清代中央繫獄諸神考

The Gods in Goal: An Examination of the Deities Enshrined in Imperial Prisons of the Qing Dynasty

獄神廟是帝制中國獄政體系的獨特建置，從中央帝都的圜土到地方州縣的狴犴，率皆立祠設廟，供奉獄神。獄神長年奉祀於囹圄之內，坐擁特定身分的信眾，既是身繫縲絏的罪囚可以就近禱祝的靈明，也是協助執法官員維繫正義的神祇。宗教與司法兩者微妙地交集在這間小廟裡。本文耙梳各類史料，針對清代供奉在京師秋曹天牢裡的主要神祇，追索其塵世履歷，並辨析其廟祀因緣。法、理、情三者，向被視為形塑傳統法治的關鍵要素，而京師中央刑部監獄裡主要供奉的三位神祇，恰好分別凸顯出這三個側面：首位是上古掌刑的理官，以明刑弼教型範後世（法）。這位佐治虞廷的士師在圜土中享祀最久，不過中央獄神廟裡除了有皋陶坐鎮之外，尚有其他各路神明與時俱進地漸次增配廁身其間，以為照應獄卒與獄囚的各類需求。其次是清初逕自釋囚的滿洲司獄，甘冒不諱讓獄囚於歲末返家團圓（情），本文先覆案晚明筆記中一位廣東獄卒釋囚成神的類似故事，研判這位亞孻並未真正在當地被供奉為獄神。而清初北監司獄的阿世圖，其釋囚成神的過程雖同樣離奇，但確實在刑部大牢裡設廟立祀，成為滿洲獄囚祈願求庇的另類選擇。最後一位是明代蒙冤入獄的重犯，為捍衛正義而盡忠拼死（理）。本文考定楊繼盛與其陪祀者的供奉因緣，並指證楊忠愍公祠設置的時間既晚，也未曾扮演傳統獄神庇佑獄囚的角色，其作為刑部官員緬懷忠節的紀念價值，當遠大於祈福禳災的祭祀功能。清代中樞天牢裡的三座祠宇，猶如一座座實體化的歷史記憶：造獄的始祖接引行將伏法之徒、釋囚的獄卒依然繫念囚幽中的生靈、忠藎的臣子挺立生死以之的氣節。同時也承載積累了過去所有繫身囹圄者的祝願、悔恨、掛念與寄託。

The Prison God temple was a distinctive feature of imperial China. At all levels of government from the capital to the county, anywhere with a jail, there was a temple within to be worshipped by prisoners and jailers. The worship of the prison god was part of the official imperial system of cults. The Prison god was often the sole deity available for the inmates to pray to. Some confessed their (true) crimes and sought absolution; some prayed for fair or better treatment behind bars; and some longed for a quick imperial pardon. Those suffering from wrongful convictions might pray for eventual exoneration. Religious belief and legal justice were intertwined in this sacred space. This paper details the establishment of several temples in the Imperial prison during the Qing period and traces the worldly identities of the temples' principle deities. They included three major figures. First is Gao Yao, the Minister for Law of the legendary sage-king Shun who was regarded as the primogenitor of the criminal justice system in China, and worshipped statewide as the conventional Prison God. Second is Ašitu, a Manchu warden who released prisoners on a one-day parole to allow them to rejoin their families on the New Year's Eve. He committed suicide when one of the paroled prisoners failed to return by the deadline. He was later enshrined as a caring guardian to protect the inmates. Third is Yang Jisheng, a Ming royal courtier who was framed, imprisoned, and tortured in the Imperial Prison, and eventually executed publicly. Yang was later promoted as the embodiment of royalty, and several shrines were erected to commemorate him. These three shrines in the Central Prison symbolically encapsulated various memories, both individual and collective, of the praying prisoners, supervising jailers, and the caring deities. By exploring personal writings, official documents, and stele inscriptions, this paper argues that, while these shrines were all built in the prison of the Ministry of Justice, the deities enshrined in each did not all play the same roles as the Prison gods. They were worshipped and treated differently by both the jailers and prisoners.