“矜弱”的邏輯：清代兒童致斃人命案的法律譜系

Compassion for the Weak': Juvenile Offenders in the Qing Dynasty Legal System

清代對於兒童致斃人命案的處理，是將“請”“減”“贖”等特權與傳統刑律的“六殺”體系及死刑覆核制度融合在一起而形成的法律運作系統，其原理是'恤幼矜弱”的道德理念。隨著法律實踐的發展，乾隆年間形成定例，從加害人的客觀年齡、加害人與被害人的年齡差距以及具體案件中的理曲欺凌情由等三個方面對“弱”進行界定，確保通過上請減流收贖的兒童確實是值得矜憫的弱者，從而實現了道德化的律文與實用性的條例之間的結合，平衡了加害人與被害人之間的權益。這種“實質理性”的法律思維及對實質正義的追求，在秋審規則和虛歲計齡法中同樣有所體現。對比而言，西方的少年法律體系是基於“兒童是非理性人”的假設而展開的形式邏輯演繹。隨著社會的發展和不同文化觀念的衝擊，這種假設也面臨著挑戰，不得不以“保護未成年人”的實質性理念來補強，卻又因忽視被害人的利益而陷入爭議。

When children committed homicides during the Qing dynasty, their cases were handled by the same justice system used for adult offenders. But from a very early time, Chinese law endorsed the notion that children and other vulnerable groups were worthy of the law's compassion. This article explores legal avenues to that compassion, from the law's efforts to clarify and define what marked a perpetrator as 'weak' to the various legal provisions permitting such 'weak' offenders to memorialize for mercy or request reduction and redemption of punishment. It finds that compassion for the weak was woven into both the letter of the law and the law in practice, resulting in a justice system that balanced the needs of victims and offenders alike.