Case of A Bai Suing Her Son for Unfilial Conduct in Gaochang County during the Shengli Era of Wu Zhou

During the Shengli era (698-700) of Wu Zetian's Zhou dynasty, in Gaochang County of Xizhou, an elderly woman named A Bai brought a formal lawsuit against her son for unfilial conduct. Preserved among the Turfan manuscripts, the legal complaint details her accusations: the son failed to provide for her material needs, habitually insulted her, and may have engaged in physical abuse, thereby violating the paramount Confucian duty of filial piety. Under the Tang Code, unfilial behavior was classified as one of the "Ten Abominations," the most serious category of crimes, and carried penalties ranging from penal servitude to death. The county magistrate initiated an official inquiry, interrogated the accused son, and likely gathered testimony from neighbors and relatives as was standard procedure. Although the fragmentary nature of the surviving documents obscures the final verdict, the case file vividly demonstrates the routine legal enforcement of family ethics and the state's commitment to upholding patriarchal authority in medieval China.

The final court verdict is not preserved due to the fragmentary condition of the excavated documents. However, if found guilty under the law, the son would have faced severe punishment, such as heavy beating or penal servitude.

Whether the son's actions legally constituted the crime of "unfilial conduct" (不孝) under the Tang Code, and whether the mother's accusations were sufficiently corroborated by evidence and witness testimony.

This case exemplifies the Tang dynasty's rigorous legal enforcement of Confucian family values, revealing how the state intervened directly in domestic affairs to uphold filial piety as a pillar of social order. It also serves as a rare window into the legal practices, bureaucratic procedure, and daily life of commoners in the Western Regions during Wu Zetian's reign.