Abstract: It is an important content of official management in past dynasties for national or collective public officials to seek personal gain by taking advantage of their functions and powers, and it is also the focus of anti-corruption legislation. Throughout history, rulers of past dynasties used legal weapons to regulate officials at all levels to varying degrees, thus forming a wealth of historical materials of ancient anti-corruption laws in China. This paper attempts to analyze the situation and characteristics of anti-corruption legislation in different periods in ancient China, and then puts forward the enlightenment to our anti-corruption struggle today.

Keywords: characteristics of anti-corruption legislation and its punishment enlightenment

Corruption is a product of class society and an ugly phenomenon of society. It not only damages the image of the government, but also endangers the rule of the ruling class and the stability of the country. Therefore, all dynasties attached great importance to the prevention and control of corruption and tried to ensure it by formulating and perfecting legislation. Summarizing the experience of ancient anti-corruption legislation in China, analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of anti-corruption supervision mechanisms in past dynasties, and pointing out the success or failure of each generation of anti-corruption legislation will give us beneficial enlightenment.

First, the current situation and characteristics of anti-corruption legislation in China.

(A) the pre-Qin anti-corruption legislation and characteristics

Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties are called pre-Qin period. From the legislative point of view, the pre-Qin laws were not perfect, but the legally effective "My Order" and "Li" both contained anti-corruption and anti-corruption contents. The earliest anti-corruption legislation in the literature was the Shang Dynasty. According to the records in Yi Xun of Shangshu, Tang Yin made an official punishment, and listed "dying for money", that is, coveting the beauty of property, among the "three winds and ten distractions" that could lead to national subjugation and extinction, and warned them. For example, the Law stipulates that officials should be punished for taking bribes and bending the law, and pointed out that there is no clean politics in the world without severe punishment. The anti-corruption legislation in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period was more perfect than that in the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties.

The general feature of anti-corruption legislation in the pre-Qin period is that there is no formal charge of corruption crime and no specific punishment provisions, and it is still in its infancy.

(2) The Qin and Han Dynasties were the initial development period of China's ancient anti-corruption legislation, and presented new characteristics.

First, there are clear sentencing provisions for corruption crimes; Second, the crime of corruption is becoming more and more perfect. For example, there is a crime called "collecting money and leaking secrets", that is, accepting bribes and leaking secrets. Third, serious corruption, such as insider theft, should be severely punished.

The Qin dynasty pursued the legalist doctrine of severe punishment, and its anti-corruption legislation can be seen from the bamboo slips of Qin tomb in Shuihudi. The requirements of the Qin dynasty for officials are "honest and clean" and "not selfish", that is, honest and clean, not seeking personal gain. 1, there are clear provisions on punishing the crime of corruption, such as: "using public funds and personal items in the government is the same crime as theft." 2. It is conceivable that the crime of corruption will be more severely punished than the crime of theft. 3. Regarding the crime of bribery, the Law Question and Answer stipulates that bribing a sum of money is "the crime of (Kurai) Cheng Dan", which means both corporal punishment and imprisonment. 4. Taking advantage of one's position to conduct business activities is also regarded as an illegal and criminal act.

The investigation and punishment of corruption in Han Dynasty was more systematic and strict than that in Qin Dynasty. Judging from the scattered records in the Han Law, the punishment of corruption and bribery in the Han Dynasty was very heavy, including exemption from official duties, imprisonment, imprisonment and abandonment of the market.

The Han Dynasty attached great importance to the prevention and punishment of bribery. For example, "Official Rites of Han Dynasty" written by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty uses six provisions and thirteen secretariat departments to inquire about counties, investigate officials and ask questions. Three of the six articles are related to the crimes of officials taking bribes and bending the law, engaging in malpractices for personal gain and invading fishing.

The crime of corruption in Qin and Han dynasties can be roughly summarized as: 1. Accepting money perverts the law; 2. The master guards himself; 3. accept gifts from officials; 4. Take advantage of his position to buy cheaply and sell expensively; 5. Bribery; 6. Misappropriation of public funds and property was called "releasing official money" in the Han Dynasty.

(3) During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, efforts were made to punish corruption in legislation, and Jin, Chen, Northern Wei and other dynasties severely punished corruption.

On the basis of the previous generation, Wei Law collected similar provisions in Theft Law and Miscellaneous Law, and created Please Law. This is the earliest systematic law to punish corruption in China.

The Southern and Northern Dynasties inherited the laws of Wei and Jin Dynasties. It can be said that the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties surpassed the previous generation in the legal systematization of punishing corruption. There is a provision in the "Jin Law": "An official commits a crime of unfilial duty, and kills for his life ... Any handmaiden who suffers ill-gotten gains, robs the people, sells or lures her to death must be removed from the list of people." As one of the unforgivable crimes, this law juxtaposes official corruption and bribery with felonies such as unfilial duty and homicide, which actually sets a precedent for stolen goods crimes in the Tang and Song Dynasties.

Another feature of anti-corruption laws and regulations in this period is that the provisions on corruption are further clarified.

(4) Sui and Tang Dynasties were the mature period of ancient feudal legislation in China, and anti-corruption legislation also entered the stage of development and finalization.

During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, feudal laws reached a high degree of maturity and perfection. At that time, the name of "Six Accounts" appeared, which was mentioned in the articles of "Famous Cases" and "Miscellaneous Laws". It was a general term for six kinds of illegal possession of public and private property: first, it was illegal to accept money; second, it was not illegal to accept money; third, it was imprisonment; fourth, it was robbery; and fifth, it was theft. There are three kinds of bandits here, except one, which is directly established by officials and relevant competent personnel. The other two are often related to officials taking bribes to obtain property by illegal means.

