The Evolution of Ancient Supervision Legislation and Its Contemporary Lessons

General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection: “We must make every effort to strengthen the standardized, law-based, and regularized construction of discipline inspection and supervision work, and continuously enhance the capacity to rectify conduct, enforce discipline, and combat corruption.” To resolutely fight the tough, protracted, and all-out battle against corruption, it is necessary to persistently advance national anti-corruption legislation and raise the level of law-based discipline inspection and supervision. At the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that “we must further improve the system of anti-corruption laws and regulations,” and “persistently advance national anti-corruption legislation, and amend the Supervision Law in step with the times.” The culture of ancient supervision legislation has a long history, playing an important role in the development of China’s ancient supervision system; its crystallized essence is an indispensable part of the excellent traditional Chinese culture. The completeness of the ancient supervision legislative system provided weapons and legal standards for remonstrance supervision and impeachment supervision in ancient China. Learning from the past to understand the present, effectively absorbing the essence of ancient supervision legislation is of great significance for advancing national anti-corruption legislation in the New Era and promoting the integrated effort to ensure that officials dare not, cannot, and do not want to engage in corruption. [n]

习近平总书记在二十届中央纪委四次全会上强调：“要着力加强纪检监察工作规范化法治化正规化建设，不断提高正风肃纪反腐能力。”坚决打好反腐败这场攻坚战、持久战、总体战，必须持续推进反腐败国家立法，提升纪检监察工作法治化水平。在二十届中央纪委三次全会上，习近平总书记指出“要进一步健全反腐败法规制度”，“持续推进反腐败国家立法，与时俱进修改监察法”。古代监察立法文化源远流长，在中国古代监察体制发展进程中发挥了重要作用，其结晶和精华是中华优秀传统文化不可或缺的一部分。古代监察立法体系的完备，为中国古代言谏监察和纠弹监察提供了武器和法度。鉴古知今，有效吸收古代监察立法之精华，对于推进新时代反腐败国家立法，一体推进不敢腐、不能腐、不想腐有着重要意义。

Initial Creation: The Germination of Ancient Supervision Legislation

草创：古代监察立法的萌发

From the pre-Qin period to the Qin dynasty, supervision legislation gradually moved from a primitive form to a period of initial creation. The *Book of Documents*, “Canon of Shun,” records that Shun “assessed achievements every three years, and after three assessments, promoted the bright and demoted the obscure,” deciding the promotion, demotion, reward, and punishment of tribal leaders by examining their achievements three times over three years, dismissing unworthy officials and promoting others. This established norms for governing and managing officials at that time.

从先秦到秦代，监察立法从原始形态逐渐走向草创时期。《尚书·舜典》记载，舜“三载考绩，三考，黜陟幽明”，通过三年三次考定部落首领功绩，决定部落首领们的升降赏罚，废黜不贤官员，反之，则升任。这为当时治官管官确立了规范。

In Zhou dynasty texts such as the *Rites of Zhou* and the *Lü Xing*, punishments for official corruption and perversion of justice were already written into the penal code, and the form of supervision legislation began to emerge. The “Office of Heaven” in the *Rites of Zhou* was the office for governing the state, both “governing the state” and “governing officials,” and already contained regulations such as the “penal code” and the “eight methods.” The Grand Steward was the subordinate of the Office of Heaven and the head of official administration; his important duty was to oversee the formulation and promulgation of six codes: the code of governance, the code of education, the code of rites, the code of administration, the penal code, and the code of affairs. One function of the “penal code” was to punish officials who violated the law, while simultaneously using the “eight methods to govern the government offices,” namely: “First, official affiliations, to raise state governance. Second, official duties, to distinguish state governance. Third, official coordination, to unify office governance. Fourth, official routines, to hear office governance. Fifth, official precedents, to regulate state governance. Sixth, official laws, to correct state governance. Seventh, official punishments, to rectify state governance. Eighth, official evaluations, to judge state governance.” The “eight methods” not only clarified the hierarchical relationships among various offices, their routine responsibilities, and the scope of duties of officials in each office, but also stipulated the regulations that offices should follow when performing their duties, the reward and punishment rules for officials, and the standards for regular performance evaluation of officials. Among them, “official punishments” in the “eight methods” was the system for punishing officials who violated the law, while “official evaluations” was the system for assessing and managing officials. Clearly, these provisions already carried the implication of supervision regulations. The “Office of Autumn” in the *Rites of Zhou* was the “penal office” in charge of criminal law. The subordinate of the Office of Autumn, the Grand Minister of Crime, used five types of punishments to correct the people; the “official punishment” among the “five punishments” was the penal code applicable to government offices, aimed at promoting the worthy and capable while correcting dereliction of duty, that is, focusing on “superiors correcting duties.” The *Shi Shi* (judicial officer) was a subordinate of the Office of Autumn, whose duty was to manage the “five prohibitions”: palace prohibitions, official prohibitions, state prohibitions, field prohibitions, and military prohibitions, and to manage eight types of precedents for judicial officials in deciding cases. These eight precedents sequentially referred to eight types of official duty crimes: stealing state secrets, committing treason, spying for foreign states, violating the king’s decrees, falsely claiming the king’s orders, stealing state treasures, forming cliques for private gain, and slandering rulers and ministers or distorting facts. These were the eight types of duty crimes: state espionage, state rebellion, state spying, violating state orders, falsifying state orders, state theft, state factionalism, and state slander. The precedents were actually established practices for governing officials and managing functionaries, providing standards for supervisory officials.

在周朝的《周礼》《吕刑》等古籍中，如何惩治官员贪赃枉法已写入刑罚，监察立法的形态初显。《周礼》的“天官”就是治理国政之官，既“治邦”，又“治官”，并已有“刑典”和“八法”等法规。太宰是天官的属官和治官之长，其重要职责是掌管制定和颁行包括治典、教典、礼典、政典、刑典与事典六种法典。“刑典”的职能之一是惩罚违法的百官，同时又以“八法治官府”，即“一曰官属，以举邦治。二曰官职，以辨邦治。三曰官联，以会官治。四曰官常，以听官治。五曰官成，以经邦治。六曰官法，以正邦治。七曰官刑，以纠邦治。八曰官计，以弊邦治”。 “八法”不仅明确了各个官府的统属关系、常规性职责以及各官府官吏的职责范围等成例，还规定了各官府履行职责时应遵循的法规、官吏的赏罚法规以及定期考核官员政绩的标准。其中，“八法”中的“官刑”是惩罚违法官员的制度，而“官计”则是考评治吏的制度，显然这些规定都已经具有监察法规的意蕴。《周礼》的“秋官”则是执掌刑法的“刑官”。秋官的属官大司寇用五种刑法来纠察民众，“五刑”之“官刑”适用于官府的刑法，以倡导贤能而纠察失职行为，即重在“上能纠职”。士师是秋官的属官，其职责是掌管“宫禁、官禁、国禁、野禁与军禁”，即“五禁之法”，并掌管司法官断案的八种成例。这八种成例依次指涉盗取国家机密、犯上作乱、为外国作间谍案、违反王的教令、假冒王命、窃取国家宝藏、朋比为奸结党营私以及诬罔君臣、歪曲事实等八种官吏职务犯罪案件，即指邦汋、邦贼、邦谍、犯邦令、挢邦令、邦盗、邦朋与邦诬等八种职务犯罪。成例实际是治官治吏已成形的做法，为监察官员确定了准则。

The *Lü Xing* is the earliest extant criminal law document in China, and is even called the “first anti-corruption legislation” in existence. At that time, supervision regulations were embedded within official punishments and criminal law. The *Lü Xing* divided “punishments” into three major categories—the five punishments, the five fines, and the five errors—proposing that sentencing should be based on the severity of the crime, and admonishing feudal lords and ministers to use criminal judgments appropriately and make decisions fittingly. At the same time, it required supervising the fairness of the five punishments and using them with caution. If the five punishments were verified and credible, they were applied; if not verifiable, the five fines were used; if the five fines were also inapplicable, the five errors were used. The five errors required guarding against judges engaging in favoritism, fraud, and corruption. If a judge had the “five flaws of error,” namely “relying on power, seeking revenge, currying favor with relatives, demanding bribes, and accepting requests,” it meant that if a judge “feared power and influence, settled personal grudges, flattered close relatives, extorted bribes, or accepted entreaties,” it had to be thoroughly investigated. Once discovered, “the punishment was the same as the offender’s,” meaning the judge’s penalty for the crime was identical to that of the other criminal. This was essentially supervision of officials. The *Lü Xing* also mentioned that the *Shi Shi* (judicial officer) should both use fair punishments to control the hundred officials and teach subjects to respect virtue, repeatedly emphasizing that punishment was a supplement to virtue.

