An investigation of Chinese legal concepts: Evidence from the ancient scripts ‘法’ and ‘罪’

The original meaning of the character ‘ 灋 ’ (fǎ) was ‘to abolish’ or ‘to do away with’. The ‘judging power’ of the component ‘ 廌 ’ (zhì) emerged later, accompanying the transformation of ‘ 灋 ’ into ‘ 法 ’. Oracle bone inscriptions of ‘ 廌 ’ depict sacrificial animals. In Western Zhou bronze inscriptions, ‘ 廌 ’ within the character ‘ 慶 ’ (qìng – celebration) carries the meaning of ‘auspiciousness’ or ‘good fortune’, laying the foundation for its transformation into a mythical judging beast. The replacement of ‘ 辠 ’ (zuì) with ‘ 罪 ’ was not solely Qin Shi Huang's innovation. The weapon-like nature of ‘ 网 ’ (wǎng – net), used against enemies, established its status as a legal instrument.