Hồng Đức Code

Timeline

1. c. 1449–1483Thăng Long · Thăng LongAfter founding the dynasty, Lê Lợi immediately set to work on regulations for litigation and the land system, and the reign of Nhân Tông added specific provisions on land. In the 14th year of Hồng Đức, Lê Thánh Tông combined earlier statutes with new policies into the Quốc triều hình luật and promulgated it nationwide, popularly known as the Hồng Đức Code, becoming the core of the Later Lê written law.
2. 1483–1497Thăng Long · Thăng LongThe code comprised some seven hundred articles, divided into sections on criminal law, guard regulations, officialdom, household and marriage, and land, using the five punishments and ten abominations to uphold imperial power while incorporating Đại Việt customs such as equal-field allocation, village order, and women's property rights. Reforms deepened around 1485, mutually supporting the imperial examinations and household registration reforms.
3. c. 1500–1788Đại Việt · VietnamDuring the Trịnh–Nguyễn conflict of the 16th to 18th centuries, the Hồng Đức statutes remained the basic basis for adjudication at court and locally, with important printings and additions during the late-Lê Cảnh Hưng era. After the Tây Sơn uprising and the founding of the Nguyễn dynasty, the Lê legal order was abolished, Nguyễn Thế Tổ compiled the Hoàng Việt luật lệ, and the Hồng Đức Code ceased to be current law.