The Case of Ji's Negligent Misconduct in Office

The case, recorded on bamboo slips from the Yuelu Academy, arises from the trial of Ji, a low-ranking clerk in Jiangling County of the Qin State in 225 BCE. Ji was indicted on eight counts of dereliction and procedural mistakes, encompassing errors in census records, improper endorsements on legal documents, and flawed judgments during dispute mediation. The county court characterized his conduct as "zuo guan" (official liabilities) and sought to impose the punishment of shaving his beard (nai). Ji lodged an appeal, arguing that none of his actions were intentional and that they should be classified as "guo wu shi" (negligent misperformance) under Qin law. Because the case raised intricate questions about the boundary between criminal negligence and deliberate malfeasance, it was escalated to higher judicial authorities. Upon review, the appellate body acknowledged that Ji had lacked malicious intent but ruled that his repeated failures still endangered administrative order. Consequently, the punishment was reduced from mutilation to a fine of two suits of armor (zi er jia).

After appeal, the higher authority determined that Ji's acts constituted negligent misperformance rather than intentional malfeasance. The initially proposed mutilating punishment of shaving the beard was commuted to a fine of two suits of armor (zi er jia).

The central controversy was distinguishing negligent errors ("guo wu shi") from intentional wrongdoing under Qin law, and whether Ji's eight administrative lapses qualified for mitigated liability as accidental oversights or should be punished as deliberate official failures.

This case provides a rare window into the Qin bureaucracy's nuanced treatment of negligent crimes, emphasizing legal differentiation of intent, strict official accountability, and the availability of appellate review. It has become a cornerstone primary source for studying early Chinese legal philosophy, the codification of negligence, and the administration of justice during the Warring States period.