A Study Of The Legal Regulations On Name In Ancient China

As an important part of Chinese culture, name has a significant position especially inancient China. Thus, to study name from the perspective of traditional laws can provide acomprehensive view to understand ancient Chinese society as a whole. The thesis conductsthe study mainly from four parts. In the context of Chinese ancient patriarchal society, thefirst part discusses the special functions of name including distinguishing marriagebackground，identifying social status and judging whether a person is honored or not. Withstate laws including ancient codes and emperors’ edicts, the second part analyzes the rulesof name specifically from two aspects----the name maintenance of the venerable and theintervention from emperors on other persons’ names. Based on civil law, the third partexplains the legal regulation of name from two levels that are family disciplines and clanregulations, and general civil customary law. The fourth part attempts to make a briefcomment on the legal rules of name in ancient Chinese society. Finally, the conclusion onone hand displays the process of gradually establishing the right of name in modern laws;and on the other hand it points out the necessity for modern legal system to regulate name.