Study On China's Feudal Legal System Of Agriculture

Based on the study on the history of agriculture, ideological history of agriculture, history of legal system as well as historical thought of legal system from Shangyang reform in the time of the Warring States through the Republic of China, five summative features were drawn through further exploration of feudal legal system in agriculture as follows: i) legislation of feudal agriculture was interwoven with administrative legislation, criminal legislation and civil legislation. Agricultural legislation, though not many in quantity, was in lack of a system of oneness and independence; ii) Emphasis on agriculture and little attention given to the commerce has blocked the development of feudal economy; iii) Emphasis on agriculture was based on the point of view of strengthening military forces, which inevitably neglected the protection of farmers interests; iv) the legislation of agriculture, though derived from monarch and being dominant and authoritive, were in lack of stability and unity; v) agricultural extension was mainly dependent on feudal officers instead of mobilizing farmers to learn sciences and technologies and connecting it with education. Conclusion, thereafter, was made that feudal legal system of agriculture could not get out of the strict hierarchic system and dependence on interpersonal relationships to protect farmers equal rights and seek farmers interest. Only under the modern society, constitution gives all civilians equal rights and makes it possible to protect farmers interest and rights. Owing to historical reasons, there is still a long way to go to have farmers rights and interests fully realized, which needs to get beyond the restriction of traditional ideas and old allocation patterns of benefits, and adjust the dualistic structure of society. The reform is tough and needs to be done like that carried out in the industrial reform to make the protection of farmers interests and rights as the basic philosophy of agricultural legislation so as to modify the unequal structure in terms of interests, rights and benefits. With the historical lessons learned as the new basis, five problems needed to be given considerations with respect to the construction of modern agriculture legislation: how to overcome the decentralization and complex of feudal legal system of agriculture so as to set up an independent legal system of agriculture; how to reduce the influence of the thought of emphasis on agriculture and neglect ion of businesses on agriculture so as to rightly deal with the relation of agriculture to commerce; how to make agriculture legislation not only maintain the national benefits but also protect farmers interests and rights; how to make the agricultural legislation stable and unified instead of being changed randomly by the ruler; how to strengthen the legislation of agricultural education and technological extension so as to improve the competencies and skills of the rural people and to achieve sustainable development of agriculture. Learning from the history will brighten the path and offer valuable reference to modern legal system construction of agriculture.