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 "title": "Wei Code",
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 "excerpt": "The Wei Code (魏律), also called the New Code, was the penal code of Cao Wei, compiled under Emperor Ming and completed in eighteen chapters around 229.",
 "snippet": "The Wei Code (魏律), also called the New Code, was the penal code of Cao Wei, compiled under Emperor Ming and completed in eighteen chapters around 229.",
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 "markdown": "# Wei Code\n\nThe Wei Code (魏律), also called the New Code (新律), was the penal code of the [Cao Wei](https://www.edgepedia.org/cao-wei) state, compiled by order of [Emperor Ming of Wei](https://www.edgepedia.org/emperor-ming-of-wei) and completed in eighteen chapters on the basis of the nine-chapter Han code. It is known today only through fragments, chiefly the preamble preserved in the \"Treatise on Penal Norms\" of the *Book of Jin*, and its exact chapter list has been debated by legal historians for decades.\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Issuing ruler | Emperor Ming of Wei (魏明帝), who ordered the revision<sup>[1](http://www.wenxue100.com/book_LiShi/159_84.thtml)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://www.freedefine.cn/wenzhan/118354.html)</sup> |\n| Size | Eighteen chapters, expanded from the nine chapters of the Han Nine-Chapter Code<sup>[3](http://www.zikao365.com/html/4_21_87_138/2006_12_8_zh9862812518216002856_0.htm)</sup> |\n| Promulgation | Traditionally dated to the tenth month of Taihe 3 (229); one study argues compilation began in Taihe 3 and completion fell between Taihe 6 and Qinglong 1<sup>[2](https://www.freedefine.cn/wenzhan/118354.html)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[4](http://ir.swupl.edu.cn:8080/xnzfdx/item/itemDetail/26755.shtml)</sup> |\n| Signature provisions | The general chapter renamed 刑名 and placed first<sup>[3](http://www.zikao365.com/html/4_21_87_138/2006_12_8_zh9862812518216002856_0.htm)</sup> |\n| Survival | Original text lost; the preamble survives in the *Book of Jin*<sup>[2](https://www.freedefine.cn/wenzhan/118354.html)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[5](https://doi.org/10.5955/jalha.2002.81)</sup> |\n| Successor | Revised into the Jin Code (泰始律) of 267<sup>[6](http://szzy.7lue.cn/read/dbcfcd4e6bd9523b6fb82ccb7aeca509/0309ad24f39a2203e2cae28b90f319fb.md)</sup> |\n\n## Origin and date\n\nWei initially continued to apply the Han code<sup>[2](https://www.freedefine.cn/wenzhan/118354.html)</sup>. A fuller list of the commission in Chen Qun (Director of Works), Liu Shao (劉邵), Han Xun (韓遜), [Yu Yi](https://www.edgepedia.org/yu-yi), Huang Xiu (黃休), and Xun Shuo (荀說) appears in the *Zhongguo Tongshi* account, which likewise dates the edict to Taihe 3 (229)<sup>[1](http://www.wenxue100.com/book_LiShi/159_84.thtml)</sup>.\n\nThe promulgation date is contested. The *Zizhi Tongjian* places the code in Taihe 3, and later writers followed it in treating that year as both the start of compilation and the date of enactment. A Southwest University of Political Science and Law dissertation rejects this as an error<sup>[12](https://study.cqedu.cn/institution/detail?id=5)</sup>, arguing that compilation began in Taihe 3 but that the finished code was promulgated at some point between Taihe 6 and Qinglong 1, and that the two events must be distinguished<sup>[4](http://ir.swupl.edu.cn:8080/xnzfdx/item/itemDetail/26755.shtml)</sup>. Both positions appear in the scholarly literature and neither has settled the question.