Table Of ContentAsian Law Series
asian law center
school of law
university of washington
number 17
The Asian Law Series was initiated in 1969, with the cooperation ofthe Uni-
versity ofWashington Press and the Institute for Comparative and Foreign
Area Studies (now the Henry M. Jackson School ofInternational Studies).
The members ofthe editorial committee are DonaldC. Clarke, Toshiko
Takenaka, and Veronica L. Taylor (chair).
Asian Law Series
1. The Constitution ofJapan: Its First Twenty Years, 1947–67,edited
by Dan Fenno Henderson
2. Village “Contracts” in Tokugawa Japan,by Dan Fenno Henderson
3. Chinese Family Law and Social Change in Historic and Comparative
Perspective,edited by David C. Buxbaum
4. Law and Politics in China’s Foreign Trade,edited by Victor H. Li
5. Patent and Know-how Licensing in Japan and the United States,
edited by Teruo Doi and Warren L. Shattuck
6. The Constitutional Case Law ofJapan: Selected Supreme Court Deci-
sions, 1961–70,by Hiroshi Itoh and Lawrence Ward Beer
7. Japan’s Commission on the Constitution: The Final Report,translated
and edited by John M. Maki
8. Service Regulations in Korea: Problems and Recommendations for Feasi-
ble Reforms,by Young Moo Shin
9. Order and Discipline in China: The Shanghai Mixed Court, 1911–27,
by Thomas B. Stephens
10. The Economic Contract Law ofChina: Legitimation and Contract
Autonomy in the PRC,by Pitman B. Potter
11. Japanese Labor Law,by Kazuo Sugeno, translated by Leo Kanowitz
12. Constitutional Systems in Late Twentieth Century Asia,edited by
Lawrence W. Beer
13. Constitutional Case Law ofJapan, 1970 through 1990,edited by
Lawrence W. Beer and Hiroshi Itoh
14. The Limits ofthe Rule ofLaw in China,edited by Karen Turner,
James V. Feinerman, and R. Kent Guy
15. Legal Reform in Taiwan under Japanese Colonial Rule, 1895–1945:
The Reception ofWestern Law,by Tay-sheng Wang
16. Antitrust in Germany and Japan: The First Fifty Years, 1947–1998,
by John O. Haley
17. The Great Ming Code / Da Ming lü,translated and introduced
by Jiang Yonglin
The Great Ming Code /
Da Ming lü
Translated and introduced by
Jiang Yonglin
University of Washington Press
Seattle and London
© 2005 by the University ofWashington Press
Printed in the United States ofAmerica
12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 5 4 3 2 1
All rights reserved. No part ofthis publication may be reproduced or transmit-
ted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy,
recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publisher.
University ofWashington Press
PO Box 50096, Seattle, WA 98145
www.washington.edu/uwpress
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Jiang, Yonglin.
The Great Ming Code / Da Ming lü (1397) / translated and introduced
by Jiang Yonglin.
p. cm.—(Asian law series ; no. 17)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn0-295-98449-x(hardback : alk. paper)
1. Law—China—Sources. I. Ming lü. English. II. Title.
III. Series.
knn33. a4e55 2004
349.51'09'023—dc22
2004013591
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements ofAmer-
ican National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for
Printed Library Materials, ansi z39.48–1984.
