『尙書』 刑政의 이념과 현실 적용

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate Shangshu, a Confucian scripture on one hand that emphasizes ruling by virtue in punishment policy and a historical book on the other hand that evidences the realities. According to the ancient publishment, punishment-free society had been the orientation of punishment policy since the Yao-Shun period. But it was devaluated over the next three periods, and that policy was gradually converted into criminal laws that were fixed and permanent. With that orientation, originally, the very key of punishment policy was 'generosity' in the Yao-Shun period and 'justice', which was under the principle of careful punishment, in the Zhou period Though Zhou put its first priority on justice in punishment, however, King Mok of the country even set amount payable for exemption from all of the five kinds of punishment. Agreeing with Cai-shen, most scholars of Joseon criticized that granting exemption from all of the five kinds of punishment, which are listed in <Marquis of Lu on Punishments>, in return for money was a way that King Mok took over wealth from people for the purpose of increasing national finance. But Seongho and Dasan took that granting positive because it complied with ancient laws found in <Canon of Shun>. Since he criticized granting exemption for money, Cai-shen just insisted that the words 'MohWang' found in the first chapter of <Marquis of Lu on Punishments> had been put in by an official historiographer to undervalue that king. But even scholars of Joseon who blamed that granting didn't agree on Cai-shen's judgement about those words.