New-York tribune., 1900-08-19
CHINESE LAW.
TOPSY TURvY DECISIONS AND SEN
TENCES-YET THE SYSTEM AS
WHOLE is COMMENDED.
From The Law Times.


Though a man with a sharp sword should cut
ones body bit by bit let angry thought arise,
let the mouth speak no ill wOrd-Fo-Sho-Hi Hing
Tsan- King.
So natural has it become to treat everything
connected with the Celestial empire either
comic or semi -barbaric that the denizen of
Pump Court will start and rub his eyes when he
hears from the latest authority that in many
respects the Chinese penal code is superior to
the English system Mr.. AlabaSter'S work comes
as a most refreshing change from the too often
dry and dreary pages which the legal reviewer
is commended To from years end to years
end. book which transports one from the
musty cloisters of statute and case law into an
atmosphere of quaint customs and breezy
anecdOte, shot through and through with the
golden threads of even justice, demands
broader treatment than the heading Law LII
brary' would warrant.
Legal practitioners are few and far between
in China: in fact. il can hardly be said that
there are either counsel or solicitors semi
forensic problems; they are called shin l. The
tai shu must be a brave set of men; they quail
fy for drawing up petitions. but the work is
fraught with danger. One poor old fellow OF
seventy got three years transportation for
drawing up five petitions. Advocacy is equally
risky: a scholar was sentenced to two years
Imprisonment and eighty blows from the heavy
bamboo for trying to reduce criminals Of
fence from murder to manslaughter. Chinese
apathy when villany is being done is
largely due To fear of the law. which says that
persons must not interfere unless they have
right to do so by reason OF relationship.
The code is effectual check on judicial and
forensic genius The duties of the judge are
confined to determining the facts and the ar
ticle of the code they agree with Thus the
sentence is fixed without variation to begin
/ with, and any circumstances attenuantes are
considered by the Judicial Board at Peking. to
whom the great majority of capital sentences
referred for revision every autumn. The
list of those who should by right be executed
is then submitted to the Emperor who DEGREES
their fate in a curious way. The names are
written a large sheet of paper, those being
considered less guilty being placed near the
corners or the centre The Emperor then draws
a vermilion circle on the paper, and those whose
names are traveTsed by it are doomed. The rest
go forward to the next list and if they are lucky
enough to escape the red for three years they
are free.
CRIME AND THE FAMILY
People who growI at having relations would
rot survive week in China. There man is
| blessed with ramifcations of relations in every
| direction and when he wants to hit his
enemy the head he has to stop and con-
slider how it will affect the vast army of kindred
| if the law descends upon him. He has at least
half a dozen mothers to begin with; there is his
| fathers chief wife, the wife who bore him. the
| other wives Off any the mother who brought
him up. the stepmOther. the wife of the relative
whose heir he becomes, the mOther-in-law, and
so In the five degrees of relationship there
| can be altogether 100 souls
Here is a curious instance of the way the
! system works in the case of parent A father
was bribed to hush up the murder of son.
Another son revealing it, the father was excused.
and the Wretched youth heavily sentenced for
/ bringing his father into danger of the law.
Again. a woman, tired with reaping slipped and
caused her father-in-law to hurt himself BY
1 special favor she got off with fine in lieu of
a bambOOing and three years transportation.
/ 1t is interesting to know that 70 kill ones
mother-in-law involves a heavier penalty than
| to kill ones Wife-"a possibly wise provision
sententiOusly remarks commentator
| The relation of master and pupil is a very
important one. Thus a Chinese Squeers may not
whack his scholars to death. nor is it right to
knock a clumsy apprentice over among the pots
and pans, and even a priest may not cast a
stone at staggering disciple The apprentice
is free at the end of his term, but the other two
relationships endure unto the end of mortal ex-
istenCe; possibly further. since the arm of Chi
nese law extends into the land of shades as we
shall see later
lunatic may become a great nuisance TO
his numerous relatives by involving them in
his vagaries, does his irresponsible condition
always help him. If he browns himself in the
sacred waters of the Palace Lake or the I'M
perial City mOat. his relatives will catch it.
unless ii can he proved that he fell in by acci-
dent. LunaCy is defence, although the cir
cumstances are carefully considered and the
sentence is mtigated in proportion; but the curl
Gus effect of relationship is shown in the fol-
lowing case: a son, trying to prevent lunatc
brother from beating his father accidentally
killed the latter The lunatic suffered the "lin-
geTing death" (slicing to pieces. and the other
deCapitatiOn subject to His Majesty'S pleasure.
Guns kept handy for burglars may lead to
trouble. Lii Yung Ching mistOOk his father for
a night-rObber and shot him: result decapita-
ton.
COMPLICATIONS FROM SUICIDES.
Suicides have given rise to most curious COM
plicatiOns. man sent his wife (manlike) to
dun an elder brother for debt. The work was
thoroughly done; failing with tears and tOrren-
tial abuse, she passed on to beating her head