A Study of the Fragment Инв.No.7887-1 as a Supplement to Tiansheng lüling

Abstract

The plate of the fragment Инв.No.7887 was published in the Heishuicheng Manuscripts Collected in Russia Volume 9 and again in Volume 14. This led to a misunderstanding. The current academic study of Инв. No.7887 was, in fact, limited to Инв.No.7887–2. Translation and study of the fragment Инв.No.7887–1 made it clear that its content was about the provisions on how to deal with children born by women who committed adultery, on inactivity of women who pay a reward with labor, on widows not to be supervised by 矙皽谬縦 (大小侄母) and on women who are forced to divorce by parents-in-law and so on. Comparison with the relevant provisions of Tiansheng lüling 天盛律令 showed that the contents of Инв.No.7887–1 are supplements and revisions to Tiansheng lüling. Based on this preliminary analysis, the contents of Инв.No.7887–1 are thought to be temporary legal provisions formulated in the late Xixia 西夏 period to solve some new litigation cases in the society. Such legal documents, supplementary to the basic code of Xixia, are expected to attract attention of the academic community.