「部中密」與「枕中秘」──再論秋審文類

Secrets of Ministry of Penalty and Secrets in The Pillow, Re-discussion of the “Autumn-assizes Documentary” in Qing Dynasty

清代秋審文類，專指那些通過大量秋審司法實踐，由當時法律專家研究編撰而成，反過來又對秋審司法實踐產生重要影響，若干形式、內容較為獨特的文獻類別。秋審文類的產生、存在及其傳播，以滿足秋審司法的實用規範和實質正義為整體目標，體現了清代秋審司法的技術複雜性，以及當時律學研究的較高水準。本文在既有研究基礎上，首先對秋審文類及其主要類型進行了重新梳理，進而立足清代刑事司法「內重外輕」的結構特點，以及中央與地方司法權力的不平衡配置，重在揭示清代以秋審文類為代表的專業法律知識獨特的形成機制和別具一格的傳播方式。清代秋審文類往往率先在刑部形成，並長期以較為秘密的狀態存在，被當時眾多法律人士奉為枕中秘笈，頗具神秘色彩，但最終出於秋審司法的實際需要，不僅秋審條款、秋審條例、秋審成案等得以公開刊佈，即便秋審程式之類的私家著述，也通過官僚體制下官員、學者間多種形式的知識互動，得以傳續。儘管如此，有清一代，圍繞死刑和死刑監候案件的司法裁判，中央與地方司法審級間長期的緊張關係，並沒有根本改變。

The Autumn-assizes Documentary in Qing dynasty means such a special kind of legal historian documents and books which were written or compiled by the legal experts during the process of autumn-assizes, and in return deeply impressed the building of autumn- assizes system very much. Its coming out, existing and wide spreading clearly show many too complicated judicial skills of judges during the autumn-assizes, with the aim of bringing the highest and ultimate fairness and justice to every parties involved in the criminal cases. Based on the former studies, firstly this paper tries to make a renew combing about the category of autumn-assizes documentary. Then, as the judicial system of Qing government has the character of Overconcentrating of power in the central government, and that the imbalance of judicial structure between the central and local governments, this paper focuses on discovering how the professional legal secret books took their shapes, and how these documentaries were brought into the judicial practice from the Central penalty to the provinces. Autumn-assizes documentaries were initiated in the confidential inners, and were kept very secretly by the legalists and officials. However, finally the terms, laws and cases of autumn-assizes were taken out of the central Criminal penalty, and inherited by the other legalists and their disciplines and old follows of minor officials. Even so, in the judicial process of autumn-assizes of Qing dynasty, the strained relations between the central and local judicial authorities had never changed radically.