To my parents
Jiang Deliang Xue Ruiying
and
and my teachers
Edward Farmer, Ann Waltner, Romeyn Taylor
and
Contents
Acknowledgments xxvii
Note on the Translation xxix
Ming Units ofMeasure and Money xxxi
Introduction: The Making ofThe Great Ming Code xxxiii
The Great Ming Code
The Imperial Preface to The Great Ming Code 3
Diagrams 5
The Five Punishments 6
The Penal Instruments 7
General Mourning Degrees 8
Formal Mourning Degrees for the Relatives ofNine Generations
and Five Mourning Degrees within One’s Own Lineage 9
Wife’s Mourning Degrees for Husband’s Relatives 11
Concubine’s Mourning Degrees for Household Head’s Relatives 12
Married Daughter’s Reduced Mourning Degrees for Her Own
Lineage 12
Mourning Degrees for External Relatives 13
Mourning Degrees for Wife’s Relatives 13
Mourning Degrees for Three Fathers and Eight Mothers 14
Six Types ofIllicit Goods 15
The Meanings ofEight Characters as Used in the General Principles 16
chapter 1
Laws on Punishments and General Principles 17
1 The Five Punishments 17
2 The Ten Abominations 18
3 The Eight Deliberations 19
vii
viii Contents
4 Committing Crimes by Those Entitled to the Eight
Deliberations 20
5 Committing Crimes by O‹cials 20
6 Committing Crimes by Military O‹cers 21
7 Committing Public Crimes by Civil or Military
O‹cials 21
8 Committing Private Crimes by Civil or Military
O‹cials 22
9 Committing Crimes by the Parents or Paternal Grand-
parents ofThose Entitled to the Eight Deliberations 23
10 Committing Crimes by Military O‹cers or Soldiers Who
Shall Be Exempted from Penal Servitude or Life Exile 24
11 Committing Crimes for Which Penalties May Be
Cumulatively Reduced 24
12 Leaving O‹ces for Legitimate Reasons 25
13 Committing Crimes by Those Who Have Not Yet
Become O‹cials 25
14 Disenrollment and Labor Service 26
15 Families ofThose Punished by Life Exile 26
16 Crimes That Shall Not Be Pardoned under the General
Amnesty 27
17 Those Punished by Penal Servitude or Life Exile Are
En Route When the Amnesty Is Proclaimed 28
18 Committing Crimes and Remaining at Home to Care
for Relatives 28
19 Committing Crimes by Government Artisans, Musicians,
and Women 29
20 Committing Crimes Again by Those Punished by Penal
Servitude or Life Exile 29
21 Redeeming Punishment by Those Who Are Aged,
Juvenile, or Disabled 30
22 Committing Crimes before Becoming Aged or Maimed 31
23 Restitution and Confiscation ofIllicit Goods 32
24 Voluntary Confession ofCrimes 34
25 Sentencing on the Basis ofthe Punishment for the
More Serious Crime When Two Crimes Are Discovered
Together 36
26 Fleeing Together after Committing Crimes 37
27 Committing Public Crimes by Those in the Same
O‹ce 38
28 Making Errors in Public Matters 39
29 Distinguishing Principals and Accessories in Joint
Crimes 40
Contents ix
30 Fleeing When Crimes Are Discovered 41
31 Mutual Concealment by Relatives 41
32 Committing Capital Crimes by Functionaries 42
33 Executing Military Personnel Guilty ofTreason 42
34 Killing Military Personnel 43
35 Military Personnel and Civilians Residing in the
Capital Who Commit Crimes 43
36 Committing Crimes by Persons beyond the Pale
ofCivilization 43
37 Specific Articles Having Diªerent Regulations for
Punishment 43
38 Principles for Increasing and Reducing Punishments 44
39 The Terms “Sedan Chair” and “Carriage” 45
40 The Terms “Relatives ofMourning for One Year”
and “Paternal Grandparents” 45
41 The Term “Shall Be Punished by the Same Penalty” 45
42 The Terms “Supervisors “ and “Custodians” 46
43 The Term “Day” as Being One Hundred Units 46
44 The Terms “Daoist Priests” and “Daoist Nuns” 47
45 Deciding Penalties in Accordance with the Newly
Promulgated Code 47
46 Deciding Cases without Specific Articles 47
47 Places for Penal Servitude, Life Exile, and Banishment 47
chapter 2
Laws on Personnel 52
section 1 Administrative Institutions 52
48 Selecting Military Posts 52
49 Selecting O‹cials by High Officials without
Authorization 52
50 Civil O‹cials Shall Not Be Designated as Dukes
or Marquises 53
51 O‹cials’ Protection Privilege 53
52 Appointing Too Many O‹cials or Functionaries 54
53 Recommending Inappropriate Persons 54
54 Recommending O‹cials or Functionaries Who Have
Transgressed 55
55 Leaving O‹cial Appointments or Employments without
Authorization 55
56 Exceeding the Time Limit by O‹cials When Going
to Their Posts 55
