The legal system of China mainly refers to

Chinese legal system mainly refers to the legal tradition of feudal society in China.

The origin of the legal system

traditional custom

Primitive society has long been in a state of "ruling without punishment, being king when soldiers can't afford it" and "obeying people without orders". At that time, maintaining the order of social groups and adjusting various relationships between social organizations or social members mainly relied on traditional habits established by people in their long-term production and life, and some gradually formed ethical concepts and daily behavior norms, which were maintained by certain group rules within social organizations and the supervision power of public opinion.

The legislation in Xia-Shang period belongs to the confirmation and transformation stage of early customary law, with the early customary law formed by the traditional customs and ethical norms of Xia-Shang tribes as the main legal source.

Military decree

There is a saying in ancient China that "punishment begins with soldiers". This shows that China's ancient criminal law and laws with criminal law as the basic content all originated from military law produced in military operations. As an important collective activity, military action requires highly strict organizational discipline, strict and orderly code of conduct and synchronous rules of action, and unified military laws must be applied to effectively command and coordinate all combatants. This is what the ancients called "learning from the law."

On the other hand, whether in wartime or after the war, we should deal with the enemy, prisoners or other illegal and criminal acts in time. When military commanders exercise military law enforcement power, they actually become judges or prison officials who exercise judicial power and penalty execution power. Some military laws are actually criminal laws that punish illegal acts. This is what the ancients called "the same system of soldiers and prisons."

Etiquette

Patriarchal ethical spirit originated from Confucian ritual system is the basic feature of China's legal system. This spirit, called "courtesy", has become the highest standard for confirming rights, obligations, merits and demerits of actions, measuring illegal crimes and formulating judicial procedures.

There is a saying that "courtesy comes from sacrifice". The Duke of Zhou established a set of systematic and detailed laws, regulations, cultural relics system and etiquette and moral norms, which effectively safeguarded the rights and interests of the ruling class, maintained the patriarchal hierarchy order and adjusted the social and legal relations between people. The Zhou Dynasty can be described as an era of "rule by courtesy". Since then, since the Western Han Dynasty, Confucianism and law have merged and "courtesy and law rule together", forming the dual legal values of "courtesy and law rule together".

Legalist thought

Since the Warring States Period, legalist thought has had an important influence on China's legal system. During the Warring States Period, the war of annexation prevailed, and the vassal states actively explored ways to enrich Qiang Bing. Legalist thought conforms to the historical trend and enters the historical stage. Legalists put forward the rule of law, taking the law as a mandatory tool to safeguard the authority of the monarch and stabilize the social ruling order.

This thought catered to the needs of the emerging landlord class, became the main means to strengthen the power of the monarch and maintain centralization, and had a far-reaching impact on the autocratic monarchy society for more than two thousand years. Of course, the essence of legalist thought still has reference significance in 2 1 century. Legalist thought still has a strong binding effect on a country's politics, culture and morality, and has a far-reaching impact on modern legal system.