He only explained it with reasonable reasons,

He doesn't show off the world, but he opens his heart.

His speech was only a saint, never a prophet,

However, people believe in him just as they believe in his own country.

The French say that18th century is Voltaire's century. Indeed, in the magnificent French Enlightenment in the18th century, the famous thinker Fran? ois Marie Voltaire (1694- 1778) stood at the forefront of this spiritual movement and guided the direction of the movement, so he was called the leader and mentor of the Enlightenment. Voltaire wrote a large number of works on literature, history, philosophy and politics, criticized the old system and the dark forces of the church, publicized truth and reason, and looked forward to the arrival of a new democratic, caring and free society, thus setting up a monument of thoughts in the history of human civilization. Voltaire's thought of oriental society and legal culture is an important part of his whole theoretical system. Although he didn't personally travel to the eastern countries, he clearly saw the vivid image of the East, which was completely different from Western Europe, from a large number of travel notes and narratives about the East at that time, especially from the first-hand materials about China provided by Jesuit missionaries, and from the works of the sages of the East, and deeply realized the intrinsic value of the Oriental spirit. His exposition of Chinese civilization and cultural connotation, especially his admiration for Confucius, made important contributions to spreading Chinese civilization and promoting the Enlightenment.

Voltaire, a French enlightenment thinker, wrote in On Confucius: "No legislator has ever been more beneficial to the truth of the world than Confucius", and "Do to others what you don't want others to do to you" is the purest morality beyond Christianity. 1793 French Constitution's Declaration on Human and Civil Rights and 1795 French Constitution's Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man and Citizen both wrote Confucius' famous saying, "Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you", which are defined as the moral boundary of freedom and the principle of civic duty respectively. This is the first time that the aphorisms of foreign sages have been written into the Constitution. This shows the degree to which China civilization was respected in France at that time. ("Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you." This classic in The Analects of Confucius is now conspicuously engraved in the lobby of the United Nations Headquarters in new york, and is regarded as the "golden rule" in handling state relations. )

Voltaire had a strong "China complex" in his heart. He spoke highly of China's ancient civilization with Confucianism as its noumenon, and believed that China was the most intelligent and civilized nation in the world, and that China's civilization had a long and far-reaching historical origin. "This country has a glorious history of more than 4,000 years, and its laws, fashion, language and even clothing have not changed significantly." He endowed Chinese civilization with a special position in the process of world history, and even thought that world history began with the history of China. The Five Classics, the oldest and most authoritative book in China, "is worthy of respect and is recognized as superior to all books of other nationalities' origins, just because there are no miracles, predictions or even any political tricks adopted by the founders of other countries". In Voltaire's view, the essential stipulation of China civilization is ethical civilization. In China, "ethics is the primary science". Confucianism founded by Confucius is not a religion in the western sense, but an ethical maxim. Confucius "said no innovation, no new gifts;" He will not be inspired by God, nor will he become a prophet. He is a clever official who teaches ancient laws. We sometimes call his theory' Confucianism' inappropriately, but in fact, he has no religious belief. His religion is the religion of all emperors and ministers, that is, the religion of sages. Confucius only warned people with moral indoctrination, and did not preach any secret meaning. Voltaire was deeply attracted by the image of Confucius written by Jesuits, and, like Father Kinnig and Father Duhad, he greatly appreciated Confucius, thinking that "he only spoke as a saint, so China people only regarded him as a saint". Therefore, in China, Confucius enjoys all honors, which is "a well-deserved honor for putting forward the most sacred viewpoint that human reason can form on the question of God".

Confucius' Confucianism profoundly influenced the characteristics of China's legal civilization. Morality and law are the things that China people understand the most, cultivate the most carefully and strive to improve the most. The filial piety of children to their fathers is the foundation of the country. In China, patriarchy has never been weakened, and sons can sue their fathers only with the consent of all relatives and friends and the government. Civil servants in a province and a county are regarded as parents, while the emperor is the king of a country. This idea is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and has formed a big family in this vast country. The law and peace of China, a huge empire, are based on the natural and most sacred laws, that is, the respect of the younger generation for the elders, which is integrated with the respect for Confucius, the earliest ethical master. Therefore, the traditional legal culture in China has a distinct ethical character. Unlike the West and other Asian countries, China's laws are secular. China people didn't create the theory that the soul is immortal. Their earliest legislators formulated some moral principles, encouraged people to accumulate virtue and do good deeds, and forced people to abide by these moral principles through harsh laws. "Indeed, China's law does not speak of punishment and reward after death; People in China don't want to know for sure what they don't know. This difference between them and all civilized powers is amazing. Although the theory of hell is very convincing, the China government never adopted it. They are only content to encourage people to be pious, respectful and upright. They believe that a consistently correct political system will play a greater role than some public opinion that may be attacked; What people are more afraid of is the current code, not the future law. " "In other countries, laws are used to punish crimes, but in China, laws play a greater role in rewarding good people and deeds. If there is a rare noble behavior, it will become a household name and spread throughout the province. Officials must report to the emperor, who will set up a plaque for those who deserve praise. " In ancient China, laws were combined with daily habits and etiquette to regulate people's behavior and form an organic social order. China people's endless etiquette hinders social interaction, but these etiquette can build restraint and honesty in the whole nation and make the folk customs solemn and elegant. When there are some disputes and unpleasantness, the parties will often bow to each other and ask for forgiveness because of the troubles caused to each other, so as to solve the problem calmly. Voltaire realized that China's legal culture based on moral principles has strong assimilative power. Genghis Khan's family established rule in the Central Plains, but the culture of Tatars was assimilated by the culture of China. "Tatars found that the laws of the defeated country were so perfect that they followed them to consolidate their rule. They paid special attention to retaining the law that no one can be a governor or judge in the province where he was born. What a good law! But also suitable for the defeated. " Similarly, although the Manchus forced the Han people to adopt Manchu hairstyles after entering the customs, "because the Manchus adopted the laws, customs and religions of the Han people, the two nationalities soon became one nation."