《吕刑》是我国现存最早的刑法文献，甚至还被称为现存的“第一部反腐败立法”。当时的监察法规寓于官刑、刑法之中。《吕刑》将“刑”分五刑、五罚、五过三大类种，提出要根据罪行大小来量刑，告诫诸侯国君和各位大臣要善用刑法判决，判断要适宜。同时，要监察五刑的公正，慎用五刑。五刑如果核实可信，就用五刑；如果不能核实，就用五罚；如果五罚也不适用，就用五过。五过又要谨防法官徇私舞弊，贪赃枉法。法官如果有“五过之疵”，即“惟官”“惟反”“惟内”“惟货”“惟来”，就是说如果法官“畏权势，报恩怨，谄媚内亲，索取贿赂，受人请托”等，必须详细察实，一旦发现，“其罪惟均”，法官犯罪的处罚与其他罪犯相同。这其实就是对官员的监察。《吕刑》中还提到士师既要用公正的刑罚制御百官，又要教导臣民敬重德行，并反复强调刑为德之补充。

During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, successively promulgated written laws also contained some content related to supervising officials, and supervision legislation was initially taking shape. The Qin dynasty had established a relatively complete legal system, but its supervision regulations were still in their infancy at that time. Ancient Chinese codes often formed a compilation structure where various laws were mixed together; therefore, most Qin dynasty supervision regulations were interspersed within the provisions of the criminal code. At the same time, because the supervisory organs were then under the authority of the Chancellor and subordinate to the administrative structure, supervision law was also mixed with administrative law. “Statutes” and “ordinances” were the main forms of Qin dynasty supervision regulations, such as the Qin statutes or the emperor’s ordinances (edicts, decrees). From the unearthed *Shuihudi Qin Bamboo Slips*, a large number of Qin dynasty written law provisions have been discovered, classified into ten parts including *The Eighteen Types of Qin Statutes*, *Miscellaneous Excerpts from Qin Statutes*, *Legal Questions and Answers*, and *The Way of the Official*. This provides a glimpse of the situation. However, the actual Qin statutes were far more numerous than those unearthed, though many have been lost. These bamboo slips contain many regulatory provisions of a supervisory nature. For example, *The Way of the Official* stipulated the basic principles and codes of conduct for supervisory officials, as well as rules for interrogation and impeachment. *Legal Questions and Answers* provided specific provisions on how to handle official violations and crimes. For instance, the punishment for officials engaging in fraud was: “According to court precedent, if an official commits fraud, and the penalty is a fine of a shield or above, the judgment is executed, and he is also dismissed.” “Court precedent” was a legal form of Qin law, referring to established judgments. This question and answer concisely pointed out: according to precedent, once an official engaged in fraud, if the crime warranted a penalty of a shield fine or above, the judgment was executed, and at the same time, he was dismissed and never reemployed. For officials who did not fulfill their duties or sought personal gain, there were also specific legal explanations. “If a *Se Fu* (village head) does not take his official duties as his business but makes evil deeds his business, what punishment is appropriate? He should be exiled. Should the wife of the exiled person be included? No.” If a *Se Fu* (a village official established by Qin) did not perform his duties and instead specialized in doing evil, he should be punished with exile, but the wife of the exiled person should not accompany him to the place of exile. Another example: if an official used public resources for personal profit, he was to be exiled. “For officials from the rank of Assistant and Scribe upward, if they use government pack horses, personal attendants on document duty, or private soldiers to engage in market trade for profit, they are all to be exiled.” Furthermore, for officials who did not implement imperial decrees, did not assume their posts, or did not stop issuing rations that should have been stopped, corresponding punishments were imposed, such as the punishment of shaving the beard and sideburns, or being dealt with according to minor violations of ordinances, or being convicted of theft.

春秋战国时期，陆续颁布的成文法中也有部分内容涉及监察官吏，监察立法草创初就。秦朝已建立较为完备的法律制度，但其监察法规在当时还处于草创之中。中国古代法典往往形成了诸法混合在一起的编纂结构，因而秦朝监察法规大多夹杂在刑法典条文之中，同时因为当时监察机构受宰相所管，隶属于行政机构，所以监察法又与行政法规混合在一起。“律”“令”等是秦朝监察法规的主要形式，如秦律或皇帝的令（制、诏）等。从已出土的《睡虎地秦墓竹简》中发现大量的秦朝成文法条文，分类整理起来有《秦律十八种》《秦律杂抄》《法律答问》《为吏之道》等十部分内容，以此可以窥见一斑。但秦律与出土的法律条文相较，实际还要多得多，只是许多已经遗失。该竹简中有不少具有监察性质的法规条文。如《为吏之道》中规定了监察官的基本原则和行为准则以及审讯弹劾的规则。对于官吏违规犯罪如何处置，《法律答问》则给出了具体规定。如对官员弄虚作假的处置是：“廷行事吏为诅伪，赀盾以上，行其论，有（又）废之。” “廷行事”是秦律的一种法律形式，指判决成例。这条答问简明扼要地指出：根据成例，官吏一旦弄虚作假，罪在罚盾以上的，照判决执行，同时就要撤职永不叙用。对于不恪守职责的官吏，或牟利的官吏，也有具体法律解答。“啬夫不以官为事，以奸为事，论可（何）（也）？当（迁）。（迁）者妻当包不当？不当包。”啬夫（即秦设的乡官）为官不履职尽职，而专干坏事，应当处以流放的处罚，但被流放者的妻子不应随往流放地点。又比如，官吏用公共资源牟取私利，要处以流放。“吏自佐、史以上负从马、守书私卒，令市取钱焉，皆（迁）。”再诸如对不执行朝廷命书的、不到任管事的、不停止应该停止发放口粮等官吏，相应处以耐刑（指强制剃掉鬓毛胡须），或按照轻微的犯令论处，或以盗窃论罪。

During the Warring States period, Li Kui compiled the *Canon of Laws*, a code that synthesized the legislation of various states from the Spring and Autumn period. It formed six major contents and systems: *The Law on Theft*, *The Law on Violence*, *The Law on Imprisonment*, *The Law on Arrest*, *The Law on Miscellaneous Offenses*, and *The Law on General Provisions*. Among them, *The Law on Miscellaneous Offenses* contained laws on how to punish acts such as embezzlement, providing supervisory officials with specific written laws to rely on.

战国时期李悝集春秋时期各国立法之大成所著的《法经》这部法典，形成了《盗法》《贼法》《囚法》《捕法》《杂法》《具法》六大内容和体系，其中《杂法》中有关于如何处罚贪污等行为的法律，为监察官员提供了具体可依的成文法。

Although the ancient Chinese supervision legislation of the initial creation period had no specialized supervision codes, within the “integrated legal codes,” especially in the Qin statutes, one can still find many provisions concerning how to govern officials and functionaries. Regulations on inspecting officials became important articles of the Qin statutes. This provided precedents and a basis for supervisory officials at that time. Measures for governing officials were essentially an important part of supervision legislation.

草创期的中国古代监察立法虽无专门的监察法规，但从“诸法合体”的法典中，尤其是在秦律中，还是能够发现不少涉及如何治吏治官的条款，而有关察吏的规定更是成为秦律的重要条款。这为当时监察官吏提供了成例和依据。治吏的举措其实就是监察立法的重要内容。

Flourishing: The Evolution of Ancient Supervision Legislation

勃兴：古代监察立法的演进

Since the Han dynasty, local supervision regulations began to be issued and flourished one after another, the system of supervision legislation was continuously improved, gradually forming a systematic and standardized institutional framework, providing the legal basis and guarantee for comprehensive supervision in administration, legislation, justice, military affairs, and other aspects.

自汉朝以来，地方监察法规开始陆续出台并勃兴起来，监察立法体系持续完善，逐步形成系统化、规范化的制度架构，为行政、立法、司法、军事等全方面监察提供了法律法规的依据和保障。

The Western Han issued the first local written supervision regulation in ancient Chinese history, the *Nine Articles for Supervising Censors* (监御史九条), also known as the *Nine Methods of the Censor* (御史九法): “In the third year of Emperor Hui’s reign, the Chancellor submitted a memorial to dispatch censors to supervise illegal matters in the Three Auxiliary Regions, covering: those involved in litigation; bandits; counterfeiters of coinage; unjust court judgments; inequitable corvée and taxation; dishonest officials; harsh officials; extravagance and the possession of crossbows with a draw weight of ten *shi* or more; and wearing what is not permitted. These were nine articles in all.” These nine articles, covering litigation, social order, local finance, and official integrity, provided legal norms for the censorial supervision of officials in the three commanderies near the capital—the Metropolitan Superintendent of the Right, the Metropolitan Superintendent of the Left, and the Governor of the Capital Region.

西汉出台了中国古代历史上第一部地方性成文监察法规《监御史九条》，又称《御史九法》：“惠帝三年，相国奏遣御史监三辅不法事，有：辞讼者，盗贼者，铸伪钱者，狱不直者，繇赋不平者，吏不廉者，吏苛刻者，逾侈及弩力十石以上者，非所当服者，凡九条。”这九条从诉讼、社会治安、地方财政、官吏廉洁等方面，为京兆尹、左冯翊和右扶风等京畿附近三郡官吏的御史监察提供了法律规范。

The *Six Articles for Inquiry* (六条问事) was a more mature and systematic local supervision regulation. To better exercise supervisory functions, Emperor Wu of Han established the system of Regional Inspectors, dividing the empire into thirteen supervisory circuits and dispatching central inspectors to supervise local officials. The main content of the *Six Articles for Inquiry* was: “First Article: Powerful local clans and wealthy families whose land and residences exceed the statutory limits, who bully the weak with their strength, and oppress the few with their numbers. Second Article: Two-thousand-bushel officials who do not follow imperial edicts or observe established statutes, who betray the public interest for private gain, who exploit imperial decrees for personal profit, who encroach upon and plunder the people, and who amass wealth through corruption. Third Article: Two-thousand-bushel officials who show no compassion in doubtful cases, who use harsh measures to kill, who inflict punishment when angry and bestow rewards when pleased, who are vexatious, cruel, and oppressive, who cut down and injure the common people, who are hated by the people, and who cause mountains to crumble and stones to split, and bring forth portents and false rumors. Fourth Article: Two-thousand-bushel officials who are unfair in selecting and appointing subordinates, who are partial to those they favor, who conceal worthy men and favor the unworthy. Fifth Article: The sons and younger brothers of two-thousand-bushel officials who rely on their family’s power and influence to make requests of those under their supervision. Sixth Article: Two-thousand-bushel officials who violate public duty to curry favor with inferiors, who flatter and attach themselves to powerful families, who engage in bribery and corruption, and who undermine government decrees.” The *Six Articles for Inquiry* specified that the targets of supervision were powerful local clans and wealthy families, as well as two-thousand-bushel officials and their sons and younger brothers. The content of supervision included: powerful clans and wealthy families bullying others by virtue of their power, land and residences exceeding statutory limits, commandery governors abusing power for personal gain and using imperial decrees to profit and extort, hasty judgments, arbitrary killings and improper rewards and punishments, unfair selection and appointment of personnel, disregard for public morality and propriety, currying favor with the powerful, undermining government decrees, and the sons and younger brothers of commandery governors flaunting their power, interfering in judicial matters through personal requests, and meddling in official business. The *Six Articles for Inquiry* not only legislated on how to supervise local officials but also strictly regulated the supervisory work of the Regional Inspectors; exceeding the scope of the “six articles” was also punishable, to prevent Regional Inspectors from abusing their supervisory authority. The *Six Articles for Inquiry* was also inherited by later dynasties and emulated in the local supervision legislation of the Wei, Jin, Sui, and Tang dynasties. Gu Yanwu even praised the *Six Articles for Inquiry* as “an excellent law that remained unchanged for a hundred generations.” [2]2 The quotation is from the Chinese scholarly literature cited by the author; the original source is not specified in the text.

