The first Chinese law was the 禹刑 (yu xing), unwritten criminal law of the 21st century B.C. The historical record paints harsh system: any person caught scolding their elder could suffer the death penalty, and treason by one member resulted in the conviction of entire families. The penalties for petty crimes ranged from hard labour to castration and feet amputation. In fact, later accounts allude to the possibility that the early administrations deliberately chose not to put their punishments and penalties into writing, for fear of creating contentiousness amongst their subjects.
Fast forward to 536 B.C. The first Chinese statutory law, 刑鼎 (xing ding) was codified, published and cast into a bronze tripod cauldron (note this is 200-500 years earlier than enactment of the Twelve Tables, the first codified statutory laws of Ancient Rome).
We are in the era of the Warring States, in the midst of the Bronze Age. Enter our protagonist: Yu the Great, first King and controller of the Yellow River flood.
China was a vast and dynamic country, ruled by the whims of the earth, with floods and droughts to rival the capriciousness of the Nile in Egypt. Independent states warred against each other. Then Yu came along, beginning the long reign of the Xia Dynasty when he tamed the Yellow River. From the lands wrestled from the elements, he carved out Nine Provinces and demanded bronze tribute from each. Yu, partial to his legacy, made certain to showcase his power by casting nine tripod cauldrons – previously a religiously reserved form used only for food offerings to the gods – from the bronze he received. In one masterful stroke, Yu appropriated the use of the ding (it is a testimony to the antiquity of this vessel that the character for it actually pictographically resembles it: 鼎); the tripod bronze cauldron that had once been reserved only as a vessel to offer tribute to the gods was now a symbol of power and ultimate authority.
In the political and cultural upheaval that followed his reign, the Nine Tripod Cauldrons became legend. From the measured whims of Yu sprung an entire branch of etiquette. Only an Emperor could flaunt nine dings. Feudal lords, one below on the ladder could amass no more than seven, ministers five and the scholarly gentry three or one. The ding had become a status marker. And so when Yu went to codify his laws, he placed them right on his tribute-cast cauldrons.
The dings survive today. At the door of the JunHe Offices – one of the oldest and most prestigious law firms in China -, two massive dings stand in silent vigil. In the atrium of the MingDe Law building at RenMin University, an intricate ding catches the sunlight reflections of the many bronze murals that decorate the walls. Their legacy is even preserved in the spoken word: to compliment a lawyer, tell them their words are “一言九鼎” (“the weight of nine tripod cauldrons”), i.e. their character is beyond reproach. Yu would have been proud.
KEYWORDS: Chinese Legal Culture, Chinese History
PLACES: JunHe Law Offices, RenMin University
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