A First Reading of the Hujia Caochang Han-Slip “Statutes on Water Control”

In the “Statutes on Water Control” seen in Selected Western Han Bamboo Slips from Jingzhou Hujia Caochang : the phrase er jue kui 而決潰 should be read together with the preceding phrase, and not juxtaposed with the phrase liu yi ruo sha ren 流邑若 殺人 ; the phrase ruo huairen tian she 若壞人田舍 is closely related with the preceding liu he san qing yi shang 流稼三頃以上 and should be differentiated from the following liu dao, qiao, ti, ta gong 流道、撟（橋）、隄、它功 ; dushui 都水 and li, jiang 吏、匠 could be separated by a list-separator mark 頓號 . Judging from the situation reflected in the “Statutes on Water Control,” the details, principles, and ideas of its legal stipulations to an extent find their origins in the Qin statutes and ordinances.