Abstract: This essay discusses two issues re la ted to causation in the law s on homicide contained in the Tang, Ming, and Qing codes. Material is drawn from the Tang code, as well as the Ming and Qing codes. The earlier code takes the same approach to causal questions as the later two. The main differences are, first, the nature of the terms used and, second, a more extensive use of explic it causal language in the later codes, especially in the Qing code and its commentaries