Some of the stories in the “Collection of Historical Injustices of the Qing Dynasty” are intriguing. The magistrate tried the case based on the knowledge that there was a heavenly law above the human law, in addition to complying with the laws of the dynasty. A wise magistrate will give grace outside the law according to the actual situation.
Not greedy for lost things
One day in March of the tenth year of Shunzhi (1653), there was a farmer named Huang Zhong in Longxi County, Fujian Province. He and his son Huang Xiaosan sailed a small boat to the east gate of Zhangzhou City to buy manure and parked the boat at the pier by the river.
After the father and son finished eating, they went to the toilet to pick dung, and suddenly saw a fanny pack on the ground. Because I do not know who lost it, the father and son had to take it to the boat. The bag was heavy, and the farmer opened it and saw that there were six packets of sealed silver, 60 taels in total.
Huang Zhong said to his son: “Rich people don’t wrap silver around their waists, only poor people do that! The owner of the silver and their lives together. How can I ask for someone else’s money? I should wait for the owner to come and return it to him.”
Huang Xiaosan heard his father say so, think his father is really too stupid. White silver do not want, have to wait for the owner in place, very unhappy son had to go back to Longxi first alone.
Refused to ask for payment
Huang Zhong sat on the bow of the boat, patiently waiting for the owner. A long Time, only to see a person running like crazy, looking around for something. After a while, Huang Zhong saw him bawling and crying, a miserable look.
Huang Zhong called him over and asked him why he was crying out loud. The man said: “Mountain bandits slandered my father is their accomplice, my father was imprisoned in Zhangzhou. Yesterday I went to visit the rich gentry and asked someone to go to the government office to plead for mercy. The officer agreed, and now wants to take 120 taels of silver as bail. Today, I sold my land and house, and begged friends and relatives, but only half of it.
“I thought I would wait for the officer to release my father, and then I would try my best to get the full bail money. I hid the silver in my fanny pack, and when I was in a hurry to go to the toilet, I took off my fanny pack and put it on the pit board. Because I was anxious and confused, I forgot about my fanny pack when I came out of the toilet. All the money was lost. I do not have enough to die, but what to save my father, so that he can avoid death?”
After saying, the owner was in pain, tears like rain. Huang Zhong asked him carefully, the color of the fanny pack and the amount of money, all in line with the found package. So the farmer comforted him, saying, “The silver is not lost, I have it here! I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”
This news surprised the owner. He took the parcel and untied it, and saw that all the silver was there, no less. In order to thank Huang Zhong, the owner handed him a packet of ten taels of silver to express his gratitude. Huang said, “If I was greedy, wouldn’t it be better to take six packs than one?”
Heavenly treasure urn
Huang Zhong returned the lost property, and rowed back. Suddenly the wind and rain halfway. Huang Zhong moored the boat on the shore of the deserted village. Pouring rain washed away the shore, only to hear a “boom”, the village bank collapsed a piece. Huang Zhong saw the collapse of the place to reveal an urn, the urn mouth was sealed with tin.
Huang Zhong thought, take the urn Home can still hold rice it. Because the urn is very heavy, he struggled to mention the boat. After the rain stopped, Huang Zhong continued to row back home, until midnight to return home.
Huang Xiaosan, his son, came home early and told his mother that his father had found the silver and did not want it, but had to wait to return it to the owner. Mother and son scolded Huang Zhong together. When Huang Zhong came back and knocked on the door, neither of them got up to help him open the door.
Huang Zhong coaxed them and said: “I have a big urn, which contains a lot of treasures. Because it is too heavy, you come out quickly and help me carry it home.”
Mother and son were overjoyed and got up quickly to open the door. The bright moonlight shone on the mouth of the urn, shining like white snow. They carried the urn back, cut open the tin of the urn, and poured out the contents to see that they were all white silver, about a thousand taels.
It was Huang Zhong’s turn to feel incredible, he was so surprised that he could not speak. It took a long time for Huang Zhong to come back to his senses and realize that the whole thing was not a dream.
The county magistrate clearly judged
What was not expected was still to come. Huang’s Family and the next-door neighbor were separated by a wall made of reeds. In the middle of the night, the neighbors clearly heard the Huang family’s conversation. After dawn, the neighbors sued Huang Zhong to the government for “digging for treasure without permission”.
The magistrate of Longxi County ordered Huang Zhong to be arrested and escorted to the lobby for interrogation. Huang Zhong did not hide, will tell the county magistrate all the circumstances of the matter. After hearing this, the magistrate sighed: “Those who do good deeds will surely receive good rewards. All this silver was given by heaven in return for Huang Zhong’s good deeds. How can others be allowed to possess it!” The magistrate beat the neighbor with a cane in the court and released Huang Zhong without charge.
According to the “Qing Law”, “Household Law, Money and Debt, Lost and Found”, all lost and found items should be sent to the government within five days. If the treasure is found in another person’s land, it should be equally divided with the owner of the land, but the county magistrate, according to the heavenly principle of “good deeds are rewarded with good deeds”, was extra-judicial and awarded all the silver to Huang Zhong.
According to the “Collection of Historical Injustice Cases of the Qing Dynasty”, “Huang Zhong returned the silver and was awarded the silver”.
Recent Comments