The Lawbook of the Golden Lotus

Purpose

The Lawbook of the Golden Lotus was a secret written code of law created by Emperor Arrakhai I of Prabai. It was the de facto law of the Empire of Prabai. The Lawbook of the Golden Lotus seems to have its origin as decrees issued in war times. Later, these decrees were codified and expanded to include cultural and life-style conventions.

The Lawbook of the Golden Lotus

Article 1

• It is ordered to believe that there is only one Celestial entity that matters, who alone gave life and death to the Empire, riches and poverty as pleases Him, and who has over everything an absolute power, a different version states that there was liberty to worship him in whatever way suitable.

Article 2

• It is ordered that all religions were to be respected and that no preference was to be shown to any of them. All this is commanded in order that it might be agreeable to Heaven.

Article 3

• Leaders of a religion, lawyers, physicians, scholars, preachers, monks, persons who are dedicated to religious practice, physicians and those who bathe the bodies of the dead are to be freed from taxes.

Article 4

• It is forbidden under penalty of death that anyone, whoever he be, shall be proclaimed emperor unless he has been elected previously by the princes, zhu, officers, and other Prabaiian nobles in a general council.

Article 5

• The ruling that divides men of the army into nines, eighty-first and seven hundred twenty-first parts called the Fu Erekh is to be maintained. He put leaders at the head of the troops and appointed commanders of nines, eighty-first and seven hundred twenty-first. This arrangement serves to raise an army in a short time, and to form the units of commands.

Article 6

• The moment a campaign begins, each soldier must receive his arms from the hand of the officer who has them in charge. The soldier must keep them in good order, and have them inspected by his officer before a battle. He ordered his successors to personally examine the troops and their armament before going to battle, to supply the troops with everything they needed for the campaign and to survey everything even to needle and thread, and if any of the soldiers lacked a necessary thing that soldier was to be punished.

Article 7

• Forbidden, under death penalty, to pillage the enemy before the general commanding gives permission; but after this permission is given the soldier must have the same opportunity as the officer, and must be allowed to keep what he has carried off, provided he has paid his share to the receiver for the emperor.

Article 8

• It is forbidden that anyone, whoever he be, uses magic. When someone does use magic, he and every member of his family till 3 generations before and after him is to be slaughtered like a sheep. The Emperor of Prabai and him alone is immune to this ruling unless he himself is the one using magic.

Article 8.1

• Whoever gives food or clothing to a wizard is to be put to death.

Article 8.2

• It is ordered that any man able to kill a sorcerer must try that when recognizing one.

Article 8.3

• Not reporting a sorcerer (dead or alive) to the authority's is punishable by death.

Article 9

• He ordered that soldiers be punished for negligence; and hunters who let an animal escape during a community hunt he ordered to be beaten with sticks and in some cases to be put to death.

Article 10

• To keep the men of the army exercised, a great hunt shall be held every winter. On this account, it is forbidden any man of the empire to kill from the month of Quadran to Septran, deer, bucks, roe-bucks, hares, wild ass and some birds.

Article 11

• Every man who does not go to war must work for the empire, without reward, for a certain time.

Article 12

• The man in whose possession a stolen horse is found must return it to its owner and add nine horses of the same kind: if he is unable to pay this fine, his children must be taken instead of the horses, and if he have no children, he himself shall be slaughtered like a sheep.

Article 13

• No subject of the empire may take a Prabaiian for servant or slave. Every man, except in rare cases, must join the army.

Article 14

• Whoever finds a runaway slave or captive and does not return him to the person to whom he belongs is to be put to death.

Article 15

• The law required the payment of a bride price.

Article 16

• Children born of a concubine are to be considered as legitimate, and receive their share of the heritage according to the disposition of it made by the father. The distribution of property is to be carried out on the basis of the senior son receiving more than the junior, the younger son inheriting the household of the father. The seniority of children depends upon the rank of their mother; one of the wives must always be the senior, this being determined chiefly by the time of her marriage. After the death of his father, a son may dispose of the father's wives, all except his mother; he may marry them or give them in marriage to others. All except the legal heirs are strictly forbidden to make use of any of the property of the deceased.

