Can you tell me about the ancient people's awe of heaven?

The ancients in China had a unique understanding of the sky (stars) overhead, and formed a unique theory-"Tianxue" on the basis of this unique understanding. Although "Tianxue" takes the operation of various celestial bodies as the observation and research object, its ultimate goal is not to reveal the operation law of celestial bodies, but to study the operation of celestial bodies as the starting point, and finally to decide or predict the arrangement and advance and retreat of personnel according to the "astronomical phenomena" displayed by it. The philosophical theoretical basis of this "Tianxue" is the well-known concepts of "the unity of heaven and man" and "the interaction between heaven and man" in China tradition. The ancients revered Heaven, and everywhere they corresponded personnel with astronomical phenomena, imitating them directly and indirectly, thinking that only by acting according to law can they be blessed and protected by Heaven. Therefore, the sky above the heads of ancient people in China is a "heaven of gods" to show its authenticity, objectivity and existence through the "heaven of nature".

The core concept of "Tianxue" in ancient China was "astronomy". The word "astronomy" is often regarded as a synonym of "astronomy" today, so as to translate the word "astronomy" in western languages, that is, astronomy in the modern sense. But in ancient times, "astronomy" did not mean this. The word "astronomy" appeared earlier in ancient books and was found in Yi? Ben. Xun Chuan: "Look at the change of astronomical observation time; Look at humanity and turn it into the world. " "Easy again? On copula, it says, "Look up at astronomy and down at geography." Here, "astronomy" is opposite to "humanities" and "geography". According to Wang Bi's note: "Just written with softness, the text of heaven is also." Shuowen also said: "Wen, the painting is wrong." Therefore, the ancient "astronomy" is a decoration of the sky, which actually refers to the "astronomical phenomena", that is, the scenes presented by various celestial bodies in the sky.

But "astronomy" or "astronomical phenomena" is actually just a static investigation of the ancient concept of "astronomy". In fact, it is more important to make a dynamic investigation of ancient "astronomy" in order to truly grasp its essence. Hanshu? The dynamic concept of "astronomy" is explained in Yi Wen Zhi: "Astronomers, in the order of 28 nights, five stars, the sun and the moon, take good and bad images, so the sage participates in politics." This sentence reveals the essence of astronomy at a glance. The so-called "astronomy" refers to measuring the movements of celestial bodies such as the sun, the moon and the five stars with the coordinates of 28 nights, so as to examine the good or bad of the astronomical phenomena and serve as the basic basis for the king's administration. The essence of this "astronomy" can actually be traced back to the Book of Changes? The sentence "The sky hangs like an elephant, seeing good or bad, the image of a saint is also" has been clearly reflected. It can be said that observing the celestial phenomena and measuring their operating rules are "astronomy" in the sense of modern science, but such scientific behavior is obscured by the purpose of predetermining good or bad luck and appointing personnel. In fact, "observing the celestial phenomena" is only an investigation of "auspicious and unlucky images" in the sky, so "astronomical phenomena" naturally become "images" that can be used for divination in ancient astrology. Therefore, investigating such celestial phenomena is actually divining the running astrology of the sun, the moon, the five stars and other sacred celestial bodies, and obtaining divine will or providence from them to determine the feasibility and legitimacy of important affairs of the country and individuals. Obviously, the so-called "astronomy", that is, "astronomy", is essentially a kind of "astrology" or "astrology"

It can be said that under the ancient "Tianxue" theory, the smooth and effective implementation of all personnel should be carried out in the field of vision allowed by "Tianxue", and it should be synchronized or vibrated with "Tianxue", otherwise it will lead to Tianxue's dissatisfaction, even anger and resentment, and punishment. It is a world where "heaven" rules everything and decides everything. Many personnel, from state affairs to personal affairs, are within the framework of "heaven" This paper only analyzes the operation of personnel punishment, with a view to a comprehensive view of the relationship between "heaven" and personnel from the perspective of "heaven"

In ancient China, the main function of law was probably punishment. Punishment directly destroys people's body or restricts people's freedom, and directly and effectively combats crimes, thus establishing and maintaining an order that suits the interests of the ruling class. However, although in modern people's eyes, the operation of penalty is entirely the work of the ruler's human resources, in ancient China, all legal issues about the operation of penalty could not be separated from the domination and influence of Heaven.

