Chapter 40 Section 6 The complete communication regulations in ancient times——"Jin Yu Xin Shu"

Earlier we talked about the first "Post Post Order" in my country during the Cao Wei era.During the Tang Dynasty, the laws and regulations on the post office were mostly stipulated in the country's law "Tang Law" at that time.By the time of the Song Dynasty, there were also some regulations on postal stations in the national law "Song Xingtong". Since the former dynasty, the post system in various places has gradually become chaotic. Some government post officials arbitrarily increased the burden on the postmen, ordering them to carry parcels and "run with a heavy load"; The tasks are extremely complicated and the station is overwhelmed.In order to rectify this situation, in the fourth year of Emperor Renzong Jiayou (AD 1059), according to the suggestion of Privy Councilor Han Qi, the government ordered the third division envoy Zhang Fangping to formulate 74 "Regulations on Post Coupons" and promulgate them to the world.This example is also called "Jiayou Post Order".According to the Jiayou post order, a number of detailed rules were added to the criminal law, such as: "Those who should not enter the post shall be punished with forty floggings; ").Since then, the post road has been greatly peaceful.When it developed to the Southern Song Dynasty, due to the development of postal stations, which involved a wide range of social life, it had formed its own fairly complete and specialized communication regulations, which is "Jin Yu Xin Shu".

The so-called "golden jade" is the abbreviation of the ancient term "golden rule".It is not clear who the compiler of this statute was.However, the date of its completion can be dated to the 19th year of Shaoxing, Emperor Gaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty (AD 1149) or later.At that time, the fierce war with the Northern Jin Dynasty had just ended, and everything needed to be sorted out, but most of the original laws and regulations used in the Northern Song Dynasty were lost, and the post post system was also very chaotic. become.It is a pity that after successive wars, this law was no longer circulated among the people.Its original text is now preserved in the 14575 volumes of the large-scale catalog "Yongle Dadian" compiled in the Ming Dynasty.

According to the current "Yongle Dadian", we can know that this "Golden Jade New Book" has a total of 115 articles, including 51 articles about the postal post criminal law, 10 articles about rewards, and 54 articles about the organization and management of post post shops.The scope of the statute is wide-ranging, and the inviolability of official instruments is strictly maintained.For example, "Jinyu Xinshu" stipulates that stealing, privately dismantling, and destroying official documents are criminal acts and must be punished. If the theft or disclosure is a major state secret letter, it will be hanged.Those who dare to steal or disclose the contents of letters involving border defense military intelligence will be executed, and those who instigate or instigate crimes will also be punished by beheading.If the theft is a general document, it is also a violation of the criminal law according to the regulations.Sentenced to imprisonment and issued 500 miles.It is worth noting that the "Jinyu New Book" stipulates that the penalty is not only to punish those postmen who are responsible for delivering documents, but also to deal with his superior officials, including Cao officials and section officials related to express delivery shops. Those who neglect their duties are also punished Cane.

"Jin Yu Xin Shu" has specific laws and regulations and different sentencing standards for the limit of post delivery in the process of post delivery and mistakes in various delivery methods.For example, in the sentencing of mail errors, step delivery is the lightest, followed by horse delivery, and rush delivery is the heaviest.Calculating the sentencing of post, itinerary, and delay on the road is calculated by day, and different days have different penalties. From "Jin Yu Xin Shu", we can see that in Chinese feudal society, at least during the Song Dynasty, the government attached great importance to the post post, and the regulations were very strict.The practice of "ruling postal services by law" has ensured the normal operation of postal stations.