How was the rule of law in the Ming Dynasty?

The Ming Dynasty was the dynasty with the strictest control of corruption in Chinese history.

1． "Da Ming Code"

It is the official code of the Ming Dynasty that Zhu Yuanzhang personally presided over and formulated. From drafting, revision to promulgation, *** lasted more than thirty years. This shows that Zhu Yuanzhang attached great importance to the construction of the feudal legal system. He not only elevated his personal will to the law of the country, but also made it finalized and permanent. Taizu of the Ming Dynasty ordered his descendants to abide by it from generation to generation. "If the officials make any changes, they will be charged with upsetting the ancestral system." The "Da Ming Code" thus became the most important code of the Ming Dynasty and a representative code of law in the late feudal society of my country.* **Thirty volumes, 7 chapters, 460 items. Later legal scholars commented that the "Da Ming Code" was more complex than the "Yonghui Code" of the Tang Dynasty, and included many new chapters. Although the number of articles was reduced, the content and style were very precise, and it was a model for scientific legal studies. The later "Da Qing Code" also mostly followed this updated "Da Ming Code", which was the legislative embodiment of extreme authoritarian rule.

2. "Ming Da Gao"

The four chapters edited by Zhu Yuanzhang personally: "Da Gao One", "Da Gao Continuation", "Da Gao Three Chapters", "Da Gao Wuchen", are composed of cases, Jun It was composed of orders and Zhu Yuanzhang's reprimands. Among them are mainly a compilation of cases on severely punishing the transgressions of officials and people and severe punishment decrees with a special legal nature. Since "Da Gao" is an imperial holy book, it has the highest legal validity.

Zhu Yuanzhang also used various propaganda methods to forcefully popularize Da Gao with the backing of power. He required that every household should have a "Da Gao". If there was one, the punishment would be reduced if the person was beaten with a cane; if not, the punishment would be aggravated. He also ordered all kinds of schools to teach the imperial edict, imperial examinations to test the imperial edict, and ordered villagers to gather to preach the imperial edict. As a result, people all over the country bought imperial edicts and read them. There are 190,000 propaganda teams.

3.

The Ming Dynasty's regulations, also known as regulations, are edicts issued by the emperor on the judgment of a specific case, so they are highly targeted, flexible and have the highest legal effect. Regulations make up for the shortcomings of regular laws and prevent extrajudicial rape. But generally speaking, because the examples are judgments made by the monarch at any time due to people and circumstances, they often reflect the arbitrariness of the monarch's will. Therefore, the compiled examples cannot guarantee the healthy development of the law. It can not only supplement the law, but also break the law, replace the law, and make the law a written document. There are too many of them, resulting in "people not knowing the law." It can be seen that changes in the will of the ruler cannot but destroy the unity of the law.

4． Minghuidian

It is an administrative regulation. It is based on official archives and historical records. It has extensive content and detailed descriptions. It can be called the complete book of administrative regulations of the Ming Dynasty. In terms of style, it is similar to the "Liu Dian of the Tang Dynasty". It adopts a compilation method in which officials control their affairs and attribute matters to their positions, that is, they are divided into volumes according to official positions, and relevant laws and regulations and examples are recorded in the lower volumes. However, the "Ming Huidian" is based on six parts, and is divided into divisions within the six parts. Various items are marked under the divisions. This is different from the "Liu Dian of the Tang Dynasty", which shows that it is more suitable for the needs of the Ming Dynasty's absolute authoritarian rule.