First, the trip to heaven and punishment

According to the concept of the ancients in China, man is the creation of heaven, and man is the accessory of heaven. For example, a person's body "with a round head and square feet" is the result of "the sky is round and the place is round" like the sky. Everything in nature does not want to fight between people, but wants harmony. It is just a kind of harmony in hierarchical order, a kind of "harmony" based on "farewell". However, there are always people who want to destroy this harmony, so the scourge appears. However, God will not punish himself, but will be executed by those who "fall in love" with God.

Represents the punishment of heaven.

Hao Tao, the chief justice of Yao and Shun Dynasties, was the first to put forward that the punishment of heaven was feasible in Ming Dynasty. Hao Tao said this when he taught Dayu how to be a monarch:

Tiangong, everyone takes what he needs.

This sentence is very important and has become an important quotation for people, especially for people to act on behalf of heaven. Although Hao Tao was not a holy king, his virtue and contribution were enough to make people of his time admire even the holy king, so Hao Tao was not a holy king, but he was better than Saint Wang Qiang. Of course, the words and deeds of such characters have far-reaching appeal, which is proof.

Hao Tao's sentence is used to punish heaven, which means "punish heaven for heaven". However, in the era of abdication of "the world is public", it is not obvious to use punishment on behalf of heaven. The high-frequency application of the punishment instead of heaven has entered the hereditary era of "the world is home", often in the form of "severe punishment with armour". After Xia Qi seized the throne, some Hu Shi refused to accept it, so Xia Qi rose up and made an expedition to the East. Before the war, he made an oath in the tone of "punishment for heaven":

Some Hu Shi took the five elements as a threat, abandoned the three cardinal guides and wiped out his own life with the help of heaven. Now he is punished for only worshipping heaven.

This is the first application of "punishment on behalf of heaven" When Zhong Kang was in office, He, who was in charge of observing the astronomical phenomena and drawing up the calendar, went AWOL and sent Yin Hou on an expedition. Three-dimensional hou general mobilization before the battle also said:

I will give you a lot of people today, and I will be punished. Both men and women joined hands with the royal family and are still proud of Qin becoming the son of heaven.

The heavenly punishment in the Xia Dynasty was mainly to punish those who violated the law and discipline and disobeyed orders during the Xia Dynasty. Its characteristics will not lead to the transfer of fate, and its purpose is to safeguard fate. However, the punishment of substituting heaven is not limited to family punishment. Later, the Tang Wu Revolution was named "the punishment on behalf of heaven", which was a fate-changing move. When Tang cut, he swore:

Non-Taiwan Province boys dare to talk nonsense, and there are many crimes in Xia, which are doomed by fate. ..... you are still assisting a person, which leads to the punishment.

It seems that although Tang felt guilty about "calling for chaos", because he moved out on behalf of the day, Tang did not feel emboldened by the so-called "calling for chaos", but his tone was firm and brave. After the return of Xia, Sui Tang issued a decree to all tribal countries in the world, and once again talked about "punishing heaven on behalf of heaven":

Heaven blessed and cursed Xia for showing his nobility, which gave the teenager a clear destiny and made him dare to forgive.

As the most famous revolution of fate in history, King Wu crusaded and advocated "punishing heaven on behalf of heaven":

Commercial crimes are full and fate is punishing them. If you give it to Fu Shuntian, you will only feel guilty. At night, the boy was given only fear, and was ordered to take a test. Like a god, he was suitable for burying the soil and being punished by others.

Today, Shang Wang is subject to women's words, but ... he is cruel to the people and treacherous to the mall. Today, I will only be punished for being respectful.

It can be seen that the "punishment replacing heaven" in the Tang and Five Revolution is an excellent argument for the transformation of fate. Although this heavenly punishment is still a "heavy punishment" of Jia Bing, it has gone beyond the legal order of a country. In fact, it is to punish the legal order that violates Tiande and build a legal order that conforms to Tiande.

