Crow Terrace Poetry Trial
Treason trial against Su Shi and others, in 1079 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Crow Terrace Poetry Trial (or Crow Terrace Poetry Case, 烏臺詩案) was a trial on charges including treason and lèse majesté that occurred in the year 1079 of Song dynasty era in Chinese history. The legal action conducted against Su Shi by government prosecutors has abiding interest in the case of government censorship versus artistic freedom. "Crow Terrace" designates the nickname for the Imperial Office of the Censorate (御史臺), the office which prosecuted the case, citing Song Criminal Code, Article 122: "Denouncing the Imperial Chariot". The Imperial Censorate accused dozens of defendants. The most prominent of the dozens accused was the official, artist, and poet Su Shi (1037 – 1101), whose works of poetry were produced in court as evidence against him.
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The trial was a major landmark in the struggle for free speech, in medieval China. The trial resulted in Su Shi's conviction and exile, as well as the conviction of over thirty other individuals, who faced varying punishments including fines and official reprimands. The Crow Terrace Poetry Trial had the significant effect of dampening subsequent creative expression and set a major negative precedent for freedom of speech, at least for the remainder of Song Dynasty China. Besides the significance of the Crow Terrace Poetry Trial for Su Shi and poetry, it is also a rather remarkably well-documented instance of a medieval Chinese literary prosecution, with surviving copies of indictments, arguments, case disposition, and also numerous poems by Su Shi which had been entered as evidence.