Legal Spirit in the Lineage of Daoist Thought: A Critical and Reconstructive Study of Traditional Chinese Legal Culture

Author: Wang Gongwen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: This is a monograph on comprehensive research of jurisprudence, legal culture, and constitutional systems. Throughout the book, there is a vibrant and energetic atmosphere. The author, with a profound foundation in legal philosophy and a grand narrative spirit, examines the fundamental philosophical issues of Chinese legal order construction from the perspective of the evolution of traditional Chinese culture. The author emphasizes the inherent necessity of historical change and argues that true understanding beyond spiritual and legal skills is built upon deep philosophical insights into the truth of human nature. The essence of law lies in recognizing genuine human freedom and the comprehensive progress of society, and as a law of freedom, it is a "freedom of ideas" or a "freedom of design." After the divinity of nature retreats, human thought, however, regresses in the progress of history. Precisely for this reason, it is necessary to examine China, the West, and other cultures within a broader historical context, or even within the thousands of years of human social development, the overall civilization of human society, and the direction of history, to find an effective and feasible method. In reality, the author does not deny the fundamental significance of social progress and modern rule of law. Rather, through the comparison between Western intellectual civilization and Chinese spiritual civilization, he acknowledges the diversification of law, the subjectivity of nations, societies, and individuals, and the dominance of national legal culture in the historical inheritance and construction of state legal order, leading to the transformation of belief types in social change. The author profoundly points out that while people misinterpret the spirit of Western rule of law, they also misinterpret traditional Chinese civilization. The spirit of Confucianism cannot represent the essence of traditional Chinese civilization. Only by seeking the secrets of reliable history within the existing elite culture and seriously treating the "Daoist" cultural spirit that transcends natural law can one find a path to advancement.