The enlightened judgments
Subtitle: Chʻing-ming chi : the Sung dynasty collection
By: translated by Brian E. McKnight and James T.C. Liu ; annotated and introduced by Brian E. McKnight.
Contributors: McKnight, Brian E.; Liu, James T. C., 1919-
Series: SUNY series in Chinese philosophy and culture
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Published: 1999
Place of publication: Albany
Language: eng
Number of pages: 567
Subjects: Law reports, digests, etc. -- China; Law -- China -- Sources; China -- Social life and customs -- 960-1644 -- Sources
Work titles: Ming kung shu pʻan chʻing ming chi. English. Selections.
Description: "The Enlightened Judgments introduces everyday life in thirteenth-century China. The Sung Dynasty author of the collection brought together a host of documents selected from local judicial decisions and official papers to provide insights into contemporary life and its problems.

It introduces a wonderful cast of Chinese characters - soldiers, merchants, gamblers, fishmongers, farmers, prostitutes, officials, local clerks, boatmen, military officers, Buddhist monks, lowly members of the imperial clan, local strongmen, and landlords. Relatives support one another or argue bitterly over property, abuse one another physically and verbally, or stand together resolutely in the face of outside trouble. Marriages, divorces, adoptions, inheritances, and commercial dealings of various sorts provide the core topics of the judicial decisions. Petty crimes - assaults between fishmongers, extortions by fishermen, even dressing in drag - are mixed with brutal stories that touch on torture, homicide, and enslavement.

No other work so vividly portrays the difficulties of daily life in China a millennium ago."--BOOK JACKET. "This work offers translations of the original texts, introductions that set these pieces in context, and headnotes to each entry which provide a brief guide to clarify the content of the selection."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 553-558) and index.
Table of contents: title: Officials; title: Taxes and services; title: Academic affairs; title: Households and marriage; title: Human relationships; title: Categories of persons; title: Chastising evil; title: Sung local administrative units and their major functionaries; title: Conversion of penalties during the southern Sung; title: Sung measurements.