| Dalisi | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese name | |||||||||
| Chinese | 大理寺 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Jisi | |||||||||
| Chinese | 棘寺 | ||||||||
| Literal meaning | Thorn or Thorn-Bush Office | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Vietnamese name | |||||||||
| Vietnamese | Đại lýtự | ||||||||
| Manchu name | |||||||||
| Manchu script | ᠪᡝᡳᡩᡝᠨ ᠪᡝ ᡨᡠᠸᠠᠨᠴᡳᡥᡳᠶᠠᡵᠠ ᠶᠠᠮᡠᠨ | ||||||||
| Möllendorff | beiden be tuwancihiyara yamun | ||||||||
The Dalisi or Dali Si, [1] variously translated as the Court of Judicature and Revision, [2] the Court of Judicial Review, [3] and the Office of Justice, [4] was the supreme court for criminal cases under most of the dynasties of imperial China. [5] [6] It was also referred to as Jisi or Ji Si because interrogations of criminals sometimes took place under thorn trees. [7] Ancient Vietnam followed ancient China's precedent and also established a similar institution.