On the Document of Administration Law of Yunmeng Qinjian
云梦秦简行政法文献新论

Based on the complete and deep analysis on Yunmeng Qinjian (the Qin's Bamboo Strips at Yunmeng) this paper points out that Yunmeng Qinjian is not the earliest document of law in Chinese history. The related reasons include: (1) regarding the form, it is the personal document collected by Xi rather than an official document; (2) regarding the content, it comprises not only legal documents but non-legal documents, such as Biannianji, Weilizhidao, and Rishu, and therefore not the type of pure legal documents; ((3)regarding) the concept of legal documents, many of its pieces are in no condition listed among them; and (4) regarding the true definition of legal science , it is not at all the first legal document ever found in China, as the said document appeared in the Western Zhou Dynasty. Weilizhidao is not the document of administrative law but moral rule, while Yushu and some articles of Falvdawen are regarded as administrative law. On the one hand, Weilizhidao couldn't prove to be a legal document from the perspective of the nature of law. In line with the law system of either traditional China or modern China, the law, formulated and approved by the Government, is the summation of behavior criterion which is enacted or approved and carried into execution by the strong hand of the Government. However, no words can be found in Weilizhidao to show it was enacted or approved by the Government or Sovereign. On the other hand, it cannot be considered as a legal document, because it is incompact, disorderly and unsystematic, and far from being consistent in terms of the form and wording. What Weilizhidao describes are the principles of government. It is the earliest form of book of admonitions for government officials after the separation of moral from law. Yushu is a book of administrative law, for it contains the legal proclamations and local statutes which were newly formulated and issued for enforcement by the Nanjun government. It is true of Falvdawen, since it included a lot of rules and explanations on officials' behavior criterion, though it mainly took criminal law as the interpretive object. The administrative law in Yunmeng Qinjian features the following: (1) Its main contents are the rules of the Government functional departments and officials' behavior. (2) Its rules are detailed and specific. (3) It mainly involves the financial and economic administration. (4) It is intended for local government or low-ranking officials with punishment as major means. And (5) It is characterized by its variety of forms and its diversity of laws. The articles of Yunmeng Qinjian should be classified into Zhidian, Jiaodian, Zhengdian, Xingdian and Shidian according to the Rituals of the Zhou Dynasty (Zhouli).