Article 17

• The Lawbook of the Golden Lotus prescribes these rules: to love one another, not to commit adultery, not to steal, not to give false witness, not to be a traitor, and to respect old people and beggars. Whoever violates these commands is put to death.

Article 18

• If two families wish to be united in marriage and have only young children, the marriage of these children is allowed, if one be a boy and the other a girl. If the children are dead, the marriage contract may still be drawn up.

Article 19

• It is forbidden to bathe or wash garments in running water during thunder.

Article 20

• Whoever intentionally lies, or spies upon the behavior of others, or intervenes between the two parties in a quarrel to help the one against the other is also to be put to death.

Article 21

• Officers and chieftains who fail in their duty, or do not come at the summons of the local Zhu are to be slain, especially in remote districts. If their offense be less grave, they must come in person before the Zhu."

Article 22

• Whoever is guilty of sodomy is also to be put to death

Article 23

• Urinating in water or ashes is punishable by death.

Article 24

• It was forbidden to wash clothing until completely worn out.

Article 25

• He forbade his people to eat food offered by another until the one offering the food tasted of it himself, even though one be a prince and the other a captive; he forbade them to eat anything in the presence of another without having invited him to partake of the food; he forbade any man to eat more than his comrades, and to step over a fire on which food was being cooked or a dish from which people were eating.

Article 26

• One may not dip their hands into water and must instead use a vessel for the drawing of water.

Article 27

• When the wayfarer passes by a group of people eating, he must eat with them without asking for permission, and they must not forbid him in this.

Article 28

• It was forbidden to show preference to a sect.

Article 29

• At the beginning of each year, all the people must present their daughters to the Emperor so he may choose some of them for himself and his children.

Article 30

• It is to be watched over that minors not higher than a cart wheel may not be killed in war.

Article 31

• Abduction of women and sexual assault and or abuse of women is punishable by death. Article 32 In cases of murder one could ransom himself by paying fines which were: 50 gold coins for a Prabaiian, a donkey for a northener, 10 silver coins for others.

Purpose

The Lawbook of the Golden Lotus was a secret written code of law created by Emperor Arrakhai I of Prabai. It was the de facto law of the Empire of Prabai. The Lawbook of the Golden Lotus seems to have its origin as decrees issued in war times. Later, these decrees were codified and expanded to include cultural and life-style conventions.

Read the Document

The Lawbook of the Golden Lotus

Article 1

• It is ordered to believe that there is only one Celestial entity that matters, who alone gave life and death to the Empire, riches and poverty as pleases Him, and who has over everything an absolute power, a different version states that there was liberty to worship him in whatever way suitable.

Article 2

• It is ordered that all religions were to be respected and that no preference was to be shown to any of them. All this is commanded in order that it might be agreeable to Heaven.

Article 3

• Leaders of a religion, lawyers, physicians, scholars, preachers, monks, persons who are dedicated to religious practice, physicians and those who bathe the bodies of the dead are to be freed from taxes.

Article 4

• It is forbidden under penalty of death that anyone, whoever he be, shall be proclaimed emperor unless he has been elected previously by the princes, zhu, officers, and other Prabaiian nobles in a general council.

Article 5

• The ruling that divides men of the army into nines, eighty-first and seven hundred twenty-first parts called the Fu Erekh is to be maintained. He put leaders at the head of the troops and appointed commanders of nines, eighty-first and seven hundred twenty-first. This arrangement serves to raise an army in a short time, and to form the units of commands.

Article 6

• The moment a campaign begins, each soldier must receive his arms from the hand of the officer who has them in charge. The soldier must keep them in good order, and have them inspected by his officer before a battle. He ordered his successors to personally examine the troops and their armament before going to battle, to supply the troops with everything they needed for the campaign and to survey everything even to needle and thread, and if any of the soldiers lacked a necessary thing that soldier was to be punished.

Article 7

• Forbidden, under death penalty, to pillage the enemy before the general commanding gives permission; but after this permission is given the soldier must have the same opportunity as the officer, and must be allowed to keep what he has carried off, provided he has paid his share to the receiver for the emperor.

