On The Evolution Of The View And Institution Of Penalty And Award In Pre-Qin

Penalty and award are two important concepts in the political philosophy of Pre-Qin. Both concepts have wide connotations. Especially in the Legalist School’s theory, penalty and award had already become two sides in one contradiction and were frequently used together in context. However, in the system of the political philosophy of Pre-Qin, the definition and usage of penalty and award actually include two different levels-the concrete level and the abstractive level. The concrete level refers to those microscopic rules which were recorded in the law and statue books. While the abstractive level refers to those macroscopic thoughts which were recorded in the works of political philosophy of Pre-Qin. It is important to differentiate these two levels when discussing the political philosophy of Pre-Qin.This article discusses the concepts of penalty and award based on the spirit level and institution level. We define those spirits or thoughts about penalty and award are the view of penalty and award. We also define those rules and systems are the institution of penalty and award. In Pre-Qin period, social being determined the view of penalty and award and the view of penalty and award conducted the institution of penalty and award. Based on the interaction among the social being, the view of penalty and award and the institution of penalty and award, we will illustrate the evolution of both the view and the institution of penalty and award in order to discover some regularity about the political philosophy of Pre-Qin.