Whether it is to maintain a country's legal order, or to overthrow the old regime and establish a new legal order, the above-mentioned natural punishment mainly occurs in slave society, mainly in the form of "heavy military punishment", rather than the usual punishment, that is, the narrow punishment that is not in the existing legal operation under the inherent legal order of a country. Even so, this kind of punishment on behalf of heaven is still a kind of punishment, just a generalized punishment with expanded extension and connotation.

In the era of slavery, the generalized punishment of substituting for heaven left a deep footprint in history with the scale of its heavy punishment, and it was also common in feudal times. Some events that seize the fate are often labeled as "for heaven" or "for heaven". In the Southern Dynasties, Xiao Qi, the sixth emperor, was extravagant. When Xiao Yan crusaded, he published a campaign, including a cloud:

My husband disturbed the sky, ruined your virtue, and returned to prostitution. The years are very rich. ..... As soon as possible, the shogunate lotus power, righteousness is unity, with heavy, but in the original pain, how can you look up! The supreme body is subordinate to the emperor, especially Zhong Cichong. Tomorrow, the moon will be fine and bright, and the phase will be precious. ..... Yizhou secretariat Liu, Liangzhou secretariat Liu Wei, Sizhou secretariat Wang Sengjing, Wei Xingtai Shoupei, Taishou, Xincheng Taishou Cui Sengxiu, and Su Fengming imperial edict sent people to punish Gong Xing.

The "shogunate" here is Xiao Yan, and the "Tai Shang Huang" is Dong Hunhou's younger brother and Jingzhou secretariat Xiao Baorong. Here, Xiao Yan pointed out his ambition to serve the country and moved out of Xiao Baorong's fate after enumerating all kinds of crimes committed by Dong Hunhou. Finally, he announced that all the satrap of the secretariat had responded to the call and paid tribute to heaven. Of course, Tianxing was finally punished successfully, and Dong Hunhou was killed. But interestingly, four months later, Xiao Baorong was abolished, and he became an emperor and changed his name to Liang. So, under the banner of doing good for heaven, fate really changed.

But in the feudal era, in addition to the above examples, the most important thing is narrow use. The punishment at this time is the establishment and operation of a country's existing laws. Heaven has many explanations for this narrow punishment, which is also obvious. For example:

The torturer is guilty and the monarch is responsible for the execution.

The reason why the murderer is guilty is that he is guilty.

If a husband is a history, no man-made disaster will punish him. How can we not be afraid and take it lightly?

Reward and punishment are clear, and destiny returns. People rule from heaven, reward good people, punish people who have been bad, and get personal gain from non-human owners.

It can be seen that in ancient China, the concepts of "heaven punishment" and "heaven punishment instead of heaven" were generally used as the theoretical basis to enhance the sense of justice and majesty of punishment. In the third chapter, it is mentioned that drumming in judicial trial and drumming in execution are actually the appearance of heaven punishment and punishment on behalf of heaven. Drums are like thunder, and thunder is like wrath. Here, the drums of punishment are of great significance.

The application of the penalty theory of "punishing heaven on behalf of heaven" and "executing death on behalf of heaven" in ancient rule will naturally produce great results. Under the background of knowing and believing in heaven, who can fight with heaven? And those ancient law enforcers are also immersed in the belief of doing justice for heaven, and often appear righteous or fearless. In this case, there will be repeated incidents of favoritism and malpractice and private vengeance. In order to reflect the truth of heaven's punishment and heaven's punishment represents heaven's punishment, ancient rulers made a clear distinction between them. Qiu Jun, the prime minister of Ming Dynasty, said on the basis of investigating the gains and losses of penalty theory in previous dynasties:

Punishment, big or small, is from heaven, so the guilty are also guilty. If a person is superior, if he punishes others in private, it is not heaven asking for it.

The "superior people" here, although not mentioned, are by no means ordinary people. Actually, it mainly refers to people. This is Qiu Jun's integrity and fearlessness. The so-called "people's generation", which punishes heaven and punishes heaven, is the generation of the ancestors and then the people's generation of officials at all levels. But the gentleman does not proceed from the public will, and punishes privately, of course not for the sky, because the sky is for the people and the sky is for the public. However, this kind of private punishment is by no means a personal matter, and it is also an extremely important "example" issue. Qiu Jun went on to say:

A man can only kill a limited number of people, but if his people can do it effectively, he can kill a lot. Why are the people above him unwilling to be punished? It's all from this that fate is brushed up and people are gone. The fallen monarch often kills people at will, so soon after his death, his country is not long, so he takes him as his husband.