The Official System in the Tang Dynasty stipulated various charges that officials obtained illegal benefits for others by taking advantage of their positions. For example, taking advantage of one's position to give and accept bribes is called "accepting money" in Tang law, and not acting according to law is called "bending the law".

In addition, simply asking for help also constitutes a crime, that is, you can't use property just because of human feelings.

Also, from some imperial edicts of Sui and Tang Dynasties, we can see the strict provisions on corruption in legislation at that time. For example, Emperor Wendi of Sui warned officials not to take advantage of their positions to make profits in business. Wu Zetian changed the Yuan Dynasty to the Imperial Palace of Light, and formally and clearly stipulated in the form of law that officials who take bribes and bend the law, such as "ten evils" and other common and inevitable crimes, will not be pardoned.

Summarizing the characteristics of anti-corruption legislation in Sui and Tang Dynasties, there are three main points: first, the concepts of different corruption crimes and the principles of sentencing and punishment are clearly defined; Second, the Law of the Tang Dynasty made a detailed distinction between corruption and became the blueprint for anti-corruption legislation in later generations. Third, the provisions on "pardon for serious corruption cases such as graft and internal theft" have been formally finalized and will continue to be used in the future.

(5) The anti-corruption legislation in the Song, Liao, Jin and Yuan Dynasties basically followed the Tang law, but it also had its own characteristics, such as:

First, the prevention and punishment of corruption is stricter. For example, the Criminal Code of the Song Dynasty not only reiterated the provisions of the Tang Law on corruption, but also strengthened the legal provisions on the crime of stolen goods in the form of "quasi-use" and "official reference".

In terms of sentencing, Song Law also increased the punishment for corrupt officials.

The legal provisions of corruption in Yuan Dynasty were comprehensive, but compared with the previous generation, the sentencing was much more lenient.

The second is the system of sitting together for officials who commit stolen goods. According to the Song Law, officials who commit stolen goods can't be pro-people officials, can't be recommended, and will bring trouble to former referees and bosses, and affect the career of future generations. Jin Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty also had similar regulations.

Third, formulate strict separate laws and regulations to punish corruption. In the Song Dynasty, there was the Law of Taking Beggars from Each Warehouse, which was promulgated in the third year of Zong Xining. In the Yuan Dynasty, special laws on bribery of officials were formulated, namely, the Rules on Bribery of Officials and Chapter 12 of the Regulations on Bribery Crimes, as the basic norms for dealing with bribery of officials.

(6) Ming and Qing Dynasties were the later period of feudal society in China. The anti-corruption legislation in Tang and Song Dynasties was inherited, but it was more systematic.

Anti-corruption legislation in Ming Dynasty was mostly concentrated in Daming Law. Daming Law is divided into seven chapters, namely, cases, officials, households, rituals, soldiers, punishments and workers, with 30 chapters and 460 articles. This law inherits the laws of the Tang Dynasty, which is characterized by "attaching importance to the simplicity of the laws of the Tang Dynasty, but not as lenient as the laws of the Song Dynasty", and embodies Ming Taizu's thought of the rule of law of heavy punishment and simplicity.

After the promulgation of "Daming Law", Ming Taizu's descendants were caught off guard and made this law, which was compiled and revised in past dynasties and called "Regulations on Punishment", adding many anti-corruption provisions. For example, civil servants, Guo Jian students, people who know how to seal, people who undertake tasks, people who illegally occupy, people who are sent to Wei Chongjun, etc. stipulated in the Wanli Trial Punishment Regulations. The Ming Hui Dian contains many contents of the Criminal Law. Based on the Ming Law, the Qing Law has not changed much, but some clauses have been added.

In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the crime of anti-corruption was added to the law. In addition, there were clear sentencing provisions for crimes such as stealing from the inside, perverting the law, not perverting the law, bribery, misappropriation of official property, extortion and bribery.

Second, the ancient anti-corruption legislation gives us enlightenment

Administering officials according to law and maintaining the long-term stability of the ruling class is the basic spirit of China's anti-corruption legislation. Anti-corruption legislation since the pre-Qin period has followed this basic spirit, constantly improving laws and regulations as a powerful weapon to combat corruption and other corrupt behaviors, so as to maintain class rule. Throughout the history of China, the good times to implement the spirit of anti-corruption law and punish corruption in ancient times mainly included Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Emperor Taizong, the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, Jin Shizong, the early Ming Dynasty and the early Qing Dynasty. These periods were also the periods of political clarity and socio-economic development in China's feudal society. There is no doubt that ancient anti-corruption legislation and its severe punishment for corrupt officials can be used for reference, but we must see its inherent historical and class limitations. The author believes that the following aspects can learn from ancient anti-corruption legislation:

First, we attach more importance to legislation, fully absorb the valuable experience of the past at the beginning of legislation, and rarely wait until the problem worsens out of control before making legislation carefully. Second, the legislation is more detailed, which not only makes officials clearly know what can't be done, what is the boundary between crime and non-crime, but also makes it clear that there are clear laws and regulations to follow when punishing those officials who dare to break the law. Third, legislation is stricter. First of all, all situations are taken into account, which makes officials more vulnerable. Secondly, it is manifested in starting from a small aspect. As long as there are minor violations, there will be corresponding punishment measures.

China was a feudal country in ancient times, and its officials were severely punished. But now, under the socialist system, our state functionaries are public servants of the people, and our cadres are public servants of the people. Our requirements for our own cadres should not be lower than those in feudal times, even if they are not higher than in the past.

Bibliography:

1. China Law Publishing House in the Age of Zhang Jianguo Empire.

2. Wang Limin "History of Chinese Legal System" China Financial and Economic Publishing House

3. Zeng's History of Chinese Legal System, Renmin University of China Press.