Viewpoint 1: The modern interpretation of "courtesy" and "law" means doing what you know you can't do.
The modern interpretation of China's ancient "rites" and "laws" is the basis for us to discuss their relationship in China. The essence of modern interpretation of China's ancient "rites" and "laws" is to define the nature of China's ancient "rites" and "laws" with the modern western "theoretical system" or "discourse system".
However, because there is no one-to-one semantic expression in the language system of Chinese and western cultures, this work itself is very difficult and even obviously unscientific. This difficulty existed at the beginning of the legal and cultural exchanges between China and the West. For example, Yan Fu clearly pointed out that "the translation of the western word' Fa' in Chinese is different".
Viewpoint 2: Rite is a code of conduct system, which integrates religious norms, moral norms, ethical norms, administrative norms and legal norms.
The category of "ceremony" in ancient China is much larger than that of "law" today, and its content is all-encompassing, which widely regulates people's behavior and social life. "The ceremony of the husband, the classics of heaven, the meaning of the land, and the trip of the people!" Therefore, it makes sense that ceremony is natural law, theocracy, customary law, civil law, constitution, etc. But "ceremony" is "ceremony".
Viewpoint 3: In ancient China, ceremony was the core content of today's "law" system, but today's "law" system includes not only ceremony, but also laws, decrees, forms, rules and folk laws.
Viewpoint 4: The coexistence of "Fa" and "Li" in ancient China is another code of conduct established mainly after the collapse of "Li Yue". Its core content is "punishment" and "politics", namely "criminal law" and "decree". For example, the word "Fa" in China's ancient literature itself took the word "Ling".
The Debate between "Rite" and "Law" in the Pre-Qin Period
Viewpoint 1: (the historical background of the dispute over etiquette and law) As a code of conduct independent of etiquette, law and punishment have existed for a long time, and punishment began with soldiers. The oath, patent and five punishments in Shangshu are all prototypes of law. However, as a system, the really emerging law has led thinkers to two completely different ways to save the world: Legalists abandoned the outdated order of rites and music and sought to rebuild the system of criminal and political order, while Confucianism tried to innovate rites and restore social order within the scope of rites.
Viewpoint 2: (the political focus of the debate on etiquette and law) The important characteristics of etiquette are "fen" and "fen", which maintains the hierarchical privilege of traditional blood political aristocrats in the patriarchal clan system. The important feature of "law" and "law" is universal adaptability, while Shuowen explains that "law is equally divided", that is, "one punishment", and there is no hierarchy in punishment. If you are defeated in the rear, it is not a punishment. If you are good at taking the lead, you won't lose the law. If a loyal minister and son do it, they will judge by the number. Law-abiding officials do not obey the law, and their crimes are unforgivable, and they are punished by three families. Those who know Zhou Guan and above him are innocent and have no dignity. "
Viewpoint 3: (the value focus of the debate on etiquette and law) The standard system of etiquette is based on morality, with the means of enlightenment and self-cultivation, with harmony, moderation and balance as the purpose, and benevolence as the standard value pursuit, while the standard system of law is based on politics and morality.
The Confluence of "Rites" and "Laws" in Ancient China
Viewpoint 1: The purpose of the combination of etiquette and law is to provide a standard of goodness and goodness for the law, taking the virtue of etiquette as the basis of the law, thus providing the etiquette basis for the rationality of the law.
Viewpoint 2: The influence of "etiquette and law" is mutual, and the result is not only the change of "law", but also the change of "etiquette". The privilege of "ceremony" is not only given to the royal aristocrats, but also to the bureaucratic aristocrats, and it is also greatly restricted by the centralized monarchy.
Viewpoint 3: There have always been contradictions and conflicts between the "poverty" of "ceremony" and the "universality" of "law". The legal embodiment of aristocratic privilege reached its peak in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, which was not only the establishment of penalty systems such as "eight comments", "please" and "reduction", but also the "nine-grade Zheng Zhi system" took "family background" as the primary criterion for appointing officials. In the Tang Dynasty, etiquette and law were unified. But in the end, it was not strictly enforced, so the Tang Dynasty did not break away from the tragic fate of "separatist regime" and then perish. However, the contradiction of "etiquette and law" can be found in "Wang Anshi's political reform" in the Song Dynasty and "ruling officials with heavy code" in the Ming Dynasty.