Therefore, lynching is not only not the execution of the punishment, but also deviates from the punishment and goes against God's will, and will eventually be punished by the punishment, and the country will not last long.

Private punishment is not a natural punishment, it will be punished by nature. However, when it is a natural punishment, it cannot and should not be done. It is the slack of heaven, and it may also attract punishment from heaven. In the sixteenth year of Zhenguan, something happened in the Tang Dynasty, which almost made Emperor Taizong apologize to heaven:

General Yan led 2,000 township soldiers to help Gao Zu arise and seal Changsha County. The traffic tycoon and Na Jinbao didn't turn Liao into a handmaiden, but they were also gifted foreigners. Since it was returned, there have been seventy ships. Or accuse him of stolen goods, and the law should die. The emperor mourned his meritorious service in his later years, and because he borrowed money for Shu Ren, he called for more than five products, saying, "Reward and punishment are the principle of replacing heaven, and now I forgive and die, and I am responsible for it." There are people and ministers who plead guilty to you, and so do you. It is right to apologize to heaven. Order a teacher to set up a mat in Xiaonan Primary School for three days, and I will plead guilty. "Fang Ziling and others said," forgive Hong Ren don't take advantage of personal what's the crime? "The first three requests from 100 officials are the only way to stop them.

Hong Ren's crime should be put to death, which means that God will punish him. Emperor Taizong should have punished him on behalf of heaven, but he was not put to death because of selfishness. He was only demoted to Shu Ren, so this means that God punished him instead of punishing him, which is of course a failure of God. Especially for this, Emperor Taizong of course knew that Kuan's death was "self-deception", so he had to plead guilty for three days. However, the courtiers thought that the lenient punishment of Emperor Taizong was not for personal gain, so they made "three pleas" to discourage it. Although the courtiers' actions are flattering, they also reflect the contradictory mentality of Emperor Taizong's generation. Emperor Taizong apologized to Heaven, which showed that Heaven's punishment and punishment on behalf of Heaven had the final decision.

It can be said that substituting heaven for punishment runs through the whole history of ancient punishment in China, which is understandable by the ancients and the best punishment theory that the rulers believe in.

(2) Divination and interrogation

The above-mentioned "punishment on behalf of heaven" is only a natural theory, not a theory of why. Of course, the punishment on behalf of heaven is magnificent and powerful in practice, but how to learn from God's will and punish heaven on behalf of heaven? This is often a matter before the rulers, and it is often a matter for the people to obey. This involves a question of seeking punishment through divination. If "punishment instead of heaven" is the means of punishment, then "interrogation by punishment" is the way to obtain this means.

As far as the scope discussed in this paper is concerned, divination questioning can be divided into two categories: one is to find the answer to how punishment works from the specific changes of astronomical phenomena, which is called "astrological questioning". This kind of divination interrogation has no purpose and no plan in advance, so it is arbitrary and flexible; Regarding the relationship between man and nature, man is passive and nature is active. The other is to seek the applicability of punishment in specific cases and in heaven, which is called "seeking heaven punishment" This kind of divination interrogation is purposeful and planned in advance; For the relationship between heaven and man, man is active, and heaven is often passive.

There are many astrological questions about punishment in various astrological documents, some of which are listed as follows:

The month is changing, the king is unreasonable, and it is appropriate to save punishment.

Faint in front of the tomb, the death penalty is pardoned; After the foot, forgive small sins.

Fire fell from the sky, guarding the basket, and Amnesty.

If the month is sick, the punishment will be slow; If you are late, you will be punished urgently.

Japanese virtue, moon punishment, Xiu De solar eclipse, lunar eclipse.

The five stars change color, from time to time the king is more vulgar, ... lenient punishment, ...

The immortal star guards the eastern wall, and the world is Amnesty.

Forgive me if you stay in heaven for more than ten days.

If you are confused, you will worry about the ruling minister. If you are guilty, you will be sentenced to one year.

