法律貴在簡潔恰當(dāng)。這是明代立法的基本原則之一，由明太祖朱元璋提出?！胺ㄙF簡當(dāng)”強(qiáng)調(diào)法令既要“簡”，亦即文字簡潔、條理清晰，老百姓看得懂、記得住，又要“當(dāng)”，亦即務(wù)實(shí)求中，不可偏輕偏重，以防止官吏在執(zhí)法過程中玩弄法律條文傷害民眾。

Enacting concise and reasonable laws，proposed by Zhu Yuanzhang，Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty，was one of the fundamental principles of legislation in the Ming Dynasty.“Concise” means that the law should be clear and logical，so that people can understand it and keep it in mind.“Reasonable”means that the law should be practical and impartial，to prevent officials from taking advantage of the provisions to the detriment of the people during enforcement.

引例 Citation：

◎ 法貴簡當(dāng)，使人易曉。若條緒繁多，或一事兩端，可輕可重，吏得因緣為奸，非法意也。夫網(wǎng)密則水無大魚，法密則國無全民，卿等悉心參究，日具刑名條目以上，吾視酌議焉。（《明史·刑法志一》）

（法律貴在簡潔恰當(dāng)，使人容易明白。若是條目頭緒繁多，或者同一罪有兩種判法，可輕可重，司法官吏就會(huì)借機(jī)謀私作弊，這不符合法律的意旨。漁網(wǎng)太密，則水中無大魚；法網(wǎng)太密，則國內(nèi)沒有臣民不受刑罰。諸位悉心比較研究，每天寫出些刑名條目奏上來，我親自斟酌裁擇。）

The law shall be concise，reasonable，and easily understood. If there were too many provisions，or two possible penalties for the same crime，law enforcers may take the opportunity to seek personal benefits，against the purpose of the law. If the eyes of the net are too small，there will be no big fish left in the water. Similarly，if the net of law is too tight，everyone may get punished. All of you are expected to study carefully and write out some penal provisions，to be sent to me for consideration.(The History of the Ming Dynasty)