Chapter 2633: Legal Popularization Style Lawsuit (Part 2)

On the day of the court trial, women from villages within ten li in every direction descended upon the Grand Camp at Jiujiang Great Market. Though they hadn't come for the Huang Shi divorce case specifically, the other cases on the docket satisfied their appetite for gossip just as well—enough fodder to fuel dinner table conversations for a year or two. Meanwhile, the medical team that had accompanied the Magistrate completed their epidemiological investigation and set up a free clinic outside the Grand Camp. The scene was extraordinarily lively; anyone unaware of the circumstances might have thought a new market had opened.

Zhang Xiao found the spectacle deeply inspiring. In his view, the more people who came, the better. This was not merely "legal popularization"—it was a rare opportunity to subtly influence the masses with new concepts and ideas. His "going down to the countryside" tour was meant for inspection and fact-finding, yes, but it also served a performative purpose.

Magistrate Zhang didn't consider this "performance" empty or impractical. Many new ideas and concepts were difficult to spread without events dramatic enough to shock people into awareness. It was like when the railways first opened—the sight of them had shaken villagers in remote backwaters to their core, cracking open their worldviews. Such visceral impact was far more effective than having a handful of rural teachers lecture from hanging charts and textbooks.

So this time, the tour included not only the Circuit Court's open trials and the Medical Team's free clinic, but also an art troupe performing puppet shows. After the Restoration of Guangzhou, the authorities had transferred some artists from Lingao while recruiting new talent locally, forming the Guangzhou Puppet Troupe. They had adapted the original Lingao dialect singing and spoken parts into Modern Cantonese Opera.

The transformation proved remarkably successful. In an era starved for artistic entertainment, this "localized" adaptation thrived. The prematurely-born "Cantonese Opera" puppet shows quickly became wildly popular, with daily performances in Guangzhou selling out immediately. What had started as a single troupe soon expanded into five or six performance groups, touring everywhere with various "New Plays."

To prevent these art groups from growing complacent on government stipends, the Literature and Propaganda Department had recently issued a policy allowing actors and staff to voluntarily resign and "jump into the sea"—that is, go commercial and form independent drama clubs. The troupe performing at Jiujiang today was one such club. Their repertoire naturally consisted of new plays approved by Wen Xuan Kou (the Propaganda Department), including Spending Money (Hua Qian), which promoted marriage freedom—actually an adaptation of Luohan Qian (Arhat Coin).

Zhang Jiayu found all of this utterly fascinating. Folk drama held low status in traditional society. Though such performances featured themes of "Loyalty, Filial Piety, Chastity, and Righteousness" and carried some educational value, the government typically viewed them as "teaching lust and theft." Officials frequently suppressed drama performances, sometimes detaining local troupe actors for caning and public pillory simply to demonstrate their commitment to "rectifying social morals."

Yet here were the Australians, not only imposing no restrictions but actively running troupes with great fanfare, even encouraging the formation of new drama clubs to perform everywhere and propagate their concepts. This approach had a profound impact on Zhang Jiayu's thinking.

To traditional scholars like Zhang Jiayu, enlightening the common people meant gathering them solemnly in the County School or Prefecture School—or at the very least, at the Yamen gates—where officials or respected Confucian scholars would lecture on Loyalty, Filial Piety, Chastity, and Righteousness. Only this properly reflected the principles of Li (Rites).

That the Australians would use such methods to "enlighten" the populace was truly remarkable. Then again, the content of these performances consisted entirely of the various heterodox ideas the Australians propagated, so perhaps the unconventional medium suited the unconventional message.

Zhang Jiayu watched everyone bustle about, finding novelty in everything he saw. He wandered throughout the camp and Jiujiang, wanting to investigate every fresh thing he encountered. Zhang Xiao had instructed the relevant personnel not to restrict him, letting him roam freely. As for his questions, they were to answer truthfully so long as nothing classified was involved.

Zhang Jiayu felt that this single expedition accompanying Chief Zhang to the countryside had surpassed all his life experience of the past decade. This undercover mission had truly been worthwhile!

He was especially interested in Liang Xinhu's training program for naturalized citizen judicial cadres. The Judicial Department faced an enormous shortage of professional personnel, but proper training took considerable time—quick crash courses simply wouldn't produce the desired results. Therefore, training was conducted on a rolling basis. Senior naturalized citizen judges and prosecutors formed the core of study groups, with newly recruited students assigned to each group. Groups were capped at five people and used the "Old Leading New" method, combining classroom learning with internship observation.

After students joined a study group, their mornings began with physical exercise, followed by lectures on laws, regulations, and judicial concepts. Afternoons were spent observing trials at various courts. In the evenings, they wrote reflection papers and received instruction in Lingao's New Society Concepts from their group leaders.

After three months of study, they would accompany the Circuit Court to various locations as a unit to "handle cases"—learning while doing.

This particular Circuit Court session was led by Liang Xinhu personally, so several more study groups had come along than usual. The moment they arrived at the Jiujiang camp, lectures began immediately—maximizing every minute was a common trait of the Senators' work ethic.

