Tang Code. Based on the northern Zhou Code of 564, the legal code of the Tang dynasty (618-907) was first compiled in 624 and frequently modified in the following decades. The code was revised in 637 with a decrease in the number of offenses entailing death or exile. The most important change was the integration of an authoritative commentary in 653. This commentary not only provided clarification of the highly elliptical articles of the code but also introduced further rules not in the original text. The final redaction of the code in 737 dealt with both criminal and administrative concerns, including primary laws. The final format of the Tang code included 502 articles organized into 12 books: 1) general principles and regulations; 2) laws concerning the passing into or through prohibited areas (imperial court, town gates, city walls, frontier garrisons, and so forth); 3) offenses committed by officials in the exercise...