Why did most of the executions of death row prisoners in ancient times take place in autumn and winter? So what are the suitable things to do in spring and summer?

We often see such a scene in TV dramas. The ancients committed a crime and should be executed according to the law. However, the officials who ruled against him were not in a hurry to execute the prisoner, but always said: "Qiuhou asked for execution." ?.

Why did prisoners in ancient times not rush to be executed when they were sentenced to death, but had to wait until autumn and winter? Since you can execute prisoners in autumn and winter, what should you do in spring and summer? The word "Qiu Hou Wen Zhan" first comes from the book "Book of Rites and Yue Ling". It is recorded in the book: "The cool breeze is coming, the white dew is falling, the cicadas are chirping, the eagle is sacrificing the bird, and the killing is carried out with the beginning." ?It means that when the autumn wind arrives, the white dew and frost fall, and the cicadas chirp, the eagle will use the birds it catches to sacrifice to the sky. At this time, the killings will begin, that is, the prisoners can be executed. The first recorded event of executions in autumn and winter in history was in "Zuo Zhuan". "Zuo Zhuan Xiang Gong" said: "Executions were carried out in autumn and winter." This also proves the earliest time in history when executions were carried out in autumn and winter.

As for the exact time for executions in autumn and winter, most ancient people chose after the autumnal equinox, mainly influenced by the idea of ??"the unity of nature and man" by Dong Zhongshu, a great scholar in the Han Dynasty.

Dong Zhongshu believed that the king deserves to be worthy of heaven, which is called his way. Heaven has four seasons, and the king has four political affairs. The four political affairs are like the four seasons, and they are all similar. It is the same thing between heaven and man. Celebration is spring, reward is summer, punishment is autumn, and punishment is winter. ?Since the king is chosen by God, his four behaviors of celebration, reward, punishment, and punishment must be consistent with the four seasons. Celebrations are held in the spring, rewards are given in the summer, punishments are implemented in the autumn, and executions are carried out in the winter.

Moreover, autumn and winter are the seasons when trees wither and all things wither, which symbolizes chilling. Execution of prisoners is in line with the feeling of chilling from heaven and earth, so execution in autumn and winter is the best. Dong Zhongshu's idea of ??"unity of man and nature" was favored by the emperors of the Han Dynasty, and a specific system was formed in the Han Dynasty. In the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty? Su Zong Xiaozhang Emperor Ji", Emperor Han Zhang issued an edict: "The king's life and death should be in accordance with the current." Later, the execution time was changed to a month in early winter, and later generations also implemented the practice of "asking and beheading after autumn". Most of them came from the Han Dynasty.

Why are executions in autumn and winter chosen after the autumnal equinox instead of the beginning of autumn?

This is mainly because ancient emperors would perform the activity of worshiping the moon during the autumnal equinox. According to the "Book of Rites": "The emperor faces the sun in spring and the moon in autumn." As the sun rises, the moon rises. ?The sun rises in spring and the moon shines at sunset. In ancient times, sacrificing the sun and moon was as important as sacrificing heaven and earth. Therefore, no punishments could be implemented before the moon sacrificial activities. Otherwise, bloody activities would be carried out before the moon sacrificial activities, which would be detrimental to the peace and prosperity of the country and the people.

In addition, on the day of the autumnal equinox, you are not allowed to kill. There is a saying in the "Order of the Qianjin Month": "On the day of the autumnal equinox, do not kill, do not use torture, do not place curtains on the room, and do not mourn or inquire about illness." , don’t get drunk. A gentleman should fast and be still for self-examination. ?You cannot kill, you cannot scold your subordinates and children, you cannot have sex, you cannot mourn, you cannot see a doctor, and of course you cannot get drunk. Instead, you should spend time in silence and self-examination while fasting.

However, although most of the dynasties in the past dynasties executed prisoners during this period, they also mostly had their own modifications. For example, in the Eastern Han and Wei Dynasties, they did not choose to implement the criminal law after the autumnal equinox, but chose to postpone the execution to the period between the frost and the winter solstice.

The Tang, Song, and Ming dynasties all chose to implement it after the autumnal equinox. The "Prison Officer's Order" of the Tang Dynasty recorded: "From the beginning of spring to the autumnal equinox, no death penalty is allowed." The Tang Dynasty also waited until after the autumnal equinox. Only in the Tang Dynasty can executions be carried out, but in the Tang Dynasty, except for seasonal taboos, executions were not allowed on certain days. For example, the first month, fifth month and ninth month are the months of Duantu, and there are ten fasts on the first, eighth, fourteenth, fifteenth, eighteenth, twenty-third, twenty-fourth, twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth days of each month. Killing is not allowed on any day.

However, for some prisoners with serious crimes, the decision was made to never wait. In the late Tang Dynasty, some prisoners who had committed serious capital crimes adopted the method of never waiting. In the Qin Dynasty, which had strict laws, there was no timely execution of executions, and executions could be carried out at any time of the year.

Autumn and winter are suitable for executions, and there are naturally things to do in spring and summer that are suitable for these two seasons.

Spring is generally divided into Mengchun, Zhongchun and Jichun, which are the first, February and March of the lunar calendar.

In "Jiangnan Mengchun" written by Bao Fang, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, in "Jiangnan Mengchun", the Nymphaeum leaves are as big as money. The white snow is like a plum tree, and the green robe is like a field. ?It describes the scene of the Mengchun season in the south of the Yangtze River. The Mengchun season generally includes the Beginning of Spring. On the day of the Beginning of Spring, the monarch usually takes his ministers to the countryside to worship spring. In the month of Mengchun, the emperor will also use the first celestial stem day as an auspicious day. Sacrifice to God Haotian, that is, sacrifice to heaven, to pray for a good harvest for the country in the new year.

In mid-spring, the emperor would sacrifice to the cold god and worship the ancestral temple. He also ordered households not to burn trees, prohibited excessive fishing and shrimping, and advocated recuperation. In the spring, the ancient government prohibited excessive hunting. and cutting down trees. At this time, women had to work hard to raise silkworms and reel silk, which is quite a bit what we now call sustainable development.

Summer is also divided into three seasons, namely Mengxia, Midsummer and Jixia, which also represent April, May and June of the lunar calendar respectively.

Starting from Mengxia, even if it enters summer, summer in ancient times was a busy season. In the Ming Dynasty's "Eight Lotus Lives", there is a saying: On the day of Mengxia, heaven and earth began to meet, and all things were in harmony. Recording means the growth and harvest of crops, starting from the beginning of summer. There is also a saying in "The Book of Rites and the Moon Order": On the day of the beginning of summer, the emperor personally led the three princes, nine ministers, princes, and officials to welcome the summer in the southern suburbs. When he returned, he was rewarded, granted the title of prince, and honored with the gift, and everyone was happy. ?So, during the Lixia solar term, ancient kings would reward their ministers.

Among the several solar terms in summer, before and after Ear Grain was the busiest farming period in ancient times. The Yang Qi was the strongest during the Summer Solstice, so more attention should be paid to health preservation. Ji Kang’s "Health Preservation Theory" mentioned the Summer Solstice Health care during the season: It is better to regulate your breath and meditate. It is always like ice and snow in your heart, and the heat in your heart is less and less. You cannot turn heat into heat or create heat again. ?This is similar to what we are talking about now: ?the mind is calm and naturally cool?

The weather is hot during the Xiaoshu period, so the ancients ate more refreshing foods. Carving watermelon lanterns became their favorite pastime. The Great Heat period is the hottest time of the year, so people can enjoy and pick lotuses by boat. , there is also the activity of sending summer boats in Zhejiang area, which is also deeply loved by the ancients.

Spring sacrifices, summer rewards, autumn punishments, and winter punishments have different activities in different seasons. The ancients also understood the principles of acting in due time and respecting the laws of nature. This is worth learning from us. of.

Text: Rachel

References:

1 "On Health Preservation" Ji Kang during the Three Kingdoms Period

2 "Book of Rites" Western Han Dynasty Dai Sheng

3 "Prison Officer's Order" Tang Dynasty

The text is created by the team of the University of History, and the illustrations are from the Internet. The copyright belongs to the original author