《六条问事》是更为成熟而系统的地方监察法规。为了促进更好地行使监察职能，汉武帝创设了刺史制度，将全国分成十三个监察区域，由中央派遣刺史前往地方监察官员。《六条问事》主要内容是：“一条强宗豪右田宅逾制，以强凌弱，以众暴寡。二条二千石不奉诏书遵承典制，倍公向私，旁诏守利，侵渔百姓，聚敛为奸。三条二千石不恤疑狱，风厉杀人，怒则任刑，喜则淫赏，烦扰刻暴，剥截黎元，为百姓所疾，山崩石裂，妖祥讹言。四条二千石选署不平，苛阿所爱，蔽贤宠顽。五条二千石子弟恃怙荣势，请托所监。六条二千石违公比下，阿附豪强，通行货赂，割损政令也。”《六条问事》明确了监察对象是强宗豪右和二千石官员及其子弟，监察内容则包括强宗豪右仗势欺人、土地和住宅规模超过制度规定、郡守以权谋私假借诏令牟利敛财问题、草率定案、胡乱杀人和赏罚问题、选人用人不公、不讲公德、不顾体统、巴结豪强、破坏政令以及郡守的弟子逞威摆阔、受人请托干扰司法、干预公务等。六条问事既对如何监察地方官吏进行了立法规定，又对刺史的监察工作进行了严格规定，超出“六条”范围也要受罚，以免刺史滥用监察职权。《六条问事》也被后代所承袭，为魏晋隋唐的地方监察立法所效仿，顾炎武甚至称赞《六条问事》“为百代不易之良法”。

During the Three Kingdoms, Western Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties period, supervision regulations were basically based on the *Six Articles for Inquiry* but also saw some innovations. During the Three Kingdoms period, Jia Kui, the Inspector of Yuzhou in the state of Cao Wei, saw that local officials at the time neglected the law, bandits ran rampant openly, and the Inspector knew of this but did not investigate and correct it, making it difficult for the empire to return to the right path. He therefore established a new practice in Yuzhou, which had considerable influence and even received the emperor’s approval, who issued an imperial edict to the empire stating that “Yuzhou should be taken as the model.” [3]3 The Hongwu Emperor (r. 1368–1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang, was the founder and first emperor of the Ming dynasty. The model of Yuzhou being recognized and used throughout the empire referred to the *Six Articles for Examining Officials* (察吏六条) that Jia Kui had created. Its specific content was: “Examine the people’s suffering and those who have been wronged or lost their positions; examine the administrative performance of officials with black seal-ribbons and above; examine bandits who harm the people and major crafty villains; examine those who violate agricultural laws and seasonal prohibitions; examine those among the people who are filial, fraternal, incorrupt, upright in conduct, and of outstanding talent; examine officials who fail to properly account for money and grain in the treasury. The scope of examination shall not exceed these.” Compared with the *Six Articles for Inquiry*, the *Six Articles for Examining Officials* focused on supervising local officials for dereliction of duty, loss of control, laxity, impropriety, and lack of integrity. However, for various reasons, the supervisory authority and effectiveness of the *Six Articles for Examining Officials* were not ideal.

三国两晋南北朝时期，监察法规基本上以《六条问事》为底本，但又有所创新。三国时期曹魏的豫州刺史贾逵看到当时长吏玩忽法令，盗贼公然横行，刺史明知而不纠举，因此天下很难归于正道，于是在豫州创立了新的做法，具有不小的影响力，甚至获得皇帝的认可并布告天下“当以豫州为法”。以豫州的法作为天下公认并使用的法度，即是指贾逵所创设的《察吏六条》，其具体内容是：“察民疾苦冤失职者；察墨绶长吏以上居官政状；察盗贼为民之害及大奸猾者；察犯田律四时禁者；察民有孝悌廉洁行修正茂才异等者；察吏不簿入钱谷放散者。所察不得过此。”较之《六条问事》，《察吏六条》聚焦监察地方长吏的失职、失禁、失严、失当、失廉等。但由于种种原因，察吏六条的监察权威和效能都不够理想。

Local supervision regulations in the Jin dynasty became more specific and diversified. In addition to the *lü* (statutes) and *ling* (ordinances), the Jin also had legal forms such as *ke* (sections), *bi* (analogies), *ge* (regulations), and *shi* (models). This period saw a large number of legal provisions concerning criminal, civil, supervisory, and administrative matters. In terms of supervision legislation and legislation on official governance, there were both nationally applicable laws like the *Jin Code* (晋律) and a rich variety of local supervision regulations, mainly including the *Ten Articles on Competence and Incompetence* (能否十条), the *Eight Articles for Examining Local Officials* (察长吏八条), the *Five Articles for Examining Commanderies* (五条律察郡), and the *Four Articles for Examining Two-Thousand-Bushel Officials* (察二千石长吏四条). The *Ten Articles on Competence and Incompetence* stated: “If fields are opened up, industries are cultivated, rites and education are established, and prohibitions and orders are carried out, then the local official is competent. If the people are impoverished, agriculture is neglected,奸盗 arise, litigation is vexatious, the lower orders encroach upon the higher, rites and righteousness do not flourish, then the local official is incompetent.” The *Ten Articles on Competence and Incompetence* served as supervisory regulations at the time, ordering each commandery’s Grand Administrator or kingdom’s Chancellor to inspect subordinate counties once every three years, and, like the ancients, to choose spring to propagate customs and education and to manifest loyalty and righteousness. During these inspections, they were to meet with local officials, observe customs, harmonize rites and laws, show concern for the people’s condition, investigate civil affairs, visit and console the elderly, handle unjust cases, and carefully examine the gains and losses of governance and punishment. If they saw that the people were diligent in opening up fields, that all trades and industries were flourishing, that rites and education were complete, and that laws and decrees were strict and upright, with orders being carried out and prohibitions observed, this indicated that the subordinate county’s local official was competent. Conversely, if the people’s lives were distressed, agriculture was neglected, rites and righteousness did not flourish, and the upper and lower orders were lax, this was the local official’s dereliction of duty. The *Eight Articles for Examining Local Officials* (察长吏八条) stated: “If a local official is public-spirited and incorruptible in office, does not consider private interests, is upright and principled, and does not embellish his reputation; and if he personally engages in corrupt and filthy conduct, flatters and curries favor, fails to establish public integrity, and daily enriches his private household—these must all be carefully investigated.” The first four of these eight articles were “investigations of integrity,” requiring officials to be public-spirited and incorruptible, not to seek private gain, to be upright and principled, and not to seek undeserved fame. The latter four were “investigations of misconduct,” requiring strict examination of officials whose conduct was filthy and vile, who engaged in flattery and scheming, who failed to uphold public integrity, and who daily enriched their private households, ultimately to purge the corrupt and promote the clean, to recommend the good and impeach the bad. Subsequently, the Jin dynasty promulgated and implemented the *Five Articles for Examining Commanderies* (五条律察郡) and the *Four Articles for Examining Two-Thousand-Bushel Officials* (察二千石长吏四条), which began to raise the targets of supervision to commandery governors and other two-thousand-bushel officials. The former stated: “First, rectify one’s own conduct; second, be diligent for the people; third, comfort the orphaned and widowed; fourth, promote the fundamental and curb the peripheral; fifth, eliminate personal connections.” The latter required: “Two-thousand-bushel officials who cannot diligently sympathize with the people’s hidden sufferings, but lightly act on private grudges, prolong litigation, are mostly greedy and corrupt, and vex and disturb the people—the Inspectors and two-thousand-bushel officials are ordered to investigate their filthy and turbid conduct, to recommend the public-spirited and incorrupt, and the relevant authorities shall deliberate on their demotion or promotion.” Looking at the achievements of local supervision legislation in the Jin dynasty as a whole, it can be seen that both the targets and the content of supervision became more extensive, specific, and comprehensive.

