The Great Tang Code: Legal System to Promote Social and Economic Development

The Great Tang Code- Primary Source Analysis
Name
Course
Instructor
Date
The Tang Code was a penal code created in 624 and adopted in 653 and had laws on criminal and civil matters. Confucian officials codified the laws that influenced Chinese imperial laws (Ebrey, 2009). The code partly aimed to modify previous laws, reduce physical punishment, and reduce social tensions in the Tang territories. The Tang Code became the basis for other dynastic codes in China and the surrounding East Asian region. Even after adopting a new legal code, Confucianism remained the dominant value system of Chinese society. The code became the leading legal text that structured the Tang Dynasty's legal system with the laws focusing on crime, punishment, land distribution, and taxes.
The code's author highlights how a legal system was adopted to regulate people and activities as part of imperial Chinese law and practice. The code became the Tang dynasty's fundamental law (618–907) and one of the most widely adopted remedies to solving legal problems. The code became the source of law for the dynasty, where there were civil statutes and regulations. Confucian officials and legalists had different visions on what laws to adopt and the legal system would function. For instance, the legalists supported a simplified legal system, while Confucian officials bellied that ethical decision-making was necessary as a crime did not warrant the same penalty or punishments (Ebrey, 2009).
Lawson theft and robbery adopted stipulated the punishment based on the crime committed. The punishment depended on the degree of crime where there are heavier penalties in a robbery that results in the property being taken than when it is not. An additional foot of silk stolen requires more severe punishment, and if the value was five bolts, the perpetrators had to serve a year in penal servitude (Ebrey, 2009). Silk was a valuable commodity before, during, and after the Tang dynasty and reflected currency and wealth. The laws also depended on the relationship between the victim and the perpetrators. Those who stole and were in charge of property got harsher punishments compared to when there was no close relationship between the robber and the Vitim. Thus, the code laid down the rules, procedures, and penalties adopted in the Chinese legal system to serve justice.
The Tang Code adopted regulations for the people living under the Tang dynasty, and while there was a diverse population, there ...