Th roughout the Middle East, an ordeal was oft en as-
signed to prove guilt or innocence. For example, a popular
test from the time of Hammurabi was to throw the accused
into the Euphrates River. If the current brought the person to
shore, he or she was not guilty. Drowning, on the other hand,
proved guilt. (It appears that the art of swimming was little
known at the time.)
As in most ancient societies, imprisonment was a rela-
tively secondary form of punishment (though the Assyrians
are known to have had some exceedingly large prisons for the
times). Imprisonment was primarily for lesser crimes, such
as debt, bribery, tax evasion, and smuggling; off enders largely
remained in prison until they could pay off their debts or
fi nes. Long-term prisoners were usually foreigners or prison-
ers of war who were subsequently used for forced labor.
ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
BY DAVID PETECHUK
Asia and the Pacifi c are endowed with a vast and varied cul-
tural heritage, and much of the region’s history concerning
crime and punishment remains unknown and is not easily
synopsized outside India and China. In China, which boasts
one of the oldest legal traditions, laws focusing on crime and
punishment originated from ancient moral teachings that
were eventually written into legal codes. Many of the fi rst
laws formulated in ancient China date to the Zhou Dynasty
(ca. 1045–256 b.c.e.) and were divided into various rituals de-
signed to punish criminals and deter others from committing
crimes.
Th e Shan shu (Book of History), primarily composed
of recorded sayings of the governors in the Shang Dynasty
(ca. 1500–1045 b.c.e.) and the Zhou Dynasty, describes the
earliest of China’s “fi ve penalties”: tattooing, disfi gurement,
castration, mutilation, and death. For example, pickpockets
received brands on their arms for their fi rst two off enses,
while a third off ense probably resulted in a more severe pun-
ishment. Death was the penalty for armed robbery. One of
the most basic laws of ancient China was that children should
obey and honor their parents; thus, for example, a girl found
guilty of insulting her parents was strangled. Beating with
a bamboo stick was a common but, for the times, relatively
mild punishment for a variety of crimes. Because of the Chi-
nese belief that the head is the noblest part of the body, decap-
itation was considered particularly shameful and was used to
punish murder and a number of other serious crimes. A Han
Dynasty (202 b.c.e.–220 c.e.) legal code included more than
1,000 articles on capital punishment and decapitation.
Th e fi rst known complete Chinese written law dates to
the fi ft h century b.c.e. and outlined six basic areas of law. Th e
Law of Th eft focused on property crimes against the landlord
class; the Law of Banditry pertained to rebellions and person-
al injuries; the Law of Miscellaneous Aff airs was associated
with state aff airs; the Law of Verdict dealt with the logic and
rules behind increasing or reducing punishments; the Law of
Arrest and the Law of Prisons centered on those facets of the
justice system. Th ese laws, later called the “Law Classics,” cov-
ered everything from major crimes such as murder to lesser
off enses such as roguery, getting over city walls, gambling,
and lewdness, and they infl uenced how subsequent dynasties
down to modern times dealt with crime and punishment.
Culturally, linguistically, and ethnically diverse, India was
one of the cradles of civilization. Nevertheless, because of the
lack of written records, historians know little concerning an-
cient India’s approach to crime and punishment. According
to some sources, during the sixth and seventh centuries b.c.e.
crimina ls were seldom if ever put to deat h but were rat her fi ned
for various crimes. However, by the time Chandragupta Mau-
rya (r. 321–297 b.c.e.) came to power laws were harsher, and the
death penalty and mutilation were common punishments.
Th e Manusmriti, or Laws of Manu, the most authorita-
tive and best-known legal text of ancient India, combines
the beliefs of Hinduism with law. It fi rst appeared sometime
between 200 and 100 b.c.e. and was derived from ancient re-
ligious texts and authoritative commentaries on these texts.
As such, the Manusmriti provided ethical counsel as well as
commentaries on law. Th e laws were thought to refl ect the
values of India’s Hindu priests and clearly distinguished be-
tween civil wrongs, which primarily related to disputes over
money and wealth, and criminal off enses involving sins such
as theft and murder. Some historians believe that the laws de-
scribed by the Manusmriti may not have been enforced dili-
gently but rather provided an ideal of what the laws should
represent. In fact, only a few chapters focus on crime, justice,
and punishment.
Overall the Manusmriti divides crimes into 18 catego-
ries, such as nonpayment of debts, sale without ownership,
nonperformance of agreements, disputes between owners of
cattle and their servants, boundary disputes, assault and defa-
mation, theft , robbery and violence, and adultery. For physical
assault, various punishments were applied in ancient India,
based largely on the perpetrator’s caste, or social class. For ex-
ample, a man of low caste who assaulted a man of higher caste
oft en had a limb cut off as punishment. (Th e Laws of Manu
identifi ed places on the body where punishment could be in-
fl icted, including the sexual organs, belly, tongue, hands, and
feet.) While property damages were settled through fi nes, acts
of violence were seen as the worst crimes imaginable and were
severely punished. Th e Laws of Manu viewed punishment as
an extremely important tool for controlling people and keep-
ing them within their castes, thus ensuring that inferior peo-
ple would not take the place of their superiors.
Laws in ancient India and the handing out of punish-
ments were administered by the kings, who in turn were ad-
vised by various ministers and learned Brahmins (members
of the highest of the four Hindu varnas, or social divisions,
which also included, in order of importance, the Kshatri-
ayas, or warriors; the Vaisyas, or merchants; and the lowest
class, Sudras or workers). Judges were appointed to determine
punishments. At the village level a committee of fi ve or more300 crime and punishment: Asia and the Pacific