晋代地方监察法规更为具体化、多样化。晋在律、令之外，还有科、比、格、式等法律形式。这一时期存在大量涉及刑事、民事、监察、行政等方面的法律条文。在监察立法和吏治立法方面，既有《晋律》这样全国性通用的法律，也有丰富多样的地方监察法规，主要有《能否十条》《察长吏八条》《五条律察郡》和《察二千石长吏四条》等。《能否十条》提出：“田畴辟，生业修，礼教设，禁令行，则长吏之能也。人穷匮，农事荒，奸盗起，刑狱烦，下陵上替，礼义不兴，斯长吏之否也。”《能否十条》作为当时的监察条例，刺令各郡太守国相每三年要巡察属县一次，而且要和古人一样选择在春天来宣风教、显忠义。在巡察时候既要接见长吏、观察风俗、协调礼律，又要体恤民情、体察民事、看望和慰问老人、处理冤案、详察政刑得失等。如果看到百姓勤于开辟田地，各行各业兴旺，礼教齐备，而且法令严正，纪律严明，令行禁止，这说明属县的长吏有能。相反，如果人民生活困顿，农事荒废，礼义不兴，上下废弛等，则是长吏的失职。《察长吏八条》提出：“若长吏在官公廉，虑不及私，正色直节，不饰名誉者，及身行贪秽，谄黩求容，公节不立，而私门日富者，并谨察之。”这八条的前四条是“廉察”，即要求为官公廉、不谋私利、正直有节、不沽名钓誉，后四条则是“劣察”，即要严查行为污秽不堪、谄媚钻谋、公节不渝、私家日富的官吏，以最终实现激浊扬清、举善弹违。此后，晋代颁布施行的《五条律察郡》和《察二千石长吏四条》又开始将监察对象提升到郡守以及其他二千石长吏，前者“一曰正身，二曰勤百姓，三曰抚孤寡，四曰敦本息末，五曰去人事”。后者要求“二千石长吏不能勤恤人隐，而轻挟私故，兴长刑狱，又多贪浊，烦挠百姓。其敕刺史二千石纠其秽浊，举其公清，有司议其黜陟”。通观晋代地方监察法规的成绩可见，无论是监察对象，还是监察内容，都更为广泛具体而齐全。

Although the supervision system of the Eastern Jin collapsed and supervision legislation achieved little, and the Southern Dynasties were similar, the Northern Dynasties were different. The *Six-Article Edict* of the Western Wei and the *Nine-Article Edict System* of the Northern Zhou contributed to the construction of ancient supervision legislation. The *Six-Article Edict*, formulated in the tenth year of the Datong era of the Western Wei, stipulated that one must: first govern the mind, promote moral education, fully utilize land resources, promote the virtuous and capable, handle lawsuits with care, and equalize taxes and corvée labor. It combined Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism, advancing simultaneously the purification of the mind, moral education, and rewards and punishments. The *Nine-Article Edict System* was a combination of performance evaluation and official assessment, further expanding the supervisory function. Shortly after Emperor Xuanwu of the Northern Zhou ascended the throne, he promulgated the *Nine-Article Edict System* and dispatched envoys to inspect the various prefectures. The *Nine-Article Edict System* served as the basis for inspecting officials, with its specific content being: “First, the adjudication of crimes and the determination of penalties must all conform to legal statutes; Second, for those whose maternal clan is beyond the mourning degree, marriage is permitted; Third, the use of the staff for punishment must all follow the law; Fourth, if commanderies and counties fail to capture bandits and thieves within their borders, they must report this in writing; Fifth, filial sons, obedient grandsons, righteous husbands, and chaste wives shall have their gates and lanes honored; those whose talents are suitable for appointment should be recommended forthwith; Sixth, those who have previously served but whose fame and rank have not been attained, or who have sunk into obscurity among the common folk but possess literary or martial skills that can be employed, should be investigated and their names reported; Seventh, those of the pseudo-Qi [n] of the seventh rank and above have already been ordered to be recruited and employed; those of the eighth rank and below, including those outside the official hierarchy, if they wish to enter officialdom, are permitted to participate in the selection, but will be appointed to offices two ranks lower; Eighth, prefectures shall recommend those of high talent and broad learning as ‘cultivated talents,’ commanderies shall recommend those who understand the classics and have virtuous conduct as ‘filial and incorrupt’; superior prefectures and superior commanderies shall recommend one person per year, inferior prefectures and inferior commanderies one person every three years; Ninth, those aged seventy or above shall be granted office according to regulations; widowers, widows, the needy, and those unable to support themselves shall all be given relief and aid.” The nine articles for inspecting the prefectures of the Northern Zhou not only supervised whether the sentencing of criminals and punishment by flogging were based on law or decree, but also examined whether officials were resolute in capturing bandits and thieves, and simultaneously conducted investigations and recommendations, checking whether the recommendation of various talents was done with utmost effort. The Northern Zhou not only dispatched envoys to inspect the prefectures but also formulated punishment regulations for supervisory officials who violated discipline, severely punishing those who bent the law for personal gain or engaged in graft and bribery. Strengthening supervision legislation and strictly governing prefectures and officials helped stabilize the rule of the Northern Dynasties. The supervision legislation of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties initiated the parallel provisions of “investigation and correction” and “recommendation and promotion,” embodying the characteristics of “equal emphasis on investigation and recommendation, and equal emphasis on reward and punishment,” which was also a unique institutional creation of this period.

虽然东晋监察体制出现坍塌，监察立法无更多建树，南朝亦然，但北朝则不然，西魏的《六条诏书》和北周的《诏制九条》则为古代监察法规建设有所贡献。西魏大统十年制定的《六条诏书》提出要做到：先治心、敦教化、尽地利、擢贤良、恤狱讼与均赋役。儒道法相结合，洗心、教化与赏罚齐头并进。《诏制九条》则是考绩与考吏的结合，进一步扩大了监察职能。北周宣武帝即位不久就颁行《诏制九条》，派遣大使巡察诸州。《诏制九条》作为察吏的根据，具体内容是：“一曰，决狱科罪，皆准律文；二曰，母族绝服外者，听婚；三曰，以杖决罚，悉令依法；四曰，郡县当境贼盗不擒获者，并仰录奏；五曰，孝子顺孙义夫节妇，表其门闾，才堪任用者，即宜申荐；六曰，或昔经驱使，名位未达，或沉沦蓬荜，文武可施，宜并采访，具以名奏；七曰，伪齐七品以上，已敕收用，八品以下，爰及流外，若欲入仕，皆听预选，降二等授官；八曰，州举高才博学者为秀才，郡举经明行修者为孝廉，上州、上郡岁一人，下州、下郡三岁一人；九曰，年七十以上，依式授官，鳏寡困乏不能自存者，并加禀恤。”北周监察各州的九条，既督察判决罪犯和杖责处罚是否依据法律或法令，又察看官员擒获盗贼是否坚决，还察访并行，察看举荐各式人才是否尽心尽力。北周不仅派大使巡察各州，还制定监察官违纪惩处条例，从重严惩监察者徇私枉法和贪污受贿。加强监察立法，从严治州治官，利于稳定北朝的统治。魏晋南北朝的监察立法开启了“察纠”与“荐举”并行不悖的规定，体现了“察举并重、奖惩并重”的特点，也是这一时期的独创体制。

During the Sui, Tang, and Five Dynasties period, Chinese legal culture developed significantly. The *Kaihuang Code* of the Sui Dynasty, the *Yonghui Code with Commentary* and the *Six Codes of the Tang* of the Tang Dynasty, and the *Dazhou Criminal Regulations* of the Five Dynasties were all important legal codes of feudal society. Due to the loss of the *Kaihuang Code* and the *Dazhou Criminal Regulations*, it is difficult to know how much of these two codes involved supervision legislation. However, supervision legislation in the Tang Dynasty was, on the whole, increasingly rich. It included a large number of edicts and imperial instructions concerning supervision, contained many supervision laws and regulations within codes such as the *Yonghui Code with Commentary* and the *Six Codes of the Tang*, and also saw the promulgation and implementation of separate regulations such as the *Six Articles for Inspection Tours* and the *Forty-Eight Articles for Investigating Local Customs*.

隋唐五代时期，中华法律文化大为发展，隋朝的《开皇律》、唐朝的《永徽律疏》和《唐六典》、五代的《大周刑统》等，都是封建社会的重要法典。基于《开皇律》《大周刑统》的散佚，很难得知这两部法典中到底有多少内容涉及监察立法，但唐代监察立法总体而言已经日渐丰富，既有大量指涉监察的诏令、圣谕，又在《永徽律疏》《唐六典》等法典中内含不少监察法律法规，还颁发实施了《巡察六条》和《风俗廉察四十八条》等单行法规。

The Sui Dynasty continued the Han Dynasty’s *Six Articles for Inquiring into Affairs*, but made significant improvements. The Sui inspection system was headed by the Grand Master of the Censorate of the Capital Region, assisted by two deputy officials who separately inspected the capital region, responsible for the inspection tasks of the Eastern Capital and the capital city respectively. Prefects were responsible for inspecting areas outside the capital region. The various commanderies were inspected by deputy prefects according to the *Six Articles for Inspection Tours*. Their main tasks were: “First, to inspect whether officials of the ninth rank and above were capable in governance. Second, to inspect officials for greed, cruelty, and harm to governance. Third, to inspect powerful and cunning local magnates who bullied the lower classes, and cases where fields and houses exceeded regulations and the authorities could not prohibit them. Fourth, to inspect cases where floods, droughts, and insect plagues were not truthfully reported, taxes and corvée were wrongfully levied, or exemptions were falsely granted when there was no disaster. Fifth, to inspect cases where bandits and thieves within the jurisdiction could not be thoroughly pursued and were concealed without being reported. Sixth, to inspect cases of virtuous conduct, filial piety, and brotherly respect, and those of outstanding talent and extraordinary conduct who remained hidden and were not recommended.” The difference from the Han *Six Articles for Inquiring into Affairs* lay in the fact that the Sui *Six Articles for Inspection Tours* expanded the scope of supervision targets. All officials with a rank were within the scope of supervision, with a particular focus on local officials, emphasizing the inspection of their governance capabilities, whether they were greedy and cruel and engaged in actions harmful to state governance, and whether local officials effectively implemented central policies and decrees.

