대칸의 정의와 사법 환경: 몽골제국 자르구(ǰarγu)에서의 마법, 요행, 혹은 몽롱 = The Great Qans’ Justice and its Circumstances: Magic, Luck, or Ambiguity in the ǰarγu of the Mongol Empire

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This paper examines the magical, legal, and human elements that factored into interrogation and judgment within the ǰarγu, the institution of inquisition within the Mongol empire (1206–1370). Moreover, it analyzes the ambiguity in its practices—in its legal application, judicial and political authority, and backlashes. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the great Qans ideologically pursued public affairs and litigation with a sense of unreserved righteousness. Justice in the ǰarγu was applied quite unevenly, in both its methods and organization, in its perceptions of its ability to apply justice uniformly without blame, among members of the imperial court, and among subjects according to legal standing, ethnicity, religion, ethics, status, and even cultural behavior and languages.
Clarity of judgment has many variables. The great Qan’s ǰarγu received its legitimacy through the divine authority of Tengri, the Sky God. The great Qan was believed to inherit Tengri’s holy authority in mundane politics, while at the same time being bound by it in the form of the ǰarγu. The fear of wrongful punishment by Tengri or vengeful spirits set the cultural and psychological background surrounding the ǰarγu and its Mongol mode of justice.
Like Chinese legal perceptions evident in the Tang Code, “strict” laws and punishment were governing ideals shared among Mongols. The ǰasaq, or (great) code of Chinggis Qan and his scions, was legislated to reflect such ideas. The great Qan’s justice, underpinned by “firm and strict codes” and “good judicial administration,” shaped a new legal culture in the Mongol grasslands, conceived during the process of bloody conflicts and unification among nomadic peoples during the 12th century. Along with the strict execution of the ǰasaq, amnesty and distribution of shares became an important instrument of governance and justice for the great Qan. Meanwhile, his grace was seen as an unjustified form of luck, leading to constant challenges against the “luck” of amnesty. In the Mongol empire, condemned criminals usually waived their punishment by participating in wars or envoy missions, in thanks to the Qan’s grace.
The ǰarγu was implemented in a complex reality where a variety of interests of differing power sought variously to both harmonize and compete. Ambivalence toward the truth of cases and legal interpretations and application—beyond divine magic and sheer luck—advantaged some to pursue personal interests, even as it respected the empire’s complex structure of rights and interests. This was why some interrogations and judgments of the ǰarγu were sometimes settled in an instant, while others languished under delays as neglected cases piled into backlogs of several years. Therefore, the numerous precedents and diversity of laws and customs in the ǰarγu express, in a sense, just one perspective. At the same time, ambiguity in speech, behavior, and legal interpretation opened other “doors to luck.”