In this case, it is based on the operation and changes of astronomical phenomena, mainly astrology, to decide whether and how to use punishment. We found that four of the above examples were related to "forgiveness". In fact, there are many sayings in astrological literature that the punishment is pardoned because of astrological changes. It can be said that this is a reflection of China's frequent forgiveness in ancient times. Forgiveness is often related to the so-called benevolence and morality advocated by people, but it is undeniable that it is often out of the need to adapt to the changes in heaven. However, frequent forgiveness has attracted criticism from some people of insight. For example, Zhang Yun of the Five Dynasties wrote Refuting Forgiveness, which he opposed.

From the astrological statement above, we can find that the problem of penalty operation to be asked is not a case problem, but often a universal problem. The formation of this universality is related to the direct participation of the monarch in the operation of punishment. According to the ancient astronomical theory, that is to say, these specific astronomical changes are aimed at human virtue and politics. Therefore, this astrological consultation has a greater impact.

Different from astrological interrogation, it covers a wider range of interrogation, not limited to people, but also ordinary law enforcement personnel. Moreover, more importantly, this kind of divination does not seek the result by considering the specific astronomical phenomena, but by asking the mysterious existence-"Heaven", so as to obtain the opinions of whether Heaven punishes and how to punish the parties to the case.

In fact, the punishment of occupying heaven and asking questions existed in the Shang Dynasty. Although scholars have different opinions on the object of divination in Shang Dynasty, the existing archaeological research shows the homology and inheritance of divination in Shang and Zhou Dynasties. "History? Ji Zi's divination theory in Hong Fan also proves the direct inheritance relationship between Shang and Zhou Dynasties from the literature. As we all know, Zhou's divination mainly asked the mysterious heaven, from which it can be inferred that the divination of Shang Dynasty also mainly asked the heaven. Erlitou culture shows that the Xia Dynasty possessed possession, but because the Xia Dynasty did not have Oracle Bone Inscriptions, it can't explain its belief state.

The concept of gods prevailed in Shang Dynasty, and even mobilized all over the country. Book of rites? The table says, "Yin people respect God, lead civil gods, and put ghosts before rituals." It is precisely because of the belief in the gods that all national events, such as the success of the year, the victory or defeat of the war, the appointment and dismissal of officials, storms and so on. It should be asked by God through divination in order to get God's advice. Judicial practice is no exception. There is such a divination about punishment in Oracle Bone Inscriptions:

Chastity.

Chastity and chastity.

"Chastity" means asking Tian Zhan if he wants to punish a criminal. "Chastity" means asking Tian Zhan if he wants to punish 100 criminals. We should not only divine whether to impose a certain punishment, but also the consequences of sentencing, such as the Oracle:

One hundred people died in Qi Zhen.

This roughly refers to the fact that Tianbu asked 100 criminals whether anyone would die if they were sentenced to death. Obviously, the above-mentioned Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Shang Dynasty concentrated on the basic situation of holding heaven and asking questions.

The punishment of holding heaven and asking questions in the Western Zhou Dynasty was outstanding in the Duke of Zhou. After the death of King Wu, Guan Shu, Cai Shu and Huo Shu rebelled against the "Three Supervisors" and the Yin people rebelled. So Duke Zhou assisted him to become king. When he was ready to put down the rebellion, he issued an imperial edict to the governors and their officials of many countries. From beginning to end, he talked about the fate of the next week and the punishment for Yin rebellion through divination, including the cloud:

I want to tell my friendly country, LaCrosse, Yu Shi, that I will get gypsies, and I will give them to you, but I will broadcast that my ministers are cracking down on Yin. ..... Wang Ning for mediocrity, hence life for this. Today, it is only useful to the people. ..... The sky is only better than the former Ning people, so it's extremely difficult to die. Dare to follow the rate and make people refer to the situation? What is this? I'm going to the east on my birthday. Destiny is not arrogant, but stepping on dust is nothing but a child.

Duke Zhou's conquest of criminals who rebelled in Shang Dynasty was actually a matter of punishment within a country of Zhou Dynasty. On the issue of such heavy punishment, Duke Zhou persuaded, mobilized and called on the governors and their officials of many countries to "combine happiness" by divination in order to obtain the affirmation of God's will. We don't know how Duke Zhou divined Gypsies, but it seems to be related to the participation of philosophers. Because the duke of Zhou once said in his letters patent:

Only ten people know that God's life is beyond the sky.

