# Wei Code
The 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.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Issuing ruler | Emperor Ming of Wei (魏明帝), who ordered the revision[1](http://www.wenxue100.com/book_LiShi/159_84.thtml) • [2](https://www.freedefine.cn/wenzhan/118354.html) |
| Size | Eighteen chapters, expanded from the nine chapters of the Han Nine-Chapter Code[3](http://www.zikao365.com/html/4_21_87_138/2006_12_8_zh9862812518216002856_0.htm) |
| 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[2](https://www.freedefine.cn/wenzhan/118354.html) • [4](http://ir.swupl.edu.cn:8080/xnzfdx/item/itemDetail/26755.shtml) |
| Signature provisions | The general chapter renamed 刑名 and placed first[3](http://www.zikao365.com/html/4_21_87_138/2006_12_8_zh9862812518216002856_0.htm) |
| Survival | Original text lost; the preamble survives in the *Book of Jin*[2](https://www.freedefine.cn/wenzhan/118354.html) • [5](https://doi.org/10.5955/jalha.2002.81) |
| Successor | Revised into the Jin Code (泰始律) of 267[6](http://szzy.7lue.cn/read/dbcfcd4e6bd9523b6fb82ccb7aeca509/0309ad24f39a2203e2cae28b90f319fb.md) |
## Origin and date
Wei initially continued to apply the Han code[2](https://www.freedefine.cn/wenzhan/118354.html). 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)[1](http://www.wenxue100.com/book_LiShi/159_84.thtml).
The 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[12](https://study.cqedu.cn/institution/detail?id=5), 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[4](http://ir.swupl.edu.cn:8080/xnzfdx/item/itemDetail/26755.shtml). Both positions appear in the scholarly literature and neither has settled the question.
## Contents
The code doubled the Han Nine-Chapter Code from nine chapters to eighteen[3](http://www.zikao365.com/html/4_21_87_138/2006_12_8_zh9862812518216002856_0.htm). 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[7](https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jalha1951/1961/11/1961_11_163/_article/-char/ja). The *Zhongguo Tongshi* gives a list of nine added chapters and notes that the general chapter 具律 was renamed 刑名[1](http://www.wenxue100.com/book_LiShi/159_84.thtml).
The 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[3](http://www.zikao365.com/html/4_21_87_138/2006_12_8_zh9862812518216002856_0.htm) • [8](http://abslw.com/27/abs1651927.html).
## Transmission and revision
Late 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)[6](http://szzy.7lue.cn/read/dbcfcd4e6bd9523b6fb82ccb7aeca509/0309ad24f39a2203e2cae28b90f319fb.md). The Jin Code ran to about 500 articles (the *Tang Liudian* wrongly records 1,530, per 滋贺秀三's analysis)[6](http://szzy.7lue.cn/read/dbcfcd4e6bd9523b6fb82ccb7aeca509/0309ad24f39a2203e2cae28b90f319fb.md). A separate account dates the start of the Jin compilation to 咸熙 1 (264)[9](https://history.ifeng.com/c/83NSbDIEf7O).
The 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[2](https://www.freedefine.cn/wenzhan/118354.html) • [5](https://doi.org/10.5955/jalha.2002.81).
## Political influence
Across 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[10](https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_30240543).
## References
1. 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
2. 历史百科网：三国法规, https://www.freedefine.cn/wenzhan/118354.html
3. 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
4. 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
5. 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
6. 《中国通史》第五卷西晋时期·法制, http://szzy.7lue.cn/read/dbcfcd4e6bd9523b6fb82ccb7aeca509/0309ad24f39a2203e2cae28b90f319fb.md
7. 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
8. 魏晋南北朝刑法研究 (论文摘要), http://abslw.com/27/abs1651927.html
9. 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
10. 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
11. 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
12. Detail (study.cqedu.cn). https://study.cqedu.cn/institution/detail?id=5
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*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*
*Initially written Sep 23, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 11, 2026 · Last review: Sep 30, 2026*
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