Zhang Jiayu also came to "audit" the classes. Compared to traditional Chinese justice, the Australian approach was completely different. Before coming undercover, Zhang Jiayu had attended Australian court sessions to "observe trials." Unlike ordinary spectators who merely sought entertainment, he hadn't treated these as mere "overseas curiosities." He wanted to understand the underlying principles.

"...Let us continue the lesson. Everyone turn to page three. I will now explain the concepts guiding our Great Song State's legal workers." Liang Xinhu cleared his throat. "The judges and prosecutors we're cultivating are urgently needed to implement the fundamental strategy of Rule by Law. As the Senate destroys the old order and establishes the new, we must ensure that all work proceeds along institutionalized, legalized tracks. We legal workers are the most crucial link in guaranteeing the law's operation. At the same time, you must personally practice and spread legal concepts to every corner of society."

This passage Zhang Jiayu could still understand—it was essentially the same old principles about officials needing integrity, strictness, and impartiality. Having read extensively gave him an advantage in grasping such concepts quickly.

However, he still couldn't understand why the Australians wanted to strip the function of trying cases from local chief officers. Admittedly, the benefits of separation were obvious—local officials were typically Juren or Jinshi with no familiarity with criminal law, making them easily manipulated by the clerks beneath them.

But after this separation, the relatively simple local Yamen now required an entirely new institution. And according to the Australians, this specialized judicial institution wasn't even governed by the local Yamen.

Wasn't this "politics from multiple heads"? Zhang Jiayu was quite puzzled and immediately asked:

"Chief, officials in the Great Ming and previous dynasties also conducted trials. What's the difference between them and these judges and prosecutors you speak of? Why does the Great Song want to separate these functions? And I've heard they're not subordinate to the County Magistrate or Prefect. With politics from multiple heads, won't local administration become inconvenient?"

"You're Zhang Jiayu, correct? You're not a student, but you've been listening quite attentively!" Liang Xinhu knew Zhang Jiayu's situation and nodded approvingly. "An excellent question. To explain it from the root, one could write several major treatises. But to put it simply, the main differences are as follows. First, traditional local officials wielded all power in one hand, managing both administration and justice. This easily led to abuse of judicial power and unfair trials in pursuit of meeting quotas from above. Our Great Song emphasizes separation of the two, preventing such abuse. Second, scholars in Ming Country mostly only read the Four Books and Five Classics before taking office—at most, they'd read the Grand Pronouncements. Once posted to local positions, they had to hire a Xing Ming Shi Ye (Criminal Law Private Secretary) to handle cases. This was not only unprofessional and error-prone, but also created problems where the Private Secretary manipulated their supposed masters. The legal education we promote strives for professionalization and authoritativeness."

"The last point is also the most important." He paused, emphasizing his words. "The purpose of Ming Country officials was to serve the rule of the Ming Emperor. As long as things appeared passable on the surface, they cared nothing for how common folk fared. But my Great Song Senate's judges and prosecutors exist to protect the interests of both the Senate and the people. Whether wealthy gentry or impoverished Tanka boat-dwellers—all receive equal protection."

Having said this much, Liang Xinhu found himself warming to the subject. He began discussing some Song Dynasty judicial systems that had been lost to later generations.

Though these were Song Dynasty systems, their ideological advancement in legal matters was remarkably progressive for their time.

"First is the Feng An (Sealing Case) System," Liang Xinhu said. "As far as I know, this system was unique to my Great Song..."

The Feng An system referred to the practice where Song Dynasty judges, when trying minor crimes (those warranting caning or lesser punishments), would typically make their penalty judgment—say, eighty strokes of the cane—but then, based on certain considerations, seal the judgment paper in a box and temporarily withhold execution. It was essentially a Suspended Sentence System, also called Ji Zhang (Sending Cane), Kan Zhang (Surveying Cane), or Kan Xia Zhang (Surveying Down Cane). If the criminal demonstrated genuine repentance, the penalty would go unexecuted; if they showed no remorse, the box would be opened, the judgment paper retrieved, and the penalty carried out. This was called Chai Duan (Dismantling Decision).

"...Sadly, when the Former Emperor threw himself into the sea at Yashan and the Divine Land sank, this Suspended Sentence System vanished without a trace." Liang Xinhu spoke with deep regret. "Whether to suspend a sentence or not isn't really the main point. What matters is the consideration it embodies—the balance of emotion, reason, and law."

Zhang Jiayu grasped the general idea, if not every nuance. Though he couldn't articulate it fully, the essential meaning was clear. He silently contemplated its implications.

"Next is Ju Yan Fen Si (Interrogation and Decision Division)."

Ju meant Ju Yu—interrogation; Yan meant Ding Yan—examining the law to determine the crime. Ju Yan Fen Si referred to the separation of "Fact Trial" from "Law Trial." The principle resembled how, under the Anglo-American Common Law system, juries determine whether a crime occurred while judges handle the application of law. Song Dynasty criminal justice universally implemented this system. The judge responsible for "Fact Trial" and the judge responsible for "Law Trial" could not be the same person.

"What a brilliant method!" Zhang Jiayu, well-versed in classical texts, immediately grasped its elegance. "The Prison Department conducts interrogation, the Law Department examines and decides—each has its domain, and therein lies the safeguard against treachery."

(End of Chapter)