Comparative Study On Family Law Of Han And Tang Dynasties

From Han Dynasty to Tang Dynasty, the development of the law of family (marriage) underwent a long period. Some lists of the law in Han Dynasty which belong to civil law have been modified into criminal law or have been newly-regulated in Tang Dynasty. The law of Han Dynasty is the law in the beginning period of feudalism society, while the law of Tang Dynasty became the mature law feudalism society. Using empirical method, this paper compares the content of the marriage law in Han and Tang Dynasty, which is the reflection of the initial stage and middle stage of feudalism society respectively, to find the development characteristics of ancient family (marriage) law.The whole paper is divided into three parts in comparing the family (marriage) law in Han and Tang Dynasty.The first part compares the management of registered residence institution and relative laws. We first investigate the registering residence institution, including the registration of residence, responsibility of government, and the divide of family according to the belongings. The law of Han Dynasty asked the citizens to declare their registration by themselves,and to take the responsibility of being punished if there are any fake or false declare. The law of Tang Dynasty has put emphasis on the regulation of failing to report the registration or the truth of age and health. As to the content of how to divide the family according the belongings, there are large difference between the law of Han and Tang Dynasty. In Han, it is up to the citizens themselves to decide whether to divide the family or not. But in Tang, there are some limitations to prohibit citizens from change the registration and property. Secondly, we compare the land management laws which are relevant to the institution of registered residence, including the distribution of houses and some land policies. At last, we investigate the civil-service management institution. Because the ultimate goal of the state to control registered residence institution is to levy taxes and draft services, there are civil-service management content in residence.The second part compares the inheriting management institution. The law of Han put emphasis on the inheriting of rank,...