隋沿用了汉《六条问事》，但又有大的改进。隋的巡察系统以司隶台大夫为首，配备佐官别驾二位，分察畿内，分别负责东都和京师的巡察任务。刺史负责巡察畿外。诸郡由副刺史按照《巡察六条》进行巡察，他们主要任务是：“一察品官以上理政能不。二察官人贪残害政。三察豪强奸猾，侵害下人，及田宅逾制，官司不能禁止者。四察水旱虫灾，不以实言，枉征赋役，及无灾妄蠲免者。五察部内贼盗，不能穷逐，隐而不申者。六察德行孝悌，茂才异行，隐不贡者。”与汉《六条问事》之间的差别在于，隋的《巡察六条》扩大了监察对象的范围，凡有品级的官员都在监察之内，尤以地方官员为重点，着重监察其是否有理政能力、为官是否贪婪凶残且有损害国家治理的行为、地方官员是否很好地执行中央政策法令等。

The Tang Dynasty established the Ten Circuits for inspection tours, with investigating censors and their assistant officials, as well as branch commissioners when tasks were heavy, to inspect the hundred officials and tour the prefectures and counties. Building on the Sui “six investigations,” they proposed new *Six Articles for Inspection Tours*: “Inspect the good and evil of officials; inspect the scattering of registered households, the concealment of census records, and the inequality of taxes and corvée; inspect the lack of diligence in agriculture and sericulture, and the reduction of granary reserves; inspect sorcerers, cunning thieves, those who do not engage in productive occupations, and those who harm the people for private gain; inspect virtuous conduct, filial piety, and brotherly respect, those of outstanding talent and extraordinary ability, those who conceal their talents and remain hidden, and those who should be employed according to the times; inspect cunning clerks and powerful lineages who engage in annexation and tyranny, and the poor and weak who suffer injustice and hardship and cannot plead for themselves.” The Tang *Six Articles for Inspection Tours* were more specific, including within the scope of supervision whether officials were good or evil, the scattering of registered households, the concealment or loss of registers, diligence in agriculture and sericulture down to the reduction of granary reserves, virtuous conduct and filial piety, and cunning clerks and powerful lineages. The *Six Codes of the Tang*, as the administrative code of the Tang Dynasty, had specific chapters that clearly stipulated the organization, ranks, and powers of the Censorate, the supervisory institution. The Tang Dynasty formed four legal forms: “codes, decrees, regulations, and ordinances.” Especially in legal forms such as regulations and ordinances, there was considerable content related to supervision regulations. This indicates that Tang supervision legislation was richer, its style more rigorous, and it had woven a relatively tight supervisory legal net, marking the further development of ancient Chinese local supervision regulations and supervision legislation.

唐设十道巡按，由监察御史和其佐官判官以及任务繁重时还配有支使分察百僚，巡按州县，且在隋“六察”基础上又提出新的《巡察六条》：“察官人善恶；察户口流散，籍帐隐没，赋役不均；察农桑不勤，仓库减耗；察妖猾盗贼，不事生业，为私蠹害；察德行孝悌，茂才异等，藏器晦迹，应时用者；察黠吏豪宗兼并纵暴，贫弱冤苦不能自申者。”唐的《巡察六条》则更为具体，将官员是否善恶、户口流散、簿册隐藏或遗失、农桑之事不勤到仓库减少损耗、德行孝悌、黠吏和豪族等都列入监察之内。《唐六典》作为唐朝的行政法典，则有章节专门对监察机构御史台的编制、品级、职权等作了明确的法律规定。唐朝形成了“律、令、格、式”四种法律形式，尤其在令、式等法律形式中有不少涉及监察法规的内容，这说明唐的监察立法更为丰富，体例更加严谨，已经织密起较为严实的监察法网，标志着中国古代地方监察法规和监察立法的进一步发展。

Flourishing: The Perfection of Ancient Supervision Legislation

兴盛：古代监察立法的健全

During the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, on the one hand, local supervision regulations became more extensive and systematic; on the other hand, the promulgation and implementation of central-level supervision regulations became increasingly abundant, and ancient Chinese supervision regulations became more complete.

宋元明清时期，一方面，地方监察法规涉及面更为广泛而系统；另一方面，中央层面的监察法规颁布实施日渐丰富，中国古代监察法规更趋完备。

The Systematization of Local Supervision Regulations. To meet the needs of maintaining imperial autocracy, the Song Dynasty changed the four legal forms of the Tang Dynasty, “codes, decrees, regulations, and ordinances,” to “imperial edicts, decrees, regulations, and ordinances,” replacing “codes” with “imperial edicts and decrees.” The so-called “imperial edicts and decrees” referred to the decrees and orders promulgated or issued by the emperor. Compiling imperial edicts thus became a legislative activity of the Song Dynasty, evolving from the “parallel use of imperial edicts and codes” in the early Song to the “replacement of codes with imperial edicts” later, representing a new development in Song supervision legislation.

地方监察法规的系统化。为维护皇权专制的需要，宋代将唐代的“律、令、格、式”四种法律形式改为“敕、令、格、式”，以“敕令”代替“律”。所谓“敕令”，就是指皇帝颁布或下达的法令、命令。编敕也因此成为宋代的立法活动，从宋初的“敕律并行”到后来的“以敕代律”，成为宋代监察立法的新发展。

Song supervision regulations were still primarily local. A large number of imperial edicts were compiled into the legal codes, forming local supervision regulations that were broad in scope and more systematic. The Song Dynasty issued many legal regulations concerning supervision in the form of “imperial edicts,” such as the *Imperial Edict Admonishing Supervisory Officials to Investigate Official Matters Honestly*, the *Imperial Edict Admonishing Censors to Speak on Affairs*, the *Regulations on Official Positions and Orders*, and the *Imperial Edicts on Official Positions and Orders*. These precisely defined the status and duties of supervisory officials from a legal perspective and also made clear legal stipulations regarding the functions, nature, tasks, work procedures, and principles of supervisory institutions.

宋代监察法规还是以地方为主，皇帝大量的诏令编入法典，形成了涉及面广而又更为系统的地方监察法规。宋代以“诏令”形式出台了很多有关监察的法律条例，如《诫约监司体量公事怀奸御笔手诏》《诫饬台官言事御笔手诏》《职制令》《职制敕》等，从法律层面精准界定监察官的地位和职责，对监察机构的职能、性质、任务、办事流程、原则等也作出了明确的法律规定。

The Song Dynasty established the “circuit” at the local level as a supervisory district distinct from administrative divisions. The Fiscal Intendant, the Judicial Intendant, and others were circuit-level institutions. The Fiscal Commissioner, Deputy Fiscal Commissioner, Fiscal Judge, Judicial Commissioner, and Ever-Normal Commissioner all had the authority to supervise officials within their circuits, collectively referred to as supervisory officials. To effectively supervise these supervisory officials, the *Regulations on Official Positions and Orders* included a specific section on “Official Positions,” formulating various specific punishment regulations for the illegal or disciplinary actions of supervisory officials. For example, if an inspecting official engaged in private visits or recreational feasting and drinking, the punishment was one year of penal servitude; if supervisory officials failed to exchange assessment reports as required or did not report the actual situation, the punishment was two years of penal servitude; if supervisory officials failed to conduct comprehensive inspections of their subordinate jurisdictions as required, the punishment was one hundred strokes of the heavy stick; if they conducted comprehensive inspections but failed to report promptly to superiors, the punishment was eighty strokes of the heavy stick; if officials of the Fiscal Intendancy or other supervisory offices, during their inspection tours, used wine supplied along the route for commercial transactions, the punishment was one hundred strokes of the heavy stick, and so on.

宋在地方设置“路”这一有别于行政区的监察区，转运司、提点刑狱司等都是路级机构，转运使及副使、转运判官、提点刑狱使、提举常平使都有职权对区的官吏进行监察，统称监司。为了对监司实行有效监察，《职制令》中又专设“职制门”，对监察官的违法违规行为制定各种具体的惩罚条例。如按察官私自出访及游乐宴饮的，徒刑处以一年；各监司考课应该相互通报而不通报或不按实际情况通报的，处以二年徒刑；各监司本应普遍查访所管部属而没有做到的，责杖一百，做到普遍查访但不向上级及时汇报的，处以杖八十；各发运司、监司巡历按察，如果用沿途供给的酒做买卖则杖一百等。

The method of mutual supervision among supervisory officials was a particular feature of Song supervision regulations. The *Qingyuan Regulations on Various Affairs, Section on Official Positions* stated: “If an office has no inspecting official and there are illegal or improper matters, the Fiscal Intendancy or supervisory office shall investigate and report. The Fiscal Intendancy and supervisory offices shall mutually supervise each other. The subordinate officials of the Military Commission, Fiscal Intendancy, and supervisory offices shall be subject to mutual investigation and impeachment by their respective offices.” The legal provisions for mutual supervision among supervisory officials achieved a re-supervision of the supervisors, providing a certain legal guarantee for maintaining and strengthening imperial power.

监司互监法更是体现宋代监察法规的特色。《庆元条法事类·职制门》提出：“诸官司无按察官而有违法及不公事者，发运、监司按察，奏。发运、监司互相觉察。其经略安抚、发运、监司属官，听逐司互行按举。”对监察官互相监察的法律规定，实现了对监察者的再监察，为维护和加强皇权提供了一定的法律保障。

The gradual improvement of supervision regulations. The Liao, Jin, Western Xia, and Yuan dynasties were autocratic dynasties established by ethnic minorities who entered the Central Plains. In legislation, they followed the principle of “adapting Han law” [1]1 “Adapting Han law” (附会汉法) refers to the legislative principle adopted by non-Han dynasties (Liao, Jin, Yuan, etc.) of selectively adopting and adapting the legal and administrative systems of the preceding Han Chinese dynasties (primarily Tang and Song) to govern their multi-ethnic empires., essentially using the legal codes of the Tang and Song dynasties as blueprints to formulate their own codes, such as the Liao’s *Revised Regulations of the Xianyong Era*, the Jin’s *Huangtong System* and *Taihe Legal Principles*, and the Western Xia’s *Tiansheng Revised and Newly Established Laws and Decrees*. The Yuan dynasty achieved a historic breakthrough in supervision legislation, with supervision regulations becoming more complete. Not only did local supervision regulations become more detailed and comprehensive, but there were also the central Censorate’s departmental statutes, which provided clear legal provisions on the functions, supervisory powers and responsibilities, and supervisory discipline of the central supervisory organs.

