742 REFORM OF GOVERNMENT ORGANIZA TION
or to demand something in negotiation without a proper reason for doing so, or
to deceive someone who made some kind of request from you. For that matter,
one was not to spend more than one's means or resources on clothing and adorn-
ments or on malTiages and funerals, or even to feel discontented if one happened
to be poor. If a member of the community happened to be an official, he was to
be reprimanded for utilizing his public position to engage in wrongdoing, to
make a personal profit, or to oppress others.
These provisions were consistent with the traditional Confucian attitude that
business was acceptable but had to be kept within the bounds of moral stan-
dards. As will be seen in the chapters on metallic cash, Confucians were not
opposed to commerce per se, but to an exaggerated pursuit of profit, an exces-
sive pattern of expenditures, or any depletion in the peasant population by the
enticements of huge profits in commerce.
Everyone was subject to chastisement for breaking the law, evading official
service obligations or taxes, or associating with criminals. Contrary to conven-
tional practice, men were to be warned against using deception to seduce women,
and any man who used force against a woman or committed rape was to be
reported to the authorities for punishment. Everyone was enjoined against par-
ticipating in Buddhist or shamanistic rituals or offering prayers, particularly when
a compact association meeting was being held. If that occurred, the general head
of all the subdistrict compact associations would transfer the guilty YakchOng
and have his family servants beaten. Finally, improper behavior at association
meetings, such as tardiness, causing a commotion, and leaving the meeting before
it came to an end were all misdemeanors subject to punishment.
Punishment for Legal and Moral Violations
Yu's rules for punishment of violations of the regulations and norms of the com-
pact included the regular provisions for admonition, reprimand in the compact
meeting, instruction, public apology, and probation, but if the transgressor refused
to accept criticism or rectify his mistakes, he would then be indicted for crim-
inal action even though that action might not have been a violation of statutory
law but of the rules of the compact association. Even in the case where the per-
petrator refused admonition and instruction, the decision for punishment was
not to be taken by the Yakchong himself, but only with unanimous approval of
all members of the compact association. The clerks (Saekchang) of the com-
pact association then had full authority to administer beatings of thirty or less
strokes of the bamboo stick while cases requiring more serious punishment had
to be reported to the district magistrate. If a clerk refused to carry out the beat-
ing, he too would be punished. Finally, in the Sung tradition Yu specified that
the community compacts would keep registers of both good and bad deeds and
the head of the compact (Yakch6ng) would then determine rewards and pun-
ishments if there was no dissent from the congregation.
Penalties for violation of the moral principles of behavior depended on the