"People's Contract" Of The Western Zhou Dynasty And Spring And Autumn Period

"People's contract" is an important concept of Rites of the Zhou,as well plays an important role in the Western Zhou dynasty and Spring and Autumn period of social life.As a breakthrough point,through comparing with "people's contract" in Rites of the Zhou,to grasp the characteristics and evolution of "people's contract" in main body,content and form in the Western Zhou dynasty and Spring and Autumn period,we can deepen the understanding of itself.At the same time,it's also contribute to having a more comprehensive understanding of the social outlook of the Western Zhou dynasty and Spring and Autumn period.There are three chapters in this paper except introduction and conclusion.The first chapter analyzes the origin and connotation of "people's contract".This concept originates from Rites of the Zhou,and has its own characteristics on main body,content and form in that book.As the main body,"people" has many meanings,most notably refers to ordinary people;Its content is mainly concentrated in two aspects of the sale-transaction and legal-dispute;Its form belongs to the small Yueji between large and small,and particularly has three performances of Fubie,Shuqi and Zhiji.The second chapter analyzes the characteristics and evolution of "people's contract" on main body,content and form in the Western Zhou dynasty and Spring and Autumn period.Like in Rites of the Zhou,"people" in literatures of this period also refers to ordinary people.But as the main body of "people's contract","people" is unique,mainly refers to the upper social strata,and has extensions from high to low,from male to female;Its content can be divided into sale-transaction,legal-dispute,and marriage-inheritance three;Its form is in two of oral and written,and often accompanied by oath to strengthen the binding force.The third chapter discusses the role and influence of "people's contract" in the Western Zhou dynasty and Spring and Autumn period.Mainly in two aspects,one is to play as legal binding in the period when statute law is not yet complete,maintaining faith in interpersonal relationships and social stability,on the other hand,to make the two sides have equality covenant,although this equality is not absolute,but relative and temporary.In a word,"people's contract" has its own characteristics in Rites of the Zhou,but there are differences between it in that book and in the real history and it presents different characteristics in different periods.It is a good starting point to study the history of the Western Zhou dynasty and Spring and Autumn period.