监察法规的日渐健全。辽、金、西夏、元是少数民族入主中原建立起的专制王朝，在立法上遵循“附会汉法”的原则，基本上以唐宋法典为蓝本来制定法典，如辽的《咸雍重修条例》、金的《皇统制》《泰和律义》和西夏的《天盛改旧新定律令》等。元朝在监察立法上则有了历史性突破，监察法规更为健全，不仅地方监察法规更趋细密和完备，而且有中央御史台台纲，对中央监察机构的职能、监察权责、监察纪律等作出明确的法律规定。

The Yuan dynasty, using legal forms such as imperial edicts, regulations, and precedents, compiled systematic and relatively comprehensive legal codes. The *Zhiyuan New Code* was the first codified law of the Yuan dynasty, covering public regulations, judicial investigation, governance of the people, taxation and corvée, and involving ten areas including legislation, administration, civil affairs, and economy. Although this code was thin in content, it laid the foundation for subsequent revisions and improvements. During the reign of Emperor Renzong of Yuan, the existing regulations and precedents concerning official discipline were classified and compiled into the *Grand Compendium of Official Discipline*. This was another important code after the *Zhiyuan New Code*, directly addressing official governance and state discipline, and solidifying the foundation for the formulation of subsequent codes. The *Comprehensive Institutions of the Great Yuan* was compiled precisely on the basis of the *Grand Compendium of Official Discipline*, consisting of four parts of legal provisions: “three mainstays and one branch.” The so-called “three mainstays” refer to “imperial edicts, regulations, and precedents,” while the “one branch” refers to “miscellaneous categories.” The *Comprehensive Institutions of the Great Yuan* was a comprehensive legal code of the Yuan dynasty, summarizing over 60 years of legal cases since Emperor Shizu of Yuan, encompassing regulations on administration, civil affairs, supervision, and criminal law. If the compilation of the first three important codes of the Yuan dynasty was carried out at the behest of the high levels, especially the emperor, then the *Institutions of the Yuan Dynasty* was compiled independently by local governments and officials, bringing together various legal forms and institutional regulations from the early Yuan to the reign of Emperor Yingzong of Yuan over 50 years into a monumental legal work passed down through history. “The *Institutions of the Yuan Dynasty* and the *Zhiyuan New Code* both contain content on supervision law. In particular, the supervision regulations recorded in the *Institutions of the Yuan Dynasty* not only have a clear distinction between those applicable to the central and local levels, but also a distinction between substantive law and procedural law.” [2]2 The quotation is from the Chinese scholarly literature cited by the author; the original source is not specified in the text.

元代以诏制、条格、断例等法律形式，编制了系统而内容较为齐全的法典。《至元新格》是元代第一部成文法典，内容包括公规、察狱、治民、赋役等，涉及立法、行政、民事、经济等十个方面。这部法典虽然内容单薄，但为后续的法典修改和完善奠定了基础。元仁宗时期则将已有格、例中的风纪规定分门别类编成《风宪宏纲》。这是继《至元新格》之后元代又一部重要法典，内容直指吏治和纲纪，为后续其他法典的制定夯实了基础。《大元通制》正是在《风宪宏纲》的基础上编纂而成，由“三纲一目”四部分法律条文构成。所谓“三纲”就是指“诏制、条格与断例”，而“一目”即指“别类”。《大元通制》是元代一部法律大全，总结了元世祖以来60多年的法律事例，囊括了行政、民事、监察、刑事等各方面法规。如果说元代前三部重要法典的编纂是在高层尤其是皇帝授意下而为，那么《元典章》则是地方政府和官吏自行编汇而成，将元初到元英宗50多年间各种法律形式和典章制度编成传世的法律巨著。“在《元典章》和《至元新格》中也都含有监察法的内容。尤其是《元典章》中所载监察法规，不仅已有适用于中央与地方的明确区分，而且还有实体法与程序法之别。”

The *Regulations for Establishing the Censorate* issued in the Yuan dynasty was a highly influential separate supervision regulation, serving as the general principles of Yuan supervision law and a model for supervision legislation at the time. This regulation mainly standardized the operation of the central Censorate’s powers, divided into two parts: the departmental statutes and the specific articles. The departmental statutes clearly stipulated the scope of authority and status of the Censorate, while the specific articles listed 20 items for investigation and impeachment, as well as items for impeachment, investigation, prosecution, inspection, and censure, totaling 36 articles. Hence, the *Regulations for Establishing the Censorate* was also known as the “36 Articles Establishing the Censorate Statutes,” all of which were regulations for correcting the misconduct of all officials and punishing illegal acts by officials. At the central level of the Yuan dynasty, there were also supervision regulations such as the *Matters of Supervision and Inspection* and *Consultations and Reports of the Censorate*. At the same time, referencing the *Regulations for Establishing the Censorate*, local supervision regulations such as the *Regulations for Branch Censorate Inspection* and the *Regulations for Surveillance Offices Inspection* were promulgated. The *Institutions of the Yuan Dynasty* compiled the *Regulations for Establishing the Censorate* into the category of Censorate statutes. The Censorate statutes were divided into the Inner Censorate and the Branch Censorates, each containing a series of supervision regulations. The supervision regulations of the Inner Censorate included the *Regulations for Establishing the Censorate*, *Matters for Supervisory Personnel*, *Consultations and Reports of the Censorate*, and *Matters of Supervision and Inspection*, while the supervision regulations of the Branch Censorates included the *Regulations for Branch Censorate Inspection* and *Establishing Branch Censorate Officials*. Thus, the Yuan dynasty formed a supervisory legal network and system combining central and local levels, and the Inner Censorate and Branch Censorates, making Yuan supervision legislation increasingly detailed and complete.

元代出台的《设立宪台格例》则是颇具影响力的单行监察法规，是元代监察法的总则，也是当时监察立法的典范。该格例主要规范中央御史台职权运行，分宪纲和条例两部分。宪纲对御史台的职权范围和地位作出明确规定，而条例则分列纠察事项二十条以及纠弹事项、体纠事项、推纠事项、体察事项、纠劾事项等，共计三十六条。故《设立宪台格例》又称“定台纲36条”，都是纠正百僚违失、惩处百官非法的法规。在元代中央层次还有《监察则管体察》《台察咨禀等事》等监察法规，同时参照《设立宪台格例》，又颁布了《行台体察等例》《察司体察等例》等地方监察法规。《元典章》将《设立宪台格例》编入台纲类目。台纲分为内台与行台，各自收录一系列监察法规。内台的监察法规有《设立宪台格例》《体察人员勾当》《台察咨禀等事》《监察则管体察》等，而行台的监察法规包括《行台体察等例》《立行御史台官》等。元代由此形成了中央与地方、内台与行台相结合的监察法律网络和监察法律体系，元代监察立法日趋细密而健全。

The completion of supervision regulations. By the Ming and Qing dynasties, ancient Chinese supervision legislation had entered the stage of completion of feudal law. The Ming dynasty’s *Departmental Statutes and Regulations* and the Qing dynasty’s *Imperially Authorized Censorate Regulations* pushed the construction of separate supervision regulations in the feudal era to its peak.

