A Comparative Study Of The Xi Xia Loan Contract And The Chinese Loan Contract

The private loan contract is a written agreement that restricts the credit relationship between the lender and the borrower.It is also a form commonly used in the establishment of lending relationships since ancient times.With the change of time,each region and era has created a contract with its own national characteristics.During the Xixia period,a large number of loan contracts written in Xixia language became a kind of evidence for the Xixia people to maintain the lending relationship.This Xixia textual contract is gradually formed on the basis of studying and inheriting the Chinese language contract,constantly absorbing the culture and beliefs of the local people.Therefore,the Xixