Chinese traditional culture·Political culture·Modern law

Chinese traditional culture, political culture, and reform.

In order to cope with the changes in the world and eliminate disadvantages and strive for strength, pre-Qin legalists advocated reform.

Shang Yang proposed: "Legislation is made at the time, and etiquette is judged according to the situation" ("Gengfa"), opposing the conservative view of "the wise rule without changing the law".

Shen Dao believes that "governing a country without its own laws will cause chaos, and abiding by the laws without changing will lead to decline" ("Shen Zi Yi Wen").

The legal theory and practice of pre-Qin Legalists played a positive role in establishing new feudal production relations and the unification of China.

After the Qin and Han Dynasties, some feudal social thinkers such as Wang Anshi also advocated legal changes to consolidate feudal rule.

Gong Zizhen, a modern Chinese thinker, believes that the root cause of social crises lies in feudal autocratic rule.

He criticized the outdated imperial examination system and employment strategy of the Qing Dynasty, and appealed to the ruling class to change the law quickly, pointing out that "from ancient times to the present, all laws have been changed, all forces have been accumulated, all cases have been changed, and all customs have been changed." In this case, "it is inevitable that

Why not think about changing the law?" His ideas had a certain positive effect on reforming feudal bad governance and stabilizing people's livelihood.

Modern bourgeois thinkers also emphasized "reform".

Kang Youwei pointed out: "Without changing the clear method, there is no way to cure it" ("The Second Book of Emperor Shangqing").

Tan Sitong believed that China was facing the danger of destruction and "only reforms can save it." His purpose was different from that of ancient thinkers, and he aimed to change the feudal system and establish capitalist production relations.