Shen Tianfu Forgery Case

In 1667, during Emperor Kangxi's early reign, Shen Tianfu collaborated with Lü Zhong and Xia Linqi to forge an anti-Qing seditious book titled "Zhongjie Lu" (Record of Loyalty and Integrity). They falsely attributed its authorship to deceased Ming loyalists and their living descendants, including Wu Yuanlai, son of the respected scholar Wu Sheng. Shen attempted to extort a large sum of silver from Wu Yuanlai by threatening to report him for treason. Instead of capitulating, Wu Yuanlai boldly reported the blackmail to the authorities. The ensuing official investigation rapidly exposed the manuscript as a complete fabrication, confirming that the text was compiled purely to facilitate extortion, thereby clearing the innocent families.

Emperor Kangxi ordered a thorough investigation. Once the forgery was proved, the court swiftly sentenced Shen Tianfu and his co-conspirators to immediate decapitation for the capital crimes of forgery and extortion. Wu Yuanlai and the other falsely accused scholars were completely exonerated, released without charge, and their reputations were officially protected.

The central dispute was the legal distinction between genuine political sedition and maliciously fabricated evidence during a period of severe literary inquisitions. The case tested whether the imperial judiciary would automatically presume guilt upon accusation or would diligently examine the authenticity of the evidence. It centered on the criminalization of weaponizing state security laws for private extortion.

The severe punishment of Shen Tianfu signaled the early Kangxi court's intolerance of baseless sedition accusations, temporarily halting a dangerous trend of extortionary denunciations that preyed on political fears. It established a crucial legal precedent that penalized fraudulent informants, which significantly reassured the anxious Jiangnan literati, helping to stabilize intellectual life and mitigate the terror associated with early Qing rule.