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Rule Of Virtue And Rule By Law

Posted on:2007-03-28Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:H S ZhengFull Text:PDF
GTID:2166360185457324Subject:Legal History
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
Our ancient China had the thought of"rule of virtue"and"rule by law"with a long history which dated back to the Shang Dynasty. There were all kinds of cruel laws and severe penalties in the Shang Dynasty. The rulers dressed up the king as the representative sent to the world by the God by telling the myth of"The magic bird sent to the world by the God bearing the Shang Dynasty". They made their cruel laws and severe penalties sound reasonable by using the majesty of the God. After the Zhou Kingdom overwhelmed the Shang Kingdom, Zhou Gongdan, the statesman of Zhou, summarized the lesson of Shang's collapse. Although keeping the concept that the king's power was granted by the God, he thought that the God's order was changeable. The king would lose his power if he couldn't cherish the people, protect the people and enable the people the peaceful life and he would be displaced by a new king .It must be the oldest thought of"rule of virtue"which was carried out formally in the Chinese political life.An entire set of thought of"morality the first and penalty the second"proposed by Confucius, Mencius and Xunzi during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period was esteemed by the kings of all previous dynasties, affecting the Chinese feudal society for more than 2,000 years. On the contrary, the Qin Kingdom carried out the legalist thought which opposed with the Confucianist, cruel and unkind to the people. Although obtaining superficial success, unifying China, it existed for only fifteen years and then disintegrates. After Qin, the rulers of the Han Dynasty abolished Qin's cruel laws and unifying the Confucianism and the legalist thought. From Han Dynasty, it was rare to only use the Confucianism or the legalist thought as the guiding ideology. Although the Confucianism was often regarded as orthodox, all beneficial thoughts were received as long as helpful to the social development.
Keywords/Search Tags:Virtue
PDF Full Text Request
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