategy that Chen Sheng utilized to incite the peers to“fight for ambition and fame”.Through the investigation of relevant historical events,this paper points out that in the Qin Dynasty“corvee”differs from conscription.The punishment for the latter’s“missing the deadline”was severe from the Warring States Period to the Han Dynasty as it bore on the outcome of war.This tradition was inherited or even harsher punishment was executed by later generations,despite very few cases of“absolution from decapitation”.This paper concludes that the Qin law“decapitating those missing the deadline”,Chen Sheng’s riot and the late Qin political unrest should be understood by associating them with the fact that the Qin’s governance of the state inherited the military tradition of war times.