Extrajudicial deliberations in the late Qing local government: the case of Du Fengzhi

ABSTRACT Du Fengzhi, a county magistrate in Guangdong province in the late Qing dynasty, recorded hundreds of legal cases in his diary. In addition to the details of cases and the process of dealing, he also recorded his own observations, doubts, analyses, judgments and deliberations. The diary reflected not only how he dealt with cases, but also the reasons for his decisions. From the diary, we know that Du’s actual judicial power far exceeded the provisions of the Qing law. However, the judicial resources he possessed and the political and social reality he faced often made it difficult for him to deal with legal cases abiding by the statute law, and in many cases the truth could not even be found at all. Therefore, he often ignored the evidence of the case and dealt with them in violation of law. His first consideration was to maintain his position in the officialdom, safeguard his own economic interests and reduce trouble. He also paid attention to the unwritten rules of officialdom and the comments of local gentries. In some cases, he showed his compassion for the poor, orphans and the widowed as well. This article discusses two cases in detail to reflect Du’s various deliberations in dealing with legal cases.