Skilled prisoners in ancient China : The case of tuli and sikou convict employees in the bureaucracy

Abstract

This article is an attempt to argue that within the corvee penal system of the Qin 秦 and Early Han 前漢 Dynasties, prisoners known as tuli 徒隷 and sikou 司寇 were afforded better treatment than other convicts. Sikou were the most priveliged prisoners by virtue of the special work tasks allotted to them. This privilege also gave them the rights to 1) head households owning residential and arable land, 2) receive ceremonial gifts from the imperial court and 3) have their sons enlist in the military. Since sikou were also exempt from physical labor, and their crimes not borne by their descendants, the author concludes that they closely resembled lowly people in terms of social status. While tuli has be interpreted as the general term for "prisoner", the author shows that these inmates were either clerical experts employed in specific bureaus and agencies or artisans and the like with special technical or professional skills. Consequently, tuli were exempt from hard labor on public works construction sites and were rewarded for the contribution their work made to the imperial court. However, tuli were not allowed to register their households or hold arable land, and their descendants did bear the burden of their crimes. Although, tuli were originially convicted with sentences such as casual labor at government bureaus (lichen 隷臣), gathering firewood at imperial mausolea (guixin 鬼薪), and city wall construction (changdan 城旦), as soon as they were recognized as skilled workmen, they would be reclassified as tuli and accorded privileges second to only those enjoyed by sikou convicts.