For a long time, China's ancient government form and its operation have aroused the extensive interest of Europeans, especially Voltaire. His ideal form of government is monarchy (not dictatorship). The Chinese political system characterized by "benevolent governance and rule by virtue" advocated by Confucianism coincides with Voltaire's ideal political system model of "enlightened monarch". From this, he analyzed China's traditional imperial rule, disagreed with some European missionaries and Montesquieu's views on China's autocracy, and pointed out: "Travelers, especially missionaries, think that autocracy is everywhere. These people judge everything from superficial phenomena: when they see some people bow down, they think they are slaves, and the person who accepts people's bow down must be the absolute master of life and property of 65.438+0.5 billion people, and his will is the law. But this is not the case, which is exactly what we will discuss. Here we just need to point out that in the earliest days of the empire, people were allowed to write down what they thought should be condemned in political affairs on the long table in the palace, which was implemented in the second century BC when Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty; In peacetime, the government's opinions have always had legal effect. This important fact overthrew Montesquieu's general and vague condemnation of the oldest country in the world in On the Spirit of Law. Voltaire praised China's ancient administrative operation mechanism and thought that China was much luckier than Indian, Persian and Turkish forms of political rule. Here, "everything is decided by the yamen below the first level, and officials must pass several rigorous examinations before they can be hired." "In China, these government offices are institutions that manage everything. Six belong to the first imperial government; The official department is in charge of provincial officials; The Ministry is responsible for finance; The Ministry of Rites is in charge of etiquette, science and art; The Ministry of war is in charge of war; The Ministry of Punishment is in charge of prisons; The Ministry of Industry is in charge of public works. The results of these ministries' handling of affairs are reported to the highest body. Under the six departments, there are 44 subordinate institutions based in Beijing, and officials from various provinces and cities have auxiliary yamen. " Therefore, in Voltaire's view, of course, human beings can't imagine a better government than China, and the ancient government in China was not the autocratic government that Montesquieu thought. "Under this administrative system, it is impossible for the emperor to be arbitrary. The general law comes from the emperor, but because of that kind of government organization, the emperor can't do anything without consulting knowledgeable elected people. People must kneel before the emperor as if they were gods. If they are disrespectful to him, they will be punished for offending the gods. Of course, all this does not mean that this is an authoritarian government. A dictatorial government is like this: a monarch can deprive his subjects of their property or life without following a certain form, but only by his own will and without violating the law. Therefore, if there is a country whose people's lives, reputations and property are protected by law, it is the Chinese Empire. The more institutions enforce these laws, the less arbitrary the administrative system will be. Although sometimes the monarch can abuse his power to harm a few people he knows, he cannot abuse his power to harm most people he doesn't know, and it is protected by law. " In Voltaire's mind, China is an admirable country, where the emperor should be the "chief philosopher", and the imperial edicts issued by him are full of ethical teachings and teachings; The emperor of China was also the "high priest" and the "first farmer". So Voltaire even affirmed the views of some European missionaries on Yong Zhengdi, and praised the emperor, pointing out: "This emperor is the wisest and most generous of all emperors. He has always been concerned about alleviating the suffering of the poor and making them work. He strictly abides by the law, suppresses the ambitions and tricks of monks, protects the peace and prosperity of the country, and rewards all beneficial skills, especially land cultivation. Under his rule, all the public buildings, traffic arteries and canals connecting rivers in this great empire have been maintained, and the project is grand and economical. In this respect, only the ancient Romans can compare with Peter. " In Voltaire's works, the construction of public facilities by the ancient government of China was closely related to its patriarchal clan system and administrative philosophy. "Because the whole country is the fundamental policy, safeguarding public interests is regarded as the primary responsibility in China more than in other places. Therefore, the emperor and the government have always been extremely concerned about repairing bridges and paving roads, digging canals, facilitating farming and handcrafting. "

Of course, Voltaire also saw the shortcomings or weaknesses in China's ancient civilization and cultural system, and thought that nature endowed China people with integrity and wisdom, but did not give them spiritual strength. For example, in science and technology, "China people are always superior to other nationalities in ethics, but other sciences have not made much progress". He sent out a series of questions: Since China people were so advanced in such a distant ancient time, why did they stay at this stage? Why is astronomy so old in China, but its achievements are so limited? Since China has devoted herself to all kinds of skills and sciences, why has she made little progress? Here, Voltaire seems to notice the stagnation of the development of traditional China society, and thinks that China people have incredible reverence for what their ancestors left behind, which may hinder the progress of China society.