Once a decision has been made, it cannot be
changed.(一成不易)
Dai Sheng was an important Confucian
scholar during the Han dynasty.
He collected and compiled many Confucian
articles into a book called the 'Book of Rites'.
This book provides detailed accounts of the
institutions and systems of the Zhou dynasty in ancient China. It documents the
etiquette and norms that people of every social class should follow and also
contains various institutional systems and statistical data from that period.
One chapter of the book specifically
details the Zhou dynasty's legal system.
The Zhou dynasty's central government had a
department specifically responsible for revising criminal law, and there was a
detailed set of regulations on how to enforce it.
When trying major cases, the opinions of
all ministers, officials and commoners were widely sought and collected. During
the trial, if it was inferred that the suspect had a motive for the crime but
there was no conclusive evidence, the case would not be accepted. If a person
had committed a crime with established facts, they would receive a lenient
sentence if the offence was minor. In the event of a general amnesty, those
convicted of serious crimes and given severe punishments should be prioritised
for amnesty.
During the trial, law enforcement officers
must carefully consider the severity of the crime, weigh the degree of guilt
and determine an appropriate punishment.
The punishment for a criminal must be
proportionate to the severity of the crime. In each case, human emotions must
be considered alongside the law during the trial.
Law enforcement officers must exercise
particular caution in cases involving doubt. They must gather opinions from
various perspectives and use their intelligence to uncover the truth of the
case before making a careful judgement.
Once a major case has been tried, it should
be submitted to higher authorities for confirmation and review. It should then
be submitted to the Minister of Justice for final confirmation.
If necessary, cases could be submitted to
the King for review and a final decision, which would be discussed by the King
and other top officials within the central government.
All law enforcement officers must remember
that even minor offences are subject to clear penalty regulations and that no
pardons can be granted arbitrarily. Furthermore, these penalties must be
carried out flawlessly. All law enforcement officers must remember that, once a
judgment has been made, it cannot be changed; therefore, they must approach all
trials with the utmost seriousness.
The idiom 'Once a decision has been made,
it cannot be changed.
It is currently mostly used to describe
someone who is extremely stubborn and clings to old methods, refusing to adapt.
Dear friend, what insights or thoughts have
you gained from this story?
Is your country's legal system fair? Do you
think there are areas of your country's judicial system that need reforming?
I hope this story offers you some new
insights.
一成不易(Once a decision has been made, it
cannot be changed)
(戴聖)是漢王朝時代的一個重要的儒家學者。
他蒐集了許多儒家的文章，編著成為一本書。這本書就是(禮記)。
這本書中詳細地記載了中國古代的周王朝的典章制度，在這本書中紀錄了生活在這個社會的每個階層的人應該遵守的禮儀與規範，這本書中也詳細地記錄了當時的社會上的各種典章制度與統計資料。
這本書中有一章專門記錄周王朝的法治體系。
周王朝的中央政府中有設立一個專門負責修訂刑法的部門，針對如何執行刑法也有著一套詳細的規範。
在審理案一些重大的案件時，要廣泛的徵詢與蒐集所有大臣與官員還有百姓們的意見，在審訊的過程中，如果只推論犯罪嫌疑人有犯罪的動機但犯罪嫌疑人的犯罪事實沒有確鑿的證據時，這個案件就不受理。當一個人有著確定的犯罪事實後，若罪刑輕微那就應該盡量地給予輕判，當有突發的情況進行普遍的赦免罪刑時，那些罪刑嚴重而被嚴厲處罰的罪犯應該優先給予赦免。
執法者在審判的過程中，必須要仔細考量犯罪者罪行的輕重，然後審慎衡量犯罪者的罪責的深淺，最後才確立判處程度不同的刑罰。
犯罪人與他所要受的刑罰必須與他所犯的罪刑的輕重相當，每個案子在審理的過程中，除了律法之外還要靠慮到人與人之間的感情因素。
執法者在審判的過程中，如果遇到一些有疑慮的案件就要特別的小心，執法者要蒐集並聽取多方面的意見，執法者應該要充分發揮自己的聰明才智，用一顆忠誠與仁愛之心來找出案件的真相，最後才謹慎地作出判決。
重大的案件審理完畢之後，應該要再交給上頭的單位再次地確認與審核，最後再交給司法部長進行最後的確認。
如果有需要，甚至可以將案件呈報給國王，讓國王與中央政府內的其他部門的最高領導官員一起研究之後，進行最後的裁決。
所有的執法者都必須記得，制定刑罰時即使是輕罪都有明確的規定，不得隨意赦免，而且在執行的時候也必須要確實完成。所有的執法者都必須記得判決一旦成立後就不能改變，所以執法者必須用非常嚴肅的態度去執行所有審判。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是當這件事一旦確定後就不能改變。
這句成語目前多半被用在形容一個人非常的固執，這個人堅持舊有的方法工作而不知道變通。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的啟發或有怎樣的想法呢。
你的國家的法律體系公正嗎?你是否認為你的國家中的司法系統中有那些地方需要改革呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為禮記-王制