Duke Zhou said that it was up to the philosophers to decide whether the national politics was clear, so it took me ten talents, and it was also because of these ten talents that I knew the fate of God and the truth of helping us. It can be seen that the punishment of the Western Zhou Dynasty has included human factors, which is a development.

Divination and interrogation not only existed widely in the slavery era, but also existed in the feudal era. Although hundreds of books were burned in the Qin Dynasty, books such as divination were kept, which made divination develop. However, due to the implementation of the rule of law and the pursuit of "French style" in the Qin Dynasty, it is difficult to see the matter of divination punishment in the history books of the Qin Dynasty. Han Fei, a legalist master, did not believe in divination and interrogation. He once wrote an article "Decorating Evil" to refute it and said, "It is foolish to rely on it." However, in the feudal era after the Qin Dynasty, divination and interrogation appeared to varying degrees.

Asking questions in dreams is also for divination and so on. In fact, in ancient China, dream retrieval was closely related to celestial learning-because dream interpretation required celestial learning knowledge. The official position of "dreaming" contained in Zhou Li proves this point:

At the age of ten, I watched the meeting of heaven and earth, and distinguished the qi of yin and yang. Six dreams took the sun, the moon and the stars as good or bad luck. One is a dream, one is a nightmare, the third is a dream, the fourth is a dream, the fifth is a dream, and the sixth is a dream.

Obviously, the dream officer should not only know the calendar, but also observe the sky and have theoretical knowledge of astrology.

Seeking punishment in dreams is to obtain the information of heaven in dreams through the divination of dreams, so as to obtain the meaning of punishment. In fact, according to the theory of the ancients, dreams are produced when the human soul leaves the body and meets the yin and yang of heaven and earth. Naturally, there is a lot of information about the dreamer in the dream. Therefore, it is feasible for people to practice it. This happened in the pre-Qin period, so we might as well give an example:

Former Qin Rong is a captain in Li Si. Dong Feng, a native of Jingzhao, returned from school for three years and stayed with his wife. That night, his wife was killed by a thief. His wife and brother suspected that Feng had killed him and sent him to Feng Yousi. Fengchu plundered and falsely led his wife to death. He looked at it and doubted it. He asked, "Is it strange and prophetic for you to go back?" Feng said, "At first, I rode across the water from south to north, and from north to south. When the horse stopped, the whip stopped. Looking down, after two days in the water, the horse was white and wet on the left and black and dry on the right. I have palpitations, which I think is ominous. The night remains the same, and the dream remains the same. The questioner said,' If you are worried about prison proceedings, you should stay away from three pillows and avoid taking three baths.' When I arrived, my wife gave me a bath and a pillow at night. Those who remember Ji Feng's words do not follow them. The wife bathes herself and sleeps with a pillow. Rong said, "I know." Zhouyikan is water, far from horses, far from the north and far from the south. Dream of riding a horse to cross the south, and the north and south turn across the ridge. Three hexagons change at the same time and become separated. Li is a middle-aged woman and Kan is a middle-aged man. Two days, the image of two husbands. Kan is a law enforcement official. Officials scold her husband and women bleed to death. Two yin and one yang, two yang and one yin. Congenital translocation, from Xiakan, Yaoyao. King Wen was imprisoned, born polite, and died rude. The horse was left wet, wet and watery. Left water right horse, abundant son also. Two days, Chang Zi also. Did Feng Chang kill it? Therefore, an inspection was conducted and it was successfully rejected. Chang cited the first lawsuit and said, "Ben and his wife murdered Dong Feng, expecting a new bath and pillow as a test, because they were wrong about the woman. "

This kind of case is really fascinating to modern people and will not be believed, but in the eyes of the ancients, it just shows the infinite charm of dreaming for punishment. Here, Rong Rong used the knowledge of Zhouyi Gua, Li Gua and Ji Ji Gua to dream. As we all know, Zhouyi, as an ancient divination book, almost runs through the knowledge of astronomical calendar. It can be seen that Rong Rong's dream-occupying is also in line with the above-mentioned Zhou Li's dream-occupying theory. Obviously, Dong Feng's dream is entrusted by God's will, and Rong Rong's dream is also entrusted by the knowledge of Zhouyi. So there is providence in it, aren't you allowed to dream and ask for punishment?

