Rebirth of the Ming Dynasty: Sixth Generation of Glory, I don't want it

[I’d like to share a case from the Ming Dynasty. I couldn’t help but share it with you. 】

An example of the Ming Dynasty's wife-slaying case.

Taken from "Wang Gongyi's Refutation of the Draft"

Wang Jian was Lord Wang Gongyi, who served as the Minister of Dali Temple during the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty.

"Rejection" means that the Dali Temple, as the final review authority, will write a written rejection if it deems that the judgment in the case files sent by the Ministry of Justice is inappropriate.

【Gua said: This case involves the death penalty, but the sentence has been mitigated according to the circumstances. However, it still needs to be reviewed by the Dali Temple according to the provisions of the Ming Dynasty Law before it can be executed.】

Su Duo murdered his wife: "Husband beat his wife to death"

Case introduction:

Defendant's statement:

Su Duo asked his nine-month pregnant wife Li Miaoyuan to make shoes for him. Li Miaoyuan refused. Su Duo insulted Li Miaoyuan, and Li Miaoyuan insulted him back.

Su Duo's mother, Mrs. Li, then beat Li Miaoyuan, who retorted by cursing her mother-in-law.

When Su Duo heard his wife scolding his mother, he was so angry that he beat his wife to death with a wooden stick.

Li was afraid that Su Duo would be accused of murdering his wife, so Su Duo said, "Li Miaoyuan was nine months pregnant. I cut open her abdomen and took the baby out, then told my father-in-law that she died of complications during childbirth."

So Suduo cut open the belly to take out the fetus, pickled it with lime and hid it in a casserole.

After being reported, he threw the fetus into the water out of panic.

Plaintiff's statement:

Li Miaoyuan's father, Li Hairuo, sued Su Duo for forcing his wife to enter the C gate, and his wife refused and was beaten to death. This was killing his wife without reason, which was a capital crime according to the Ming Dynasty law, and Su Duo was sentenced to death by hanging.

[The key point here is that according to Ming Dynasty law, only killing one's wife without reason is a capital crime.]

The Criminal Department’s judgment:

First: Su Duo did not force his wife into the C gate. Li Hairuo falsely accused his son-in-law of killing his wife for no reason, so all his confessions are invalid.

Second: Su Duo was not guilty of killing his wife without cause, because Li Miaoyuan insulted her mother-in-law first. He was only guilty of "destroying the dead body of a child in mourning clothes or above", which is equivalent to the crime of insulting a corpse. Because the wife's status is lower than that of the husband, the crime is lighter and he only needs to be beaten with 60 strokes of the cane and sentenced to one year in prison.

Third: The Ministry of Justice believed that if Li Hai had made a false accusation, he should be sentenced to death for falsely accusing others. However, because the person he falsely accused was his son-in-law, who was younger than him, he could be given a reduced sentence of 90 strokes of the cane and two and a half years in prison.

[Here is another key point - according to the Ming Dynasty law, wives are inferior to husbands, and younger generations are inferior to older generations. Inferiority and respect can determine the severity of the punishment.]

[Here is another key point: it is okay to kill your wife on purpose.]

The following are Wang Jian’s original words in rejecting the Ministry of Justice’s decision:

Su Duo beat his wife Li Miaoyuan to death, cut open her belly, took out the fetus, and burned her body. He was vicious and cruel, and committed a serious crime, so he should be punished according to the law.

But now he is trying to defend her by believing the one-sided statement of the criminal and falsely inciting Li Miaoyuan to scold her mother in order to escape a serious crime.

Moreover, if one insults one's elders, one must report it in person. Now that Li Miaoyuan is dead, and her mother has no words to report it in person, how can you accuse Li Miaoyuan of slandering her mother?

If we follow this suggestion, anyone who beats his wife to death in the future can be accused of cursing his mother or father, and he will not have to pay with his life. This is not right!

Translated into plain Chinese:

Su Duo killed Q in a cruel and serious manner, so he should be sentenced to death.

Why should we believe the murderer's one-sided statement, accuse the deceased and exonerate the murderer?

The deceased is dead and there is no way to prove that she scolded her mother-in-law when she was alive. The deceased's mother-in-law did not personally complain when she was scolded, so how can we say that such a thing ever happened.

If the verdict is like this, then anyone who kills his wife can fabricate the charge that his wife is unfilial and kill her at will! We can’t rule like this!

~~~~

In this rebuttal, we, as descendants, look at it.

The entire article only contained the defendant's one-sided statement and the Ministry of Justice's verdict. The plaintiff was charged with false accusation and then silenced.

As a superior, Wang Yu could tell from the defendant's confession of how the deceased died that the murderer was completely inhumane.

The few sentences he used to reject the verdict implied that he doubted Su Duo's confession in this case, especially the statement insulting the mother-in-law that was added at the beginning.

So he directly blamed the Ministry of Justice - to protect it.

The defendant's one-sided statement, even if every word is true.

Gua feels that even if Gua does not stand on the side of modern people who believe that equality between men and women is deeply rooted in their bones, and stands on the standpoint of ancient people, he still cannot bear it.

If you don’t make shoes for your wife who is nine months pregnant and about to give birth, you will be insulted?

Isn't it normal for a husband to scold his mother-in-law and then talk back when she scolds him? Does this mean he can be beaten to death or have a caesarean section performed?

What is even more terrifying is that after reading such a confession, the Ministry of Justice still found loopholes in the Ming Dynasty laws for the murderer and even sentenced the family of the deceased to a heavy sentence.

How is such a Ming Dynasty official any better than a T?

The result of the retrial of this case was not recorded in the rebuttal of Wang Gong, the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple.

I don't know what the final verdict was.

But Gua always feels that even if the case is sent back for retrial, the situation is not optimistic.

This case was fortunate that it was retried.

It was also because the Ministry of Justice was bent on helping the defendant to sentence the deceased's father to death and accuse him of a false accusation of death that the case was reported to the Dali Temple. It just so happened that the Dali Temple had a Dali Temple Minister who was not afraid of offending people.

Every time I come across this kind of information, I feel very lucky.

Off topic——Alas, among all the dynasties, people still love Zhao Kuangyin! ! ! !

Here are a few more strange regulations from the Ming Dynasty Code.

For example, the green hat issue.

If the husband catches his wife committing adultery, he can kill her and her on the spot without being punished by law.

However, the Great Ming Code also stipulates that if a husband kills his wife and lets the murderer go, he will be punished with 100 strokes of the cane for the crime of murdering his wife.

In other words, if the woman cheated on the man, he would be exempted from responsibility if he killed both of them, but he would be punished if he only killed one.

There is something even more bizarre: if the husband kills the JF and lets his wife go, then the wife will be punished according to the provisions of the Ming Dynasty Law on adultery, 90 strokes of the cane. After the punishment is completed, the husband will also have the power to dispose of his wife's personal freedom, such as selling her to someone else as a concubine.

If the husband does not catch the adulterer in the act, but encounters the adulterer at some other time and kills him, he will be charged with intentional homicide.

There is also a very typical bias of male superiority and female inferiority in the "Great Ming Code".

A wife who kills her husband will be executed by slow slicing.

The most severe punishment for a husband killing his wife is hanging.

If the husband kills his wife for a good reason, such as being unfilial, disobedient, having an affair, or stealing, then the husband will only be punished with a maximum of 100 lashes of the cane. And usually, this maximum will not be reached.

Gua wants to say——

No matter what you wear, don’t wear Ming Dynasty clothes! ! ! !

No matter what you wear, don’t wear Ming Dynasty clothes! ! ! !

No matter what you wear, don’t wear Ming Dynasty clothes! ! ! !