81 documents
Unless otherwise specified, the descriptions of sources in this section are extracted from Pierre-Etienne Will and collaborators, Handbooks and Anthologies for Officials in Imperial China: A Descriptive and Critical Bibliography, 2 vols., Leiden: Brill, 2020
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Description
documentTypeBook
TitleZheyu bianlan 折獄便覽 [A Convenient Handbook on Deciding Cases]
Topic2.1 Judicial cases: general casebooks
Historical periodLate Qing (1797-1911)
CountryChinese
AuthorMingshan 明善 (Z. Yuntian 韞田, H. Xizhong 熙仲)
Publication typeWoodblock
Comment

The 19-folio text consists of 31 entries on questioning techniques, discussing which questions must be asked (須問) the criminal and witnesses by the official in charge of a case. The arrangement is by type of crime and by status of the person being questioned. The last entry is devoted to “various questions” (雜問). According to the prefs., contents are based on the author’s experience as prefect of Jingzhou 荊州 and Wuchang 武昌 (Hubei). The text, which was kept by an uncle of his who rearranged it, follows the tradition of the so-called “three questionings and five listenings” (三訊五聽) technique found in Zhouli. Mingshan insists that proper administration of justice should rely on a combined knowledge of the classics and of the Penal Code and bemoans the helplessness of scholars who neglect to study law before becoming officials. However, this manual should be helpful not only to beginners but also to seasoned officials.

SubjectLaw
LanguageChinese
Call Numberoki B3881100
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