The Eastern Han criminal cemetery discovered in the southern suburb of Luoyang, Henan province in 1964 is generally regarded as a burial ground for deceased criminals. By comparing the layout of the cemetery and unearthed epitaphs with a Tang statute appended to the recently published Ming Dynasty Manuscripts of the Tiansheng Prison Officer Statutes, this paper seeks to demonstrate that the Luoyang cemetery was actually designed by the government as a temporary resting place for deceased criminals, in the hope that the relatives of the dead would transfer corpses back to home graves after learning of the deaths of their family members. Most remains, however, were never removed, due either to conflicting values and ideas or poverty. The cemetery is divided into several sections, which are separated by paths running north to south. Within each section, tombs are arranged from east to west, and ridges and walkways are alternately located between every two rows of tombs. This article analyzes the date the cemetery was in active use from tomb epitaphs, investigates Han government methods of burying the dead, and compares legal codes from different periods, drawing the final conclusion that the legal regulation on how to bury the deceased criminals in the Luoyang cemetery was shaped during the later period of Emperor Guangwu’s reign or during the reign of Emperor Ming (both emperors in the Eastern Han dynasty), and then inherited in succeeding dynasties. Although it is simple and crude in design, the Eastern Han Luoyang criminal cemetery represents an improvement over similar cemeteries developed in the Qin and Western Han dynasties, and should be understood against the backdrop of the Confucian and beneficent policies employed by the government during the Eastern Han.
Eastern Han dynasty, Luoyang, criminal cemetery, epitaphs, Tiansheng Statutes
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