监察法规的完备。到了明清时期，中国古代监察立法已经步入封建法律的完备阶段，明代的《宪纲条例》和清代的《钦定台规》将封建时代的单行监察法规建设推向了顶峰。

The Ming dynasty built on the past and prepared for the future in supervision legislation, making considerable achievements. The Hongwu Emperor [3]3 The Hongwu Emperor (r. 1368–1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang, was the founder and first emperor of the Ming dynasty. not only led the compilation of the *Great Ming Code* and the *Great Pronouncements*, but also personally formulated specific legislation targeting supervisory organs. During his reign, he formulated the *Regulations on Responsibilities* to strengthen supervision over local officials; formulated the *General Regulations on Departmental Statutes* to provide overall provisions on the duties of the Censorate, the Thirteen Circuits, and local Surveillance Offices and other disciplinary agencies, in order to rectify court affairs and strictly enforce laws and discipline; and formulated the *Provisions on Impeaching Official Misconduct* to provide specific norms for supervisory officials to uphold the court’s discipline, impeach treacherous villains, those with improper intentions, and officials guilty of corruption and bribery, as well as for supervisory officials to mutually report and impeach each other. In addition, for the Six Offices of Scrutiny and the Office of Transmission, the *Six Offices of Scrutiny* and the *General Regulations and Precedents of the Office of Transmission* were formulated, along with supervision regulations such as the *Matters on Official Tours* and the *Six Inspections by Regional Inspectors*. Subsequent generations of the Ming dynasty made additions to the supervision regulations and compiled the *Departmental Statutes and Regulations*, which gathered the relevant legal provisions of the Ming dynasty, incorporating them into the legal compilation *Collected Statutes of the Great Ming*. Since the original text of the *Departmental Statutes and Regulations* has been lost, we can only learn about the relevant regulations concerning the Censorate, the Office of Transmission, and the Six Offices of Scrutiny from the specialized chapters of the *Collected Statutes of the Great Ming*. The regulations concerning the Censorate recorded in the *Collected Statutes of the Great Ming* are vast in scope, with statutes within statutes, comprising a total of fifteen parts of various legal provisions. These specifically include: ten articles of the General Regulations on Official Discipline; the establishment of Governor-Generals and Grand Coordinators; the affiliations of the various circuits; ten articles on Impeaching Official Misconduct; five articles on Reviewing and Reconfirming Officials; Urgent Vacancies and Appointments; twenty items on Requesting Designation for Assignment; Matters on Official Tours; six articles on Inspecting and Scrutinizing Documents; thirty-nine articles on Post-Return Inspections; Adjudicating Criminal Cases; Pursuing Public Matters, with attached Redress of Grievances; Reviewing and Sentencing Prisoners, with attached Trial and Execution; eighteen articles on Supervising Rituals and Correcting Ceremonies; twenty-one articles on General Regulations for Inspectors and Censors; and twenty-eight articles on Precedents for the Nanjing Censorate. The regulations for the Office of Transmission recorded in the *Collected Statutes of the Great Ming* are divided into two major parts: the statutes and the precedents. The statutes, also called the general regulations, consist of five articles with eleven clauses, stipulating the scope of authority of the Office of Transmission. The precedents list the specific working rules of the office, totaling six articles, plus six articles on precedents for the Nanjing Office of Transmission and twenty-six articles on the Regulations for Secretariat Drafter, all appended to the regulations of the Office of Transmission. The regulations for the Six Offices of Scrutiny recorded in the *Collected Statutes of the Great Ming* are also divided into two major parts: the general regulations and the precedents for each office. The general regulations have thirty-six articles, while the precedents for each office vary in number. The Ming dynasty had both central-level legislation and continuously improved local legislation, as well as specific departmental supervision regulations and implementation rules, such as detailed rules for censors on official tours and specific supervisory discipline for the work style of supervisory officials (e.g., *Provisions for Supervisory Officials to Observe*, *Nine Articles on Supervisory Discipline*). The Ming dynasty made considerable achievements in supervision legislation, both inheriting and developing the achievements of the Han, Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties, and providing a historical reference for supervision legislation in the Qing dynasty.

明代在监察立法上承上启下，颇有建树。明太祖既领衔编制了《大明律》《大诰》，又亲制了针对监察机关的具体立法。明太祖在位期间，制定了《责任条例》，强化对地方百官的监察；制定了《宪纲总例》，对都察院及十三道和地方上的按察司等风宪衙门的职责都有总体性规定，以整肃朝政、严格法纪；制定了《纠劾官邪规定》，为监察官维护朝廷纲纪之重任，纠弹奸邪小人、心术不正之徒和贪赃枉法的官员以及监察官互相检举弹劾等提供了具体规范。另外，还针对六科给事中、通政使司等制定了《六科给事中》和《通政使司典章》的总例及事例，以及出台了《出巡事宜》《巡抚六察》等监察法规。明朝之后历代在监察法规上有所增补，并集明朝已有相关法律条款之大成，编制了《宪纲条例》，收入明代法律汇编《大明会典》之中。由于《宪纲条例》原文本失传，我们只能从《大明会典》的专章中了解到有关都察院、通政使司和六科给事中的相关法规。《大明会典》中记载的有关都察院机关法规体例庞大，典中有典，各种法规条款共计十五部分，具体包括风宪总例十条；督抚建置；各道分隶；纠劾官邪十条；考复百官五条；急缺选用；奏请点差二十项；出巡事宜；照刷文卷六条；回道考察三十九条；问拟刑名；追问公事，附伸冤；审录罪囚，附审决；监礼纠仪十八条；抚按通例二十一条，以及南京都察院事例二十八条。《大明会典》中所载的通政使司法规分为典章和事例两大部分。典章或称为总例，共有五条十一款，规定了通政使司的职权范围。事例则列述了该司具体工作细则，共有六条，另加南京通政使司事例六条以及中书舍人条例二十六条，都归附于通政使司的法规之中。《大明会典》中所载的六科给事中法规也分为总例和各科事例两大部分，总例有三十六条，而各科事例条数不等。明代既有中央层面的立法，又有不断完善的地方立法，还有具体的部门监察法规及施行细则，如御史出行细则以及针对监察官作风建设的具体监察纪律（《监官遵守条款》《监纪九款》等）。明代在监察立法上颇有建树，既是对汉唐宋元的继承与发展，又为清朝监察立法提供了历史参照。

The Qing dynasty’s supervision law synthesized the achievements of all previous dynasties. Following the Ming dynasty’s *Departmental Statutes and Regulations*, the Qing created the most complete supervision code of Chinese feudal society, the *Imperially Authorized Censorate Regulations*. Its structure was divided into eight categories: first, Imperial Instructions, mainly compiling the Qing emperors’ “imperial writings, imperial edicts, and imperial decrees” on supervision, “to illuminate the legal standards”; second, Departmental Statutes, including Official Appointments (stipulating the organizational structure of the Censorate and its evolution), Memorials (compiling various emperors’ decrees on censorial memorials), Rituals, Performance Evaluation, Joint Trials, and Appeals; third, provisions on the Six Offices of Scrutiny; fourth, the powers of the various circuits; fifth, ten articles of supervision regulations and precedents for the Five Wards [4]4 The Five Wards (五城) refers to the five administrative districts (central, east, west, south, north) into which the capital city of Beijing was divided for policing and judicial purposes during the Ming and Qing dynasties.; sixth, Inspections; seventh, Tours of Inspection; eighth, General Regulations. The *Imperially Authorized Censorate Regulations* had clear legal provisions on the powers and responsibilities of supervisory organs, the objects of supervision, supervisory tasks, the supervisory discipline for supervisory officials, as well as their selection, promotion, transfer, and etiquette, forming supervision regulations analogous to general principles. The *Detailed Regulations of the Censorate* was similar to the specific provisions of supervision law, serving as the implementation rules for the *Imperially Authorized Censorate Regulations*. It subdivided the eight categories of the *Imperially Authorized Censorate Regulations* into over forty subcategories to make the supervision regulations more operable. These two codes complemented each other and almost systematically reflected the full picture of the Qing dynasty’s supervisory system.

清朝监察法集历代监察法之大成。清代因袭明代的《宪纲条例》，创制了中国封建社会最完备的一部监察法典《钦定台规》，其体例分为八类：一是训典，主要编入清朝皇帝有关监察的“圣制、圣谕、谕旨”，“以昭法守”；二是宪纲，包括序官（规定都察院的组织机构及其沿革）、陈奏（汇辑历代皇帝有关御史陈奏的各项谕令）、典礼、考绩、会谳、辩诉六项；三是六科的规定；四是各道的权限；五是五城御史十款监察条例、事例；六是稽察；七是巡察；八是通例。《钦定台规》对监察机构的权责、监察对象、监察任务、监察官的监察纪律以及考选、升转、礼节等都有明确的法规，形成了类似总则性质的监察法规。《都察院则例》类似监察法分则，是《钦定台规》的实施细则，将《钦定台规》八类又划分为四十多门类，以使监察法规更具可操作性。这两部法典相互配合，几乎系统地反映了清朝监察体制的全貌。

Lessons from Ancient Supervision Legislation

古代监察立法的镜鉴

Examining ancient Chinese supervisory legislation means that we should better engage in dialogue with history, excavating the essence and historical wisdom of ancient Chinese supervisory legislation, so as to promote the high-quality development of anti-corruption national legislation and supervisory legislation in the New Era. Ancient Chinese supervisory legislation was continuously perfected, manifested in different legal forms such as decrees (edicts, directives), statutes, regulations, standards, and imperial instructions, being both embedded in the fusion of various laws and existing as separate supervisory regulations. Ancient Chinese supervisory legislation evolved from rudimentary beginnings to completeness, leaving rich inspiration and historical lessons for supervisory legislation in the New Era.

审思中国古代监察立法，意味着我们应该更好地与历史进行对话，去挖掘中国古代监察立法的精华部分和历史智慧，以助推新时代反腐败国家立法和监察立法高质量发展。中国古代监察立法不断完备，以令（诏、制）、律、式、格、敕等不同法律形式展现出来，既内含在诸法合体之中，也有单行监察法规。中国古代监察立法从草创走向完备，也为新时代监察立法留下丰富启示与历史镜鉴。

Continuously perfecting supervisory legislation, promoting supervisory work to have a legal basis, and enhancing the standardization, authority, and legality of supervisory work. In the pre-Qin period, customs had already developed into customary law and gradually into written law, but supervisory legislation had not yet become independent during this period. In the Qin and Han dynasties, supervisory laws and regulations developed along with the strengthening of the centralized autocratic system. During the Sui, Tang, and Five Dynasties, ancient Chinese legal culture entered its heyday; in the Tang dynasty, the legal forms of "statutes, ordinances, regulations, and standards" contained numerous supervisory laws and regulations. In the Song dynasty, supervisory laws and regulations appeared in the forms of "imperial instructions, ordinances, regulations, and standards," with a broader scope of supervisory legislation. A historic breakthrough occurred in supervisory legislation during the Yuan dynasty, with the relatively large-scale "Regulations for the Establishment of the Censorate" [5]5 "Daring not to be corrupt, being unable to be corrupt, and not wanting to be corrupt" (三不腐) is a framework for anti-corruption efforts promoted by the CPC, aiming to deter corruption through severe punishment, prevent it through institutional mechanisms, and eliminate its root causes through ideological education. being promulgated and implemented as a separate supervisory regulation. Supervisory legislation in the Ming and Qing dynasties gradually became systematic and complete; the Qing dynasty's "Imperially Authorized Regulations of the Censorate" [6] was the most complete supervisory code of China's feudal society. Ancient Chinese supervisory legislation provided legal norms for the establishment and exercise of supervisory power by supervisory organs, as well as for the duties and exercise of power by supervisory officials, thereby enhancing the conformity of supervisory work with norms and laws.

