The Nine Chapter Law () is the most important law in the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

and had great influence on the laws in the Chinese history. The authorship of the law is most commonly attributed to

Xiao He Xiao He (257 BC–193 BC) was a Chinese politician of the early Western Han dynasty. He served Liu Bang (Emperor Gao), the founder of the Han dynasty, during the insurrection against the Qin dynasty, and fought on Liu's side in the Chu–Han Co ...

. The

Book of Han The ''Book of Han'' or ''History of the Former Han'' (Qián Hàn Shū,《前汉书》) is a history of China finished in 111AD, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. I ...

noted that after the Han dynasty was established in 206 BC, emperor

Liu Bang Emperor Gaozu of Han (256 – 1 June 195 BC), born Liu Bang () with courtesy name Ji (季), was the founder and first emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning in 202–195 BC. His temple name was "Taizu" while his posthumous name was Emper ...

thought the wartime three treaty laws are inadequate for the crimes, and the

Book of Jin The ''Book of Jin'' is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty from 266 to 420. It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty, with chancellor Fang X ...

recorded that Chancellor Xiao He adapted law code from the

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin (state), ...

code and added three more chapters. The law got its name from the six chapters adopted from the

Canon of Laws The ''Canon of Laws'' or ''Classic of Law'' () is a lost legal code that has been attributed to Li Kui (legalist), Li Kui, a Legalism (Chinese philosophy), Legalist scholar and minister who lived in the Wei (state), State of Wei during the Warri ...

and three new chapters covering

family register Civil registration is the system by which a government records the vital events (Birth certificate, births, Marriage certificate, marriages, and Death certificate, deaths) of its citizens and Residency (domicile), residents. The resulting repos ...

, conscription and livestock. In the second year of

Empress Lü Zhi An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( e ...

's reign, the Second‐Year Law was published, and the Nine Chapter Law can no longer be used to reference the entirety of the Han dynasty legislation. The

Jin dynasty (266–420) The Jin dynasty (; ) or the Jin Empire, sometimes distinguished as the (司馬晉) or the (兩晉), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed from 266 to 420. It was founded by Sima Yan (Emperor Wu), eldest son of Sima Zhao, who had pr ...

adopted the nine chapter law and added 11 more chapters, and formed its own 20 chapter legal code. In the dynasties that followed supplement laws had been announced and obsolete code removed. The nine chapter law's longevity was shown in its presence in the legal system of the

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and layi ...

(589–618 CE).

Old Book of Tang The ''Old Book of Tang'', or simply the ''Book of Tang'', is the first classic historical work about the Tang dynasty, comprising 200 chapters, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories. Originally compiled during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...

, Volume 30, Punishment and Law::"自汉迄隋，世有损益"

References

{{reflist Legal history of China Han dynasty 2nd century BC in law