Journal paper

Issue No.	No. 44
Title	Local Government Office Open for Lawsuits and Guarantors in the South Song Dynasty
Author	Liu Hsin-chun
Page	67-96
Abstract	In the South Song Dynasty, the trade prospered and common people litigated more often than people of the Tang Dynasty. Due to the judicial regulations and practices and many other aspects, the guarantor became more necessary. During the litigation, the deponent had to be imprisoned for the “preservation of evidence.” The deponent suffered both mentally and physically, and their piteous torture pushed the Song government to ameliorate the process of litigation, and thus the regulation for guarantee gradually matured. When two people fought and committed a homicide case, their neighbor had to be the guarantor; If the litigant went to the government office to file a severe lawsuit, that person had to find a professional petition and legal document writer to be guarantor and to vouch for the testimony of the litigant; after a suspect was questioned, the suspect also needed a guarantor to post one’s bail; If the local government official needed to get an indictment or investigate a case, the neighbor who was the guarantor had to write a statement, announcing and signing it right on the spot. When there were disputes over business, but the litigant couldn’t find himself a guarantor and was too poor or too weak to be imprisoned, the local government had to appoint a local employee to be his guarantor. Henceforward, the various kinds of guarantors became like a system to protect the social order. 　　By examining when and how the government office was open for filing lawsuits, this thesis discusses the regulations imposed on each kind of “guarantors” and further analyzes the role the guarantor played in the process of legal dispute. This paper seeks to gain a fuller understanding of the work of local administration and how the local administration preserved order in the South Song Dynasty.
Keyword	local government office open lawsuits, guarantor, regulations of guarantor, to summon a guarantor, penalty for illegal bailing acts, local employee guarantor, to post one’s bail, neighbor guarantor, professional petition and legal document writer, ge
Attached File