Article 8

• It is forbidden that anyone, whoever he be, uses magic. When someone does use magic, he and every member of his family till 3 generations before and after him is to be slaughtered like a sheep. The Emperor of Prabai and him alone is immune to this ruling unless he himself is the one using magic.

Article 8.1

• Whoever gives food or clothing to a wizard is to be put to death.

Article 8.2

• It is ordered that any man able to kill a sorcerer must try that when recognizing one.

Article 8.3

• Not reporting a sorcerer (dead or alive) to the authority's is punishable by death.

Article 9

• He ordered that soldiers be punished for negligence; and hunters who let an animal escape during a community hunt he ordered to be beaten with sticks and in some cases to be put to death.

Article 10

• To keep the men of the army exercised, a great hunt shall be held every winter. On this account, it is forbidden any man of the empire to kill from the month of Quadran to Septran, deer, bucks, roe-bucks, hares, wild ass and some birds.

Article 11

• Every man who does not go to war must work for the empire, without reward, for a certain time.

Article 12

• The man in whose possession a stolen horse is found must return it to its owner and add nine horses of the same kind: if he is unable to pay this fine, his children must be taken instead of the horses, and if he have no children, he himself shall be slaughtered like a sheep.

Article 13

• No subject of the empire may take a Prabaiian for servant or slave. Every man, except in rare cases, must join the army.

Article 14

• Whoever finds a runaway slave or captive and does not return him to the person to whom he belongs is to be put to death.

Article 15

• The law required the payment of a bride price.

Article 16

• Children born of a concubine are to be considered as legitimate, and receive their share of the heritage according to the disposition of it made by the father. The distribution of property is to be carried out on the basis of the senior son receiving more than the junior, the younger son inheriting the household of the father. The seniority of children depends upon the rank of their mother; one of the wives must always be the senior, this being determined chiefly by the time of her marriage. After the death of his father, a son may dispose of the father's wives, all except his mother; he may marry them or give them in marriage to others. All except the legal heirs are strictly forbidden to make use of any of the property of the deceased.

Article 17

• The Lawbook of the Golden Lotus prescribes these rules: to love one another, not to commit adultery, not to steal, not to give false witness, not to be a traitor, and to respect old people and beggars. Whoever violates these commands is put to death.

Article 18

• If two families wish to be united in marriage and have only young children, the marriage of these children is allowed, if one be a boy and the other a girl. If the children are dead, the marriage contract may still be drawn up.

Article 19

• It is forbidden to bathe or wash garments in running water during thunder.

Article 20

• Whoever intentionally lies, or spies upon the behavior of others, or intervenes between the two parties in a quarrel to help the one against the other is also to be put to death.

Article 21

• Officers and chieftains who fail in their duty, or do not come at the summons of the local Zhu are to be slain, especially in remote districts. If their offense be less grave, they must come in person before the Zhu."

Article 22

• Whoever is guilty of sodomy is also to be put to death

Article 23

• Urinating in water or ashes is punishable by death.

Article 24

• It was forbidden to wash clothing until completely worn out.

Article 25

• He forbade his people to eat food offered by another until the one offering the food tasted of it himself, even though one be a prince and the other a captive; he forbade them to eat anything in the presence of another without having invited him to partake of the food; he forbade any man to eat more than his comrades, and to step over a fire on which food was being cooked or a dish from which people were eating.

Article 26

• One may not dip their hands into water and must instead use a vessel for the drawing of water.

Article 27

• When the wayfarer passes by a group of people eating, he must eat with them without asking for permission, and they must not forbid him in this.

Article 28

• It was forbidden to show preference to a sect.

Article 29

• At the beginning of each year, all the people must present their daughters to the Emperor so he may choose some of them for himself and his children.

Article 30

• It is to be watched over that minors not higher than a cart wheel may not be killed in war.

Article 31

• Abduction of women and sexual assault and or abuse of women is punishable by death.

Article 32 In cases of murder one could ransom himself by paying fines which were: 50 gold coins for a Prabaiian, a donkey for a northener, 10 silver coins for others.

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Type

Manuscript, Legal

Medium

Paper

Signatories (Characters)

• Emperor Arrakha I

Signatories (Organizations)

• Empire of Prabai