| It had been a habitual practice of the rulers in ancient China to use the criminal law to regulate matters relating to Buddhism and Daoism. The Law Codes of the Tang Dynasty, the Unif ied Penal Code of the Song Dynasty, the Law Codes of the Great Ming Dynasty and the Law Codes of the Great Qing Dynasty all contained provisions on such matters as the legal status of Buddhist or Daoist clergies, the prohibit ion on assuming positions of Buddhist or Daoist clergies without authorization, protection of statues of Buddha or Daoist deit ies, prohibition on lodging false charges against Buddhist or Daoist clergies, etc. In real life, however, there were many crimes committed by Buddhist or Daoist clergies, such as murder, rape, robbery, lodging false charges against others, etc. Compared with other Asian countries in ancient time, the criminal provisions relating to religious matters in ancient China had their own characteristics, which were related to the religious and polit ical conditions of the time. |
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