Reform of Governance and Transformation of the Spirit of Law

Author: Wang Cunhe
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-07-01
Features: This book employs the legal cultural structure of China's indigenous law as an analytical framework to elaborate on its arguments. The legal cultural structure of indigenous law consists of Heaven, patriarchal moral principles, and ritual legal norms. Among these, Heaven serves as the ultimate basis for patriarchal moral principles, which in turn embody the Dao of Heaven and are ultimately concretized into ritual legal norms in daily life. In practical life, the cultural structure of indigenous law manifests as a triangular social structure relationship among the Son of Heaven, officials, and the people, as well as the conflict and integration of Heaven's Way, state law, and human sentiments. Since modern times, the legal cultural structure of indigenous law has undergone changes. This is manifested in: the moral origin shifting from Heaven-based to human-centered, the moral type transforming from patriarchal morality to an "holistic" morality, and legal norms changing from indigenous ritual legal norms to laws transplanted from the West and enforced top-down by the state. As a result, changes have also occurred in the specific governance models. This book primarily explores the institutional changes that took place since the late Qing Dynasty, centered around the reconstruction of the legitimacy of power.