存留养亲制度在中国古代曾延续长达近一千五百年。存留养亲制度创制于北魏孝文帝时期, 成型于唐代, 是指中国古代被判处死刑、流刑、徒刑的罪犯, 其父母或者祖父母没有成年子孙依靠时, 有关官府按照相关条件奏请, 获得皇帝的裁可, 让其能够在身边赡养年老的父母或者祖父母。官府暂时对该罪犯延迟执行刑罚。待年老的父母或者祖父母死后, 再次执行原来刑罚, 或者根据情况的不同再次审查原来判决的刑罚后执行新的刑罚。该制度反映了相关宗法伦理道德向法律规范的上升, 实质是为了强化被统治者的忠孝意识, 以便于维护封建统治。 本文详细梳理存留养亲条文的历史变迁及其具体内容, 从而为现代法律制度的建设提供历史借鉴, 认为留养亲制度与中国刑法的轻刑化、慎用死刑的发展趋势不谋而合, 因此, 在中国刑法进一步完善的过程当中, 可以借鉴存留养亲制度的积极作用, 将其融入中国刑法屮一部分。目前已有的例子如, 中国新 ≪刑事诉讼法≫对取保候审主体的规定: 对于因应该逮捕的被告人, 如果患有严重 疾病, 或者正在怀孕、哺乳自己婴儿的妇女, 可以取保候审。这条规定蕴含的恤刑理念和以人为本、特别是照顾弱者、防止老幼无人供养的的立法精神, 与存留养亲制度存在共同之处。又如中国的缓刑制度、假释制度和死刑缓期执行制度, 均与存留养亲制度有一定的相似。

In ancient China, the system of keeping and keeping relatives lasted for nearly 1500 years. The system of surviving and supporting parents was established in the period of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty and formed in the Tang Dynasty. It refers to the criminals who were sentenced to death, exile and imprisonment in ancient China. When their parents or grandparents were not dependent on their adult offspring, the relevant government, according to the relevant conditions, obtained the emperor’s permission to support their elderly parents or grandparents around. The government temporarily delayed the execution of the criminal’s punishment. After the death of the old parents or grandparents, the original penalty shall be executed again, or the new penalty shall be executed after reviewing the original penalty according to different circumstances. This system reflects the rise of related patriarchal ethics to legal norms, in essence, to strengthen the sense of loyalty and filial piety of the ruled, so as to maintain the feudal rule. This paper combs the historical changes and specific contents of the provisions of family support in detail, so as to provide historical reference for the construction of modern legal system. It holds that the system of family support coincides with the development trend of light punishment and careful use of death penalty in China’s criminal law. Therefore, in the process of further improvement of China’s criminal law, we can learn from the positive role of the system of family support and integrate it into China’s criminal law Part of the law. For example, the new criminal procedure law of China stipulates that the defendant who should be arrested, if suffering from serious disease, or is pregnant or nursing her own baby, can be released on bail. This regulation contains the concept of leniency and the legislative spirit of people-oriented, especially taking care of the weak and preventing the old and the young from being supported by no one, which has something in common with the system of family support. For example, China’s probation system, parole system and death penalty probation system are similar to the system of family support.