This study will examine Tang Dynasty law and courtroom procedures, focusing on the use of torture as a legal tactic, as described in Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee, translated by Robert Van Gulik. Van Gulik, translating this work in 1949, takes an extraordinarily understanding attitude toward his subject, which would seem to call more for horror. The Tang system of justice held that the defendant could not be found guilty without confessing, and if he would not confess, then he had to be tortured until he confessed. In fact, from the moment the defendant enters the courtroom,
he has to kneel down on the bare floor in front of the bench, and remain this way for the duration of the case. Everything is calculated to impress the defendant with his own insignificance (xviii).
In contrast, the judge has god-like powers, not only in the courtroom phase of the case, but in every part from arrest to execution. Somehow, Van Gulik takes all this lightly, excusing the Tang justice system, rejecting any claim that it is a "travesty of justice" because "it has worked admirably during many centuries" (xx). Slavery also worked admirably for many centuries. Absurdly, Van Gulik says there are safeguards built into the system, but what safeguards can there be to excuse torturing a person to get him to confess, whether innocent or guilty. Just as absurdly, he refers to "the democratic spirit that has always characterized the Chinese people" (xxi). This book is a testament not to the democratic spirit of the Chinese people, and certainly not to the justice system of the Tang Dynasty, but rather to the organized and institutionalized barbarism of the legal system of that era.
The legal system as portrayed in this book is meant to be a social force for educating the people as to what is unacceptable and what punishment will accompany such behavior. The judge is given great power in carrying out this function of the court:
. . . It is up t...