The Legislative View Of Guanzi And Its Contemporary Value

As a source of traditional Chinese rule of law thought,pre-Qin legalism is an essential part of traditional rule by law resources,and as an important text of legalism and the first advocate of "rule of law",the value of legal thought in Guanzi is evident.The idea of legislation is particularly important.As a systematic,complex and pivotal task,the theoretical foundations,values and strategies of legislation are not only an expression of the ruler’s will but also a reflection of the specific context and geographical culture of the time.However,most of the existing studies have focused on the philosophical,economic or legal system ideas of Guanzi,and there is a lack of literature or a lack of systematic research on the concept of legislation.Therefore,this paper conducts a more systematic and comprehensive study of Guanzi’s concept of legislation,in order to draw nutrients from the traditional legislative culture and find its roots.Unlike other legal writings,Guanzi’s view of legislation is more pluralistic and rich in the spirit of ’people-based’,which is influenced by both its time and its cultural origins,and is refl ected in the specific legislative values,principles and strategies of its view of legislation.The content of Guanzi’s view of legislation differs from that of the other representatives of Legalism,mainly because of the different social background and theoretical origins.Under the influence of the simple materialism of Legalism,the humanistic view that human nature is good for profit and evil for harm,and the philosophical foundation of Daoism,the main legislative principles of " peopleoriented" and openness and fairness were formed,and this legislative principle was used as a guide to weigh and select specific legislative content.It was only through the weighing and selection of specific legislative content guided by these legislative principles that the book was distinguished from the Shangjunshu.which also advocated the rule of law,with its concept of "rule by ritual and law" and the saving of penalties and punishment.In order to make the study more in-depth,the legislative views of Guanzi and Shang Junshu are compared,and their similarities reveal the historical limitations of the legislative concepts shared by the pre-Qin legalists as well as the technical aspects of the legislation that can be learned from them,while the latter’s"weakness of the people" and "heavy penalism" are different from the former’s "heavy penalism".The contrast between the latter’s "weakness of the people" and"heavy penalism" and the former’s "emphasis on the people" and "saving punishment and prudence" highlights the "people-oriented" legislative principle in Guanzi’s view of legislation.This concern for and attention to the interests of the people provides cultural resources for our current democratic legislation and people-centered development ideology.In addition,Guanzi’s pursuit of legislation that can be changed according to the customs and the times provides a reference for the timely repeal,enactment,modification and interpretation of laws according to the objective situation,and on this basis,we should pay more attention to the constraints of legislative procedures to ensure the scientific nature of legislation.Finally,influenced by its special ideological origin and philosophical foundation,Guanzi’s understanding of the complementarity between ritual and law can bring inspiration to the current socialist legislative work in strengthening the leadership of core values and moral construction.Of course,it should be noted that the content of traditional legal culture should be borrowed with a modern gaze,and in addition to monarchy and statism,the benign or neutral resources in Guanzi’s view of legislation that can be mirrored should be creatively transformed to inject new contemporary connotations into it,ultimately serving the modern rule of law and providing local cultural resources for the construction of a socialist society of rule of law with Chinese characteristics in the new era.