Of course, for the consideration of judicial practice, I asked whether and how the penalty was operated through divination. However, in a broad sense, it has profound political significance outside the law. The Book of Rites bluntly pointed out:

Oracle Bone Inscriptions, the reason why the Holy King makes people believe in time, respect ghosts and gods, and fear the law.

It can be seen that the use of divination is directly related to making people fear the law. If everyone is afraid of the law, doesn't commit crimes, can't afford the "wolf ambition" and keeps his position, wouldn't it be a pleasure for the rulers?

Second, punishment and natural change.

The operation of human punishment comes from the punishment of heaven, and man only punishes heaven on behalf of heaven and punishes crime with heaven. This theory has been mentioned above. However, in the process of execution, there will always be deviations, even misunderstanding of God's will, even abandoning God's will and abusing God's punishment, so that contradictions abound and people complain. At this time, the sky changed.

(A) criminal injustice and astronomical changes

Criminal injustice cases occurred from time to time in ancient China. From the perspective of the science of heaven, improper punishment means punishing the people of heaven on behalf of heaven, without really understanding the direction of punishment of heaven, or deliberately disobeying the punishment of heaven, punishing the innocent, but not punishing the truly guilty. So black and white upside down, regardless of right and wrong, "punishment takes the place of heaven", as a natural guardian, what reason is there to sit idly by? Then, the sky changed. Some of these phenomena condemn the darkness and corruption of punishment, some encourage and help the wronged, some encourage the rehabilitation of this unjust prison, and so on.

The most familiar and famous perpetrator in history may be Dou E in Guan Hanqing's zaju in Yuan Dynasty. When Dou E was unjustly imprisoned, she made three vows, that is, blood will fly in vain, snow will fly in June, and drought will last for three years. As a result, all three vows were fulfilled. Undoubtedly, the occurrence of these three phenomena is the result of the change of astronomical phenomena, or the result of the sudden change of astronomical phenomena. These celestial phenomena all express God's pity and help to the evil doer Dou E, and also express condemnation of the judicial darkness.

The tendency of Heaven to pursue justice and protect people is the best expression of the moral quality of Heaven. Not only that, Tian's mind is also very broad, and he will not resent and scold because others mistakenly think it is injustice. In the event, Tian was scolded by anger:

Rolling hydrangea 】 There are sun and moon hanging day and night, and ghosts and gods hold the right to life and death. Heaven and earth can only distinguish between clear and turbid, how can Yan Yuan, who stole his feet, be born? People who do good will live shorter in poverty, while those who do evil will live longer in prosperity. Heaven and earth, too, are afraid of hard bullying, but Yuan Lai is so logical. Land, you are good or bad. God, you are both smart and stupid! Alas, only two tears fell.

However, such fierce scolding did not make Tian angry. Tian's supreme virtue made him realize the three wishes he made before his death, which not only helped, but also showed his injustice. Finally, when Dou E was really rehabilitated, it began to rain in the arid Chuzhou. From drought to rain, this change in the sky shows the touch and joy of the sky.

There are many records in ancient history books about the changes of astronomical phenomena due to unfair punishment. In addition to Dou E's injustice, as early as the Han Dynasty, there was a famous story of filial piety in the East China Sea. The eastern Jin historian and writer, Gan Bao, compiled "Searching for the Gods", which includes:

Donghai devoted himself to filial piety in Han Dynasty. My aunt said, "My wife is diligent and supportive. I am old, so I don't care about the rest of my life. " He hanged himself. His daughter told the official cloud: "The woman killed my mother." Officials take it, copy it, plunder it and rule it. The dutiful wife was in such pain that she took it by mistake. When Yu Gong was a jailer, he said, "This woman has raised her aunt for more than ten years and will not kill her because she is filial." The satrap didn't listen. Yugong argued unreasonably, embraced his prison words and cried in the government. After the drought in this county, there was no rain for three years. When the late satrap arrived, Yugong said, "The filial wife doesn't deserve to die. The former satrap killed her unfairly, which is a blame." The satrap immediately sacrificed himself to the tomb of his filial wife, because it was raining and he was old and familiar. The elder said: The filial wife's name is Zhou Qing. Qing will die, carrying ten bamboo poles and hanging five flags on the car. Swear to the public: "If you are guilty, you are willing to kill, and your blood should be smooth; Dead in vain, rivers of blood. " Since the execution, his blood has been bluish-yellow, marked on the bamboo and marked on the bottom.

