Abstract
This paper attempts to explore the provisions concerning “Killing an Adulterer” by traditional Chinese law in early Qing Dynasty from 1644 to 1735. This paper will discuss the origin of these provisions and their evolution. This paper will analyze the criminal judicial cases about “Killing an Adulterer.” Through the elaboration, this paper suggests: (a) For legislation, the provisions concerning “Killing an Adulterer” of Qing Code can be attributed back to the influence of Ming Code and the commentaries on the law edited by law scholars in late Ming Dynasty. These provisions of Qing Code were established through the legislation in 1646 and 1725. Furthermore, It is notable that a new code means “ni di (擬 抵)” which was legislated in 1727. When a husband killed his wife who committed adultery, he and the adulterer’s crime and the guiltiness were readjusted under code “ni di”. (b) For judiciary, this paper tries to discuss how the judges handle those “Killing an Adulterer” cases. By reviewing these criminal judicial archives, this paper shows that the judges did not necessarily use the provisions concerning “Killing an Adulterer” to handle these cases during this period. The uncertainty behind these cases can be related to two reasons: Firstly, the existed provisions concerning “Killing an Adulterer” are not comprehensive enough for the judges to sentence all of the “Killing an Adulterer” cases. Secondly, the bureaucracy for judiciary and legislation in Qing Dynasty, which frequently balanced the crime and the guiltiness of cases about “adulterer murder”, and continuously managed to adjust the unbalanced situation caused by legislation or judiciary.
Keywords
Qing Code, killing an adulterer, adultery, criminal judiciary, commentary
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