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As the imperial decision pertained to laying down of weapons and relevant ritual rules, it was disseminated to military offices in Juyan, located on the northwestern border of Western Han China. According to the record on the right four slips, the imperial edict, initially, was circulated within the inner circle: it was first sent down from the emperor to the imperial prosecutor, who acted as the secretary of emperor and handled correspondence from and to him. The imperial prosecutor then forwarded it to the chancellor. Although the chancellor held a higher official rank, the formula “send down” was used for the transmission of an imperial edict. Subsequently, an imperial edict was transmitted from the chancellor to provincial offices, from these to counties offices and finally to offices at the lowest level, step by step. The copies of imperial edicts discovered at archeological sites of Qin and Han offices, including this one from Juyan, were not directly produced by the central court. The original edict issued by the emperor was intended to be stored in the palace for reference and verification. Copies distributed by Chancellor should have been based on the original one. Within the central court, the edict from the Emperor to the Chief Prosecutor and then to the Chancellor followed a single line of dissemination, with a singular recipient each step. However, after the edict reached the Chancellor’s office, a sufficient number of edict copies were produced and handed down by it to the relevant provinces and states, and other government offices in the capital. Upon receiving a copy of the edit, province governments would use the received one for archival purposes, while new copies were created for further distribution to counties that needed to receive it, as the above-mentioned formula the formula “when receiving the document, administer its affairs and send it down to those who should use it, according to the document of the edict” specifies. Then the imperial edict would be further transmitted from counties to districts using the same process. Thus, the whole transmission process resulted in an increasing number of copies. According to research, the Chancellor’s office had to produce at least one hundred copies of imperial edicts for distribution to provinces, states, and government offices in the capital. When a decree needed to reach officials at the lowest levels of the Han Dynasty, it entailed the creation and circulation of tens of thousands of copies. Additionally, when a local office received a document of an imperial edict, the names of the officials who had handed it down were listed at the end along with their official titles. These original records of the promulgation, as we see from the right four slips, were probably written down and appended by them, thus indicating the complete transmission process of the edicts and identifying those accountable for it. Based on the “Document of Mileage” discovered at Xuanquan 懸泉, which documents the distances between major courier stations in the northwest, we can calculate that “The Document of the Edict of the Fifth Year of Yuankang” delivered from Chang’an to the province Zhangye at a speed of about 72 li in one day and one night. This was much slower than the required speed discussed earlier. However, despite the delay, it still managed to reach the offices before the summer solstice, when it was needed. Based on the existing materials, we cannot know whether the delivery of the imperial decision was delayed for certain reasons or whether the responsible couriers were punished. It is possible that despite efforts by government offices in the Qin and Western Han to ensure swift transmission of imperial edicts in accordance with law, delays were not uncommon. For example, we know another imperial edict took as long as 61 days from Chang’an to reach Zhangye Province. Overall, excavated texts suggest that laws were indeed disseminated to offices during the Qin and Western Han periods. Officials generally adhered to the law in their governance practices and rarely exercised discretion when fulfilling their duties. In addition, during the process of promulgating a law downwards, the collection and submission of relevant questions and deliberations on this from local offices were also collected upwards according to a Yuelu ordinanc: The ordinance states: when a document of an imperial decision is sent down and received, those [offices] that have questions and comments on it shall all make a register in which they note down the office at which the document first arrived, the office by which the document is first received, the year, date and month when [the register] is submitted, the days the document was delayed in each office, and the circumstances of the transfer and delay of the document, and submit this together with the reply. Those who do not follow the ordinance shall be fined one suit of amour. The law stipulated that upon receiving a document of an imperial decision, local offices were required to create and submit a register. This register should include detailed information about the arrival of the imperial decision, along with any relevant questions and deliberations. These registers served to track the delivery of imperial decisions at each stage. Moreover, during the dissemination of a law downwards, the collection and submission of questions and deliberations from local offices upwards likely facilitated the central court’s understanding of legal issues encountered in local areas. This insight enabled the central court to interpret the law and devise appropriate legal solutions for its enforcement by local offices. Last, we will discuss how laws were transmitted and made known to the people. In the Qin and Western Han periods, official documents including imperial edicts, were only circulated within government circles and were not directly disseminated to the common people. As the people were under supervision and governance of county- and district-level offices, necessary information was conveyed to them by local officials. Given the literacy limitations among the commoners, the method of having local officials orally proclaim new laws to the people was commonly used in the empires. Historical records, such as the Book of Han, document instances of officials announcing laws to the populace. For example, during Emperor Wen’s reign, when officials in Shandong province announced laws, attracting the people, including those who were elderly, frail and humpbacked, went to the public meetings to listen. This practice of publicizing laws in public meetings is also attested by a Yuelu ordinance. …The overseers of districts, scribe directors and village heads are to immediately read the ordinances. In the case of not prudently publicizing the ordinances, the responsible officials shall be fined two suits of armor, and the magistrate and the vice-magistrate shall be fined one suit of armor. According to this ordinance, neighborhood heads and local officials, including overseers of districts and scribe directors, were responsible for reading the laws aloud in local gatherings. Furthermore, to ensure the dissemination of laws to the populace, special written forms were prominently displayed in public areas, serving to attract the attention of common people. As mentioned earlier, this practice has parallels in both Chinese and other ancient civilizations dating back to around 400 to 500 BCE. For instance, the Twelve Tables of Roman law were inscribed on tablets placed in the forum for public display. Initially made from wood, they were later remade in copper for durability. Similarly, ancient Greek laws from Gortyna were inscribed on stones and unearthed in Crete. Following a similar pattern during the pre-Qin era (475-221 BCE), the Qin and Han dynasties inscribed laws onto stones and bronzes, positioning them in populous areas for easy access by commoners. Moreover, laws addressed to the general public were also written and published in the form of “posted documents” by local offices in Western Han China. Here, the word means “spread all over”. Accordingly, “posted documents” likely indicates that the documents should be widely disseminated and brought to attention of the common people. Posted documents excavated from sites indicate that they were normally written on large wooden boards or mud walls and were displayed in populous and busy local places such as marketplaces, village gates and police stations. For example, on this “posted documents” excavated, in addition to the formula used to emphasize sending down the law to the offices that should apply it, a formula was also written and appended to the document of an imperial edict, that is Clearly post it in conspicuous places and let the officials and the common people all clearly know about it, according to the document of the edict”.