History can't bear to look at the complete collection

Chapter 85 The Inhuman Moment 4
The value of human life in ancient China

On the morning of September 1859th, the ninth year of Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty ([-]), Emperor Xianfeng talked about the weapon fighting in Fujian with Zhang Jixin, the Chief Secretary of Fujian Province, in Qingyinzhai, Yuquan Mountain, Beijing. Xianfeng asked: "What is the situation of the weapon fighting?"

Zhang Jixin replied: "The big surnames bully the small surnames, and the small surnames are unwilling to be bullied. They correct dozens of small surnames and fight against the big ones."

Xianfeng asked: "Aren't the local officials going to suppress it?"

Zhang Jixin replied: "When I passed through Hui'an, I saw the fighting with weapons, and the army was very neat. The big surname was Hongqi, and the small surname was Baiqi. They had guns, knives and spears, and equipment. When they heard the gold, they advanced, and when they saw the fire, they retreated. When the battle was in full swing. , the official will prohibit the decree, and will not obey it."

Xianfeng asked: "How does it end after the killing?"

Zhang Jixin replied: "If the big surname kills [-] lives of the small surname, and the small surname only kills ten lives of the big surname, except for offsetting, according to the number, the life price must be demanded, and each other will sue the officials."

Xianfeng asked: "How much is the life price per person?"

Zhang Jixin replied: "I heard that the employer gave the dead relative [-] foreign dollars, and offered a tablet of loyalty and bravery in the ancestral hall."

In this way, the price of human life is clearly marked. The price Zhang Jixin said is converted to today's price, which is only 2000 yuan.The Ming Dynasty was not the first to put a price on human life. The use of money and goods to redeem sins and even lives can be traced back to the Yao and Shun era. "Shangshu?There is a saying in "Shun Dian" that "gold is used as a ransom".

In the Kingdom of Jin, there was a rule: "Thirty horses and cows are paid for murder." In the Han Dynasty, if you committed a crime, you could avoid the death penalty by buying [-] ranks.However, the most complete data on the grades of life values ​​were formulated during the reign of Karma Tenjung Wangpo in Tibet and the period of the fifth Dalai Lama.Human lives are divided into grades and grades here, ranging from priceless to straw ropes.

Upper class: Supreme rulers such as the king of Tibet, gold that is priceless or equal to the body.

Upper middle class: virtuous teachers, trainers, monastery stewards, and senior officials are worth 400 to [-] taels.

Upper and lower ranks: mid-level officials and monks command a price of 200 taels.

Upper-middle class: General officials, petty servants, and petty bureaucrats, the life price is 140 to 150 taels.

Middle-medium: mid-level civil servants, the life price is 70 to [-] taels.

Middle and lower class: civilians, life price 40 to [-] taels.

Lower and upper class: unmarried celibates, government servants, life price 30 taels.

Lower middle class: tax-paying blacksmiths, butchers, and beggars, the life price is 20 taels.

Inferior class: women, vagabonds, beggars, life price a straw rope.

This complete set of life prices stipulates that people of different classes have different prices. In the later period of the Republic of China, human life not only had a price, but also a set of professional terms. Cai Shaoqing wrote in "Bandits in the Republic of China", After the bandits kidnapped people at that time, how did they exchange money for their lives:

If the bandit kidnaps a rich woman, it is called "please Guanyin", if it is a man, it is called "pull fat pig", if it is a child from a rich family, it is called "hold boy".In addition to paying attention to the name, there are also restrictions on the price and payment time of redemption tickets.If the kidnapped unmarried woman asked to go back before dark, it was the so-called "quick ticket", and she had to pay on the same day. If there was not enough cash, opium, food, weapons, horses, etc. could be used to make up for it.

The ransom price of bandits depends on the situation of the kidnapped family. If the family is rich, it is mostly cash, and if the family is average, it is mostly goods.In short, it is to exchange human life with things, which can also be called buying life.The bandits have mastered the lives of the hostages, and they can exchange gold and silver according to their own needs and the actual social conditions at that time.

When civilians are generally poor, kidnapping will gradually become unprofitable, and human lives will be less valuable at this time, and the kidnappers will lower their standards.But if it is in an era of abundance, the kidnappers will charge a high price. It can be seen that how human life should be priced depends on many factors.

(End of this chapter)