秦简所见的"购金"与"购钱"OA

As a way of governing the people as opposed to punishment,the reward system in the Qin Dynasty(221-206 B.C.)was a necessary supplement to the rule of law by ancient rulers.Numerous records of"gold reward"(购金)and"coin reward"(购钱)appear in existing Qin bamboo slips,with the amounts of"gold reward"(购金)ranging from one to fourteen taels,while"coin reward"(购钱)ranging from 1,200 to 50,000 qian.In actual operation,gold could also be converted into copper coins to be rewarded.For the same type of criminal acts,the amount of reward for catching and reporting mainly depended on the severity of the crime of the arrested person and the accuracy of the information provided by the informant.For different types of criminal acts,even if the crimes of the arrested persons were the same,the rewards might be different.This likely reflects the Qin rulers'varying degrees of concern for different crime types and the historical context in which the reward system was established.Overall,the reward system offered considerable appeal to ordinary Qin citizens,and its effectiveness should not be underestimated.