Journal of East Asian Cultures

Vol. 12 No. 2020/2 (2021)
Articles

Regulation of weapon use and possession in the Ming era based on laws of the Da Ming lü

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  • Áron Somogyi
Áron Somogyi
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.38144/TKT.2020.2.3

Published 2021-07-12

Keywords

  • Chinese martial arts history,
  • Chinese military history,
  • Chinese legal history,
  • Da Ming lü,
  • Great Ming Code,
  • Ming dynasty,
  • weapon possession,
  • armed violence
    • ...More
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How to Cite

Somogyi, Áron. (2021). Regulation of weapon use and possession in the Ming era based on laws of the Da Ming lü. Journal of East Asian Cultures, 12(2020/2), 65–77. https://doi.org/10.38144/TKT.2020.2.3

Copyright (c) 2021 the author(s)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Abstract

The period of the Ming dynasty is traditionally considered to be the golden age of martial arts in China. Recent studies in the field of Chinese martial arts history confirm that physical, armed violence was endemic in the everyday life of the era, its scope ranging from regular bandit attacks to clan feuds and local uprisings. Little is known, however, about how the Ming legal system dealt with the presence of weapons and armed violence in society. This study aims to examine how Ming law sanctioned armed violence and regulated the possession of weapons by civilians through an analysis of the relevant articles of the Da Ming lü 大明律 [Great Ming Code]. The analysis of articles of penal and military law shows that the rules covering civilian weapon possession were quite permissive, with only a few restrictions that guaranteed the safety of the imperial palace and the technological superiority of the military. Armed violence was punished more severely compared to unarmed assault, however only by a small degree. In cases of homicide, laws did not differentiate between armed and unarmed crime. These regulations, among other factors, may have contributed to the formation of the violent environment which was essential for martial arts and martial arts culture to prosper.

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