不断完善监察立法，推动监察工作于法有据，增强监察工作的规范性、权威性和合法性。先秦时期已经从习俗到习惯法，逐步发展为成文法，但这时期监察立法尚未独立出来。秦汉时期监察法律法规随着中央集权专制制度的强化而发展。隋唐五代中国古代法律文化进入鼎盛期，在唐代“律、令、格、式”的法律形式中有着诸多的监察法律法规。宋代监察法律法规以“敕、令、格、式”的形式出现，监察立法范围更广。元代监察立法出现历史性突破，颇具规模的《设立宪台格例》作为单行监察法规出台实施。明清监察立法逐渐系统而完备，清代的《钦定台规》是中国封建社会最后也是最完备的一部监察法典。中国古代监察立法为监察机关监察权的确立、行使以及监察官的职掌和权力行使等都作出了法律规范，增强了监察工作的合规范性与合法律性。

In the New Era, facing the new situation and new challenges of the anti-corruption struggle, we should likewise consider how to continuously advance national anti-corruption legislation, constantly improve the scientific and refined level of supervisory legislation, and promote the standardization and legalization of anti-corruption work in an orderly manner. As a foundational law, the Supervision Law holds a cornerstone position in anti-corruption legislation; it must keep pace with the times, especially regarding the prevention and punishment of new types of corruption and hidden corruption, by timely amending and enacting laws to ensure there are laws to follow. Legal provisions must be tightened to address the root causes, achieving coordinated "establishment" of laws, timely "amendment" of laws, and appropriate "abolition" of laws; regulations and rules unsuitable for governing new types of corruption and hidden corruption should be promptly cleaned up and revised. It is necessary not only to respond promptly and systematically to new difficulties and needs arising in supervisory practice, continuously formulating new supervisory regulations, but also to formulate and gradually perfect supporting laws and regulations that complement the Supervision Law, making them more specific and operational, thereby substantiating, refining, and enhancing the enforcement of the existing Supervision Law.

新时代，面对反腐败斗争的新形势、新挑战，同样应当审思如何持续推进反腐败国家立法，不断提高监察立法的科学性、精细化水平，有条不紊地推进反腐败工作的规范化与法治化。作为基础性法律，监察法在反腐败立法具有基石性地位，要做到与时俱进，尤其针对新型腐败和隐性腐败的防治，及时修法立法，做到有法可依。要严密法度以清源，做到统筹“立”法、及时“改”法、适时“废”法，对不适宜新型腐败和隐性腐败治理的法规条例要及时清理、及时修订。既要及时并系统回应监察实践中出现的新难题、新需要，持续制定新的监察法规，又要制定并逐渐完善与监察法相配套的法律法规，使之更为具体化与可操作化，做实做细并提升现有监察法的执行力度。

Improving the supervisory legal system, standardizing supervisory conduct, and effectively safeguarding social fairness and justice. From rudimentary beginnings to systematic concreteness, from simplicity to richness, from supervisory law being embedded within criminal law and administrative law to separate supervisory regulations and then to a complete supervisory code, ancient Chinese supervisory legislation was continuously perfected, forming a uniquely characteristic and important component of the ancient Chinese legal system. With the continuous systematization and completion of supervisory legislation, ancient China had already formed a supervisory legal network and system covering the central and local levels, with the central censorate and regional censorates complementing each other; supervisory legislation became more meticulous and robust, thereby enabling effective supervision of supervisees while also better regulating the supervisors themselves.

健全监察法规体系，规范监察行为，切实维护社会公平正义。从萌发草创到系统具象，从简易到丰富，从监察法寓于刑法、行政法之中到单行监察法规再到完整监察法典，中国古代监察立法不断完备，构成中国古代法律体系中独具特色的重要组成部分。随着监察立法的不断系统完备，中国古代已然形成了覆盖中央与地方、内台与行台交相辉映的监察法律网络和监察法律体系，监察立法更为缜密而健全，由此既能对监察对象进行有效监察，也能更好地规约监察者。

In the New Era, advancing national anti-corruption legislation likewise requires achieving "comprehensive legal coverage," systematic integration, and consolidating the synergy of the legislative system. In other words, while continuously perfecting the Supervision Law, it is necessary to promptly improve legislation on anti-corruption organizations and conduct, and to fill legislative gaps in anti-corruption procedures, anti-corruption supervision, and anti-corruption remedies, thereby using a more complete supervisory legal system to deepen the reform of the supervisory system. With the promulgation and implementation of supervisory-related laws and regulations, the relationships between supervision and the judiciary, auditing, etc., have undergone certain changes, requiring the improvement of laws to achieve legal articulation and integration. On the one hand, the "Legislation Law of the People's Republic of China" should be amended to grant the National Commission of Supervision equal legislative authority and legislative effect, and to allow it to submit legislative proposals and requests for legal interpretations to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress; on the other hand, relevant laws such as the "Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China" and the "Audit Law of the People's Republic of China" should be amended to align with the "Supervision Law of the People's Republic of China." It is necessary to promote the legal

新时代，推进反腐败国家立法，同样需要做到“于法周延”，系统集成，凝聚立法体系的合力。换言之，要在不断完善监察法的同时，及时健全反腐败组织与行为方面的立法，并补齐反腐败程序、反腐败监督与反腐败救济等方面的立法短板，以更加完备的监察法律体系助推监察体制改革的深化。随着监察相关法律和条例的出台实施，监察与司法、审计等关系发生了一定变化，需要完善法律，做到法法衔接与贯通。一方面，应修改《中华人民共和国立法法》，赋予国家监察委员会同等的立法权限和立法效力，并可以向全国人民代表大会常务委员会提出法律案和法律解释要求；另一方面，应修改《中华人民共和国刑事诉讼法》《中华人民共和国审计法》等相关法律，以便能够与《中华人民共和国监察法》相衔接。要促进监察程序与刑事诉讼的法法衔接与流程贯通。既要在立法上强调刑诉法与监察法的一致性与紧密衔接，又应当在线索处置、立案移送与审查起诉等方面与审计机关、司法机关等其他机关建立法法衔接机制。在具体案件审理时，要以监察法、公务员法、政务处分法、刑事诉讼法与刑法等为依据，贯通执纪执法，促进监刑衔接、监司衔接与监检衔接。

Strengthen the construction of a supervisory culture. Ancient supervisory culture has a deep积淀, encompassing political integrity such as "having clean hands" (两袖清风), the sense of righteousness of "being upright and unyielding" (刚正不阿), and the concept of "draining the muddy and raising the clear" (激浊扬清) for governing corruption and establishing integrity, as well as a culture of remonstrance and impeachment and a diverse culture of supervisory legislation.

加强监察文化建设。古代监察文化积淀深厚，既有“两袖清风”的政治操守观、“刚正不阿”义气观与“激浊扬清”的治腐立廉观等，又有言谏纠弹文化和异彩纷呈的监察立法文化等。

In the New Era, supervisory culture should be an important component of the construction of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics and a powerful ideological weapon for deepening the reform of the national supervision system and the fight against corruption. We should further promote the excellent traditional Chinese culture, continuously strengthen the construction of supervisory culture and education in the rule of law, and build a long-term mechanism for "daring not to be corrupt, being unable to be corrupt, and not wanting to be corrupt" (三不腐)[5]5 "Daring not to be corrupt, being unable to be corrupt, and not wanting to be corrupt" (三不腐) is a framework for anti-corruption efforts promoted by the CPC, aiming to deter corruption through severe punishment, prevent it through institutional mechanisms, and eliminate its root causes through ideological education., so as to encourage public officials to form a moral self-discipline of exercising power prudently and impartially, maintain a healthy psychological state, understand what can and cannot be done, and know from the depths of their hearts to revere rules, hold fear, and guard the bottom line. We should adhere to the principle of "not forgetting the original, absorbing the foreign, and facing the future," promote the creative transformation and innovative development of the essence of ancient Chinese supervisory culture, especially the culture of supervisory legislation, and cultivate a supervisory culture with Chinese characteristics for the New Era that takes putting the people first as its value orientation, strengthening power constraints as its supervisory orientation, daring to offer remonstrance and correction, advocating loyalty, integrity, and responsibility as its responsibility orientation, and integrates values, behavioral norms, rule-of-law thinking, rule-of-law principles, and the rule-of-law spirit. This will better help to build a strong line of ideological defense, safeguard the bottom line of integrity, and delineate the red line of law, creating a political ecosystem that respects integrity, rejects corruption, and is clean and upright, ensuring that power operates within the track of the rule of law.

新时代，监察文化应当是中国特色社会主义文化建设的重要内容，是深化国家监察体制改革和反腐败斗争的强大思想武器。应进一步弘扬中华优秀传统文化，不断加强监察文化建设与法治教育，构建“三不腐”的长效机制，促进公职人员形成审慎用权、秉公用权的道德自觉，保持健康的心理状态，明白什么可为，什么不可为，从心灵深处懂得知敬畏、存戒惧、守底线。应当秉持“不忘本来、吸收外来、面对未来”的原则，促进中国古代监察文化精华尤其是监察立法文化的创造性转化、创新性发展，厚植以人民至上为价值取向、以强化权力制约为监督取向、以敢于献纳谏正、崇尚忠诚干净担当为责任取向以及融价值观念、行为规范、法治思维、法治原则、法治精神为一体的新时代具有中国特色的监察文化，从而更好地促进筑牢思想防线、守住廉洁底线与划定法律红线，营造崇廉拒腐、风清气正的政治生态，确保权力在法治轨道上运行。

[The author is a professor at the Department of Politics and Law, Party School of the Central Committee of the CPC (National Academy of Governance)]

[作者系中央党校（国家行政学院）政治和法律教研部教授]

Online editor: Ma Jingren

网络编辑：马京仁