A Probing About Zhang Zhidong's Thoughts Of Legal Reform

As one of the four ancient civilizations,with the thousands of years of the history,China has formed a legal system,whose formation is "Confucian as the table,Law as the method".At the end of the Qing Dynasty,as one of the representative of the part of the feudal officials,Zhang Zhidong knew the importance of the consular jurisdiction.In order to maintain their rule,at the "form change" purpose,Qing government commanded Shen Jiaben to amend law.On 1911,Qing government promulgated the "criminal law of Qing Dynasty",marking the disintegration of the Chinese legal system.Chinese law began to be modernized.In the legal modernization process,due to the different legal understanding of Westernization,Zhang Zhidong and Shen Jiaben had a battle about etiquette and law.As the Confucian spokesperson,Zhang Zhidong seemed to be pedantic.However,if we carefully reviewed his ideas,we could find that Zhang Zhidong's opposition was limited.Such as the The new criminal law of Qing Dynasty draft,Zhang Zhidong objected to the rules that destroyed the traditional law.In order to withdraw the Consular jurisdiction,he learned from western countries actively,recommend Shen Jiaben as the law minister energetically.He objected to the people like Shen Jiaben,Wu Tingfang and others,who don't respect the feudal ethical practices.And he prevented the law reform from being comprehensive westernized.In the new criminal law of Qing Dynasty draft,like some people who burst into the Invasion of the Imperial Ancestral Temple or palace,just imposed a penalty to them.Zhang Zhidong thought the punishment was too light,and didn't conform to the China's national conditions.Mao Haijian believed that Zhang Zhidong was the modern transformation of the characters,and his ideas had the transitional significance.Zhang Zhidong's political reform also had very important legal significance.From the perspective of legal modernization,Chinese-style Westernization legal reforms was an important milepost of Chinese legal development,represented the direction of the law.As an official of Confucianism,Zhang Zhidong developed the industry,established the foreign affairs,and supported the law reform.His positive attitude to the West played a positive role in the whole history.In the cultural studies,scholars mostly pay attention to Shen Jiaben's indelible influence on modern legal system.And thought that Zhang Zhidong was conservative by his performance of the battle about etiquette and law.When we considered Zhang Zhidong's reform concepts entirety,we could find that his legal thoughts were reasonable.As the real power faction,he must protected the interests of the ruling class.In the face of the crisis of the Qing Dynasty,his legal reforms was conservative and open simultaneously.Zhang Zhidong's Chinese-style Westernization legal reforms was full of contradictions.According to his performance in the law reform and the battle about etiquette and law,combined with the story of his life and Exhortation to study,which was his major work,we could find out that Zhang Zhidong's attitude to the western legal culture,and analyzed his reform concepts,tried to know the feudal landlord class how to maintain their ruling interests in the face of the social transformation to adapt the trend of the times.The article is divided into four parts.The first part introduces the life of Zhang Zhidong.He was a proponent of the Westernization Movement,wrote Exhortation to study.Both laid the material and ideological basis to his reform concepts.The second part introduces Zhang Zhidong's legal thoughts.By this,we could understand the reform concepts and the legal thoughts better.The third part explains Zhang Zhidong's Chinese-style Westernization legal reforms.In combination with the collation of information of the late Qing Dynasty,we could analyze Zhang Zhidong's performance.The fourth part discusses Zhang Zhidong's Chinese-style Westernization legal reforms.Combining the different views,we could form our own conclusions,and have a deep understanding of the practical significance of his legal reforms.