Legal History inside Poetry: The life and Career of Qing Judges in Poetry Collection of Baochongzhai

Abstract: Ben Liang (1771−1847) was a Manchu official who lived through the reigns of Jiaqing (1796−1820) and Daoguang (1820−1850). Throughout his life, he had authored more than 8, 000 poems that had been edited and published in the title ofPoetry Collection of Baochongzhai by his brother. Because Ben Liang had served as both a supervisory official and a vice minister in the Board of Punishment for a long time and his poetry was more akin to diary that contained quite a few poems pertaining to communications with his colleagues, the poetry could be an excellent source for studying the careers, personal pursuits, and daily lives of Qing judges. In addition, the poetry will help us understand the function of the Qing criminal justice. This paper intends to argue that in the Qing, with the exception of legal experts, most officials tended to pay little attention to law due to the overwhelming importance of civil service examination. In their spare times, aside from their primary interests in writing poems and drinking wines, officials in the Ministry of Punishment would also be intrigued by calligraphy, stone and metal carving, collection, gathering, and travel. Therefore, their knowledge on law could not be overestimated. The assertions of some scholars that Qing legal experts had high professional capabilities and enjoyed a promising life of reading statutes are merely a romantic imagination.