秦漢 시기 법률용어 ‘刑’의 변화 - ‘耐’와의 관계를 중심으로

This study examines how the legal term xing (刑) underwent semantic transformation throughout the Qin and Han periods, with a particular focus on its relationship with nai (耐). In the early Qin and Han dynasties, the legal term xing referred to corporal punishment (rouxing, 肉刑), characterized as a permanent form of punishment distinct from fa (罰), which denoted temporary or monetary penalties. However, within the penal system of the Qin and early Han, xing—that is, corporal punishment—actually occupied a limited position, while the punishments situated between xing and fa formed the core of the penal structure. Ultimately, Emperor Wen’s penal reform (xingzhi gaige, 刑制改革) in the Former Han abolished corporal punishments, thereby forcing a semantic shift in the term xing, which had previously referred to such penalties. Following this reform, xing reappeared as a term defined by the length of the sentence (xingqi 刑期) and came to encompass all forms of penal servitude with fixed terms. The lower boundary of punishments included within xing was labor punishment combined with nai and lasting two years or more. The background of this change lies in the fact that nai itself shared the quasi-permanent nature of xing and was conceptually close to it. Before the reform, nai had been combined with indefinite labor sentences, served as an object of redemption (shu, 贖), and exerted a long-term influence on the legal status of the offender. By the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, xing and nai came to be regarded as belonging to the same category, reflecting the unification of various forms of penal servitude during the Wei–Jin era, when nai effectively came to denote labor punishment in general.