\n\n## Contents\n\nThe code doubled the Han Nine-Chapter Code from nine chapters to eighteen<sup>[3](http://www.zikao365.com/html/4_21_87_138/2006_12_8_zh9862812518216002856_0.htm)</sup>. According to the Wei preamble cited in the *Book of Jin* treatise, thirteen of the eighteen chapters were newly compiled and five descended from the predecessor code<sup>[7](https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jalha1951/1961/11/1961_11_163/_article/-char/ja)</sup>. The *Zhongguo Tongshi* gives a list of nine added chapters and notes that the general chapter 具律 was renamed 刑名<sup>[1](http://www.wenxue100.com/book_LiShi/159_84.thtml)</sup>. \n\nThe renamed 刑名 chapter was placed at the head of the code to serve as its general part, an organizing principle that later codes kept<sup>[3](http://www.zikao365.com/html/4_21_87_138/2006_12_8_zh9862812518216002856_0.htm)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[8](http://abslw.com/27/abs1651927.html)</sup>.\n\n## Transmission and revision\n\nLate in Wei, Jia Chong (賈充) led a commission of fourteen men, including Zheng Chong (鄭沖), which completed the new code in 泰始 3 (267) and saw it promulgated across the empire in the first month of the following year as the [Jin Code](https://www.edgepedia.org/jin-code)<sup>[6](http://szzy.7lue.cn/read/dbcfcd4e6bd9523b6fb82ccb7aeca509/0309ad24f39a2203e2cae28b90f319fb.md)</sup>. The Jin Code ran to about 500 articles (the *Tang Liudian* wrongly records 1,530, per 滋贺秀三's analysis)<sup>[6](http://szzy.7lue.cn/read/dbcfcd4e6bd9523b6fb82ccb7aeca509/0309ad24f39a2203e2cae28b90f319fb.md)</sup>. A separate account dates the start of the Jin compilation to 咸熙 1 (264)<sup>[9](https://history.ifeng.com/c/83NSbDIEf7O)</sup>.\n\nThe original Wei text was lost at an early date; the preamble preserved in the *Book of Jin* is the oldest surviving source on the chapters of both the Han and the Wei codes, though it was long neglected by scholars<sup>[2](https://www.freedefine.cn/wenzhan/118354.html)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[5](https://doi.org/10.5955/jalha.2002.81)</sup>.\n\n## Political influence\n\nAcross the longer term, the Wei New Code became a reference point for later legislation. 楼劲 observes that under [Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei](https://www.edgepedia.org/emperor-taiwu-of-northern-wei) the *lü* began to take the form of a true statutory code comparable to the Han Nine-Chapter Code or the Cao Wei New Code, showing that the Wei code was treated as a model in the northern dynasties' legislative tradition<sup>[10](https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_30240543)</sup>. \n\n## References\n\n1. 白寿彝主编《中国通史·第五卷》第六章 法制, http://www.wenxue100.com/book_LiShi/159_84.thtml\n2. 历史百科网：三国法规, https://www.freedefine.cn/wenzhan/118354.html\n3. 自考《中国法制史》复习资料第六章, http://www.zikao365.com/html/4_21_87_138/2006_12_8_zh9862812518216002856_0.htm\n4. 曹魏法制综考 (西南政法大学机构知识库学位论文), http://ir.swupl.edu.cn:8080/xnzfdx/item/itemDetail/26755.shtml\n5. An Inquiry into the Books and Chapters of Codified Law in the Han and Wei (日本法制史学会年报 2002), https://doi.org/10.5955/jalha.2002.81\n6. 《中国通史》第五卷西晋时期·法制, http://szzy.7lue.cn/read/dbcfcd4e6bd9523b6fb82ccb7aeca509/0309ad24f39a2203e2cae28b90f319fb.md\n7. 滋賀秀三, 再び魏律の篇目について (日本法制史学会), https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jalha1951/1961/11/1961_11_163/_article/-char/ja\n8. 魏晋南北朝刑法研究 (论文摘要), http://abslw.com/27/abs1651927.html\n9. 西晋开国皇帝司马炎颁布了《泰始律》(凤凰网历史), https://history.ifeng.com/c/83NSbDIEf7O\n10. 楼劲, 北魏天兴\"律令\"是诏令集还是法典？ (澎湃转载), https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_30240543\n11. 龙大轩、梁健《曹魏〈新律〉篇目与篇次考》(《法学杂志》2015年第4期), http://ir.swupl.edu.cn:8080/xnzfdx/item/itemDetail/20936.shtml\n12. Detail (study.cqedu.cn). https://study.cqedu.cn/institution/detail?id=5\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › History and archaeology › Asian history › China › Late Han and the Three Kingdoms (184 to 280) › Cao Wei › Cao Wei institutions and economy*\n\n*Initially written Sep 23, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 11, 2026 · Last review: Sep 30, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n",
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 "speakable": "The Wei Code, also called the New Code, was the penal code of Cao Wei, compiled under Emperor Ming and completed in eighteen chapters around 229."
}