The Case of Xing Hou and Yong Zi's Land Dispute and Shu Yu's Bribery

In 528 BC, during the Spring and Autumn period in the Jin State, a lengthy land dispute between Xing Hou and Yong Zi came to a head. With the presiding judge away, Shu Yu, younger brother of the upright official Shu Xiang, took over the case. Yong Zi bribed Shu Yu to secure a favorable ruling, and Shu Yu perverted justice by deciding against Xing Hou. Infuriated, Xing Hou killed both Shu Yu and Yong Zi at the court. Shu Xiang then argued that all three bore capital guilt: Yong Zi for bribing the judge, Shu Yu for judicial corruption, and Xing Hou for premeditated murder without authorization. Han Xuanzi, the chief minister, adopted this reasoning; Xing Hou was executed, and the corpses of Shu Yu and Yong Zi were exposed in the marketplace.

Xing Hou was sentenced to death and executed. The bodies of Shu Yu and Yong Zi, already dead, were displayed in the marketplace as a mark of condemnation. All three were deemed guilty of capital crimes under the ancient principle that bribery, corruption, and unauthorized killing all warrant death.

Whether Shu Yu's bribery and biased judgment constituted a capital crime; whether Xing Hou's deadly revenge in the court was justifiable or constituted unlawful murder; and whether applying the same death penalty to the three was legally consistent with the ancient code.

The case became a landmark in ancient Chinese law through Shu Xiang's exposition, reinforcing that judicial corruption and private vengeance are equally punishable by death. It strengthened the rule of law over personal retaliation, influenced Confucian legal thought on impartial justice, and perpetuated the legal maxim “昏、墨、贼，杀” as a standard for penalizing corruption and murder.