. 2011-03-06 How to Understand the Traditional Chinese Legal System

Stages of Development Characteristics of the Legal SystemEarly Stages of Development of Chinese Law (Xia, Shang, and Western Zhou) The origin of the development of Chinese law began in the Xia Dynasty, which coincided with the origin of Chinese civilization. The Shang Dynasty and the Western Zhou Dynasty established a legal system based on the patriarchal principle of "pro pro" and "respect", the formation of which is closely related to the characteristics of the origin of Chinese civilization. The stage of codified law and "rule of law" (Spring and Autumn Period, Warring States Period, and Qin Dynasty) As Chinese civilization continued to develop and the social economy became more and more advanced, the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period were accompanied by dramatic changes in the social system, and the development of the legal system also entered into a new period, with the codification of codified law and the Code of Laws being the main features of the legal system in this period, and the development of legal thought in this period, which contributed to the development of the legal system, was a major factor. The development of legal thought in this period fully prepared the theoretical basis for the development of the guiding ideology of the ancient Chinese legal system. The Qin dynasty, the first unified feudal dynasty in Chinese history, established the monarchical autocracy proposed by the legalists of the Warring States period and implemented the "rule of law" proposed by the legalists. Stage of Confucianization of Law (Two Han, Three Kingdoms, Wei, Jin, North and South Dynasties, Sui, and Tang) The rapid death of the Qin Dynasty provided a way for Confucianism and the monarchical authoritarian system to come together. Beginning with the Han Dynasty and extending to the Three Kingdoms, Wei Jin and North and South Dynasties, this period was a time when Confucianism permeated the law, i.e. the Confucianization of law. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, with the formulation and promulgation of the Tang Lu Shuo Zhi, the fusion of Confucian ritualism and Legalism's "rule of law" was completed, marking the completion and maturity of the ancient Chinese legal system, and the formation of the Chinese legal system, which is one of the five major legal systems in the world. Code and case combination stage since the Song Dynasty, social and economic, cultural development, Chinese law began to legal technology in the direction of the development of the perfect, that is, in the trial of a specific case is how to realize the combination of judicial operation and legal guidance. As a form of law, the case law was greatly developed, and the case law and the law began to combine with each other. The legal system of the Ming and Qing dynasties is a typical representative of this development trend. Modern law (the end of the Qing dynasty, the Republic of China) the end of the Qing dynasty, the western social system impact on the eastern civilization, the ancient Chinese social system began to disintegrate. The traditional legal system was also declared extinct after the change of law and revision of law at the end of the Qing Dynasty, and China began to step into a new period of modernization of law. In this period, the development of Chinese law is to absorb, integration of the Western legal system as the main content, to the Republic of China Nanjing Government to formulate and promulgate the "six laws" until the end of the modernization of law.