Obviously, the drought in the three years after the death of filial piety in Donghai and the rain after the unjust prison was rehabilitated expressed God's condemnation of the wrong punishment on earth and his sympathy and assistance to the perpetrators. Huai Nan Zi again? At the beginning, there is a sentence "concubines call heaven, lightning strikes, the platform falls, the branches break, and the sea is big", and Gaoyou makes a note for it:

Qi widow, childless and unmarried, is respectful. No men and no women, women benefit the mother's wealth, so that the mother marries the woman. Yi Fu refused. A woman killed her mother to falsely accuse a widow. Women can't talk to themselves, and grievances are called heaven. The sky is a lightning strike on the platform of Gong Jing, which is also bad, destroying the branch of Gong Jing, and the sea water overflows greatly.

Similarly, the thunder and lightning and the seawater generate in the above-mentioned "The Filial Piety of Qi State" story are all astronomical changes.

The changes in the above-mentioned astronomical phenomena are all due to the criminal injustice, and the people have wronged the dead and have taken the initiative to attack. In this case, although the person who did something wrong was finally rehabilitated, it is also a pity that people can't be resurrected after death, that is, God helps, otherwise it will be too late. In fact, there are also people who are rescued in time before the criminals are executed. There is such an example in Zheng Ke's "A Turtle in a Prison" in the Song Dynasty:

"Climbing Ge Yuan" in the Southern Tang Dynasty: "Those who steal things die with three shackles." Luling Hao Min exposed his clothes and lost his new clean clothes, up to tens of thousands. The village is remote and few people travel, thinking that neighbors steal it. The neighbor was overwhelmed by the plunder of Chu, so he took it off. Stolen goods, that is, the clouds disappeared in the city, and there is no way to pursue them. On the day of going to France, grievances moved, sir. My late Lord ordered Yuan Wailang Xiao Yan to reply. Yan fasted and prayed for God, but he was wronged in the snow. On the day I arrived in the county seat, it was sunny. Suddenly, it thundered from the northwest to the lost house, killing a cow and cutting open its belly to get the lost things, but it was still not destroyed.

According to the law at that time, stealing three dollars was punishable by death, so the crime of stealing dozens of dollars was bound to die. Neighbors will be sent to law because they can't extort confessions by torture and can't falsely accuse them of their crimes. Because the punishment is extremely unfair, they will "injustice the sky." Fortunately, Sky took action in time and found the real culprit with the change of astronomical phenomena, thus saving neighbors from unfair punishment and murder. However, the help of the weather here seems to be closely related to Xiao Yan's "fasting and praying to God". It can be seen that people believe in heaven and pray for God, which directly avoids the substantive occurrence of criminal injustice, directly affects the embodiment of judicial justice, and directly affects the real realization of natural punishment.

Therefore, we find that when there is criminal injustice, the change of astronomical phenomena will always happen, not before the crime and murder, but after the crime and murder. Heaven shows mercy and help to the perpetrators with the change of its astronomical phenomena, and also shows condemnation and exposure to the judicial darkness with the change of its astronomical phenomena, because criminals who really deserve punishment from Heaven are still at large. In this relationship between criminal injustice and mutation, the quality of judicial personnel is very important, which directly affects the order of criminal injustice mutation. If we do not inherit the virtue of protecting the people and loving the people, the change of nature often occurs after criminal injustice; If we inherit the virtue of protecting and caring for the people from Heaven, believe in Heaven and pray to God, natural changes will occur in time to help the judiciary, so that criminal injustice will not be substantially caused. Therefore, whether the judicial personnel have the heart of loving the people is the key to truly implement the heavenly punishment.