The Grading and Classification System of Han Dynasty Laws—— Further Discussion on the System of Qin-Han Laws

The three volumes of laws of Han Dynasty and its categories at M12 Western Han tomb at Hujia Caochang,Jingzhou,Hubei Province,show there is no so-called secondary classification of Han Dynasty laws.The classification from the first volume and the other two volumes,Panglv(“旁律”，the law for other crimes),V volume at No.77 Western Han tomb at Shuihudi and W volume,Panglv,and wooden tablets about Han‘s legal terminologies at Tuzishan site of Yiyang city,do not have the meaning of national legislative classification.The distinctions made by those engaged in judicial practice for the convenience of depositing and searching for legal orders.On this basis,the professional in laws outlined the so-called “system of defining crimes”(“罪名之制”),prison law(“刑律”),“law of affairs”(“事律”),etc.The Han law is mostly promulgated in the form of “articles”(“条”),with “chapters”(“篇”) as the basic legal unit for organization,codification,storage and publication.It has considerably stability.There is no fixed,closed and complete structure of Han law similar to that of the later Tang law.No matter books(“律篇”) or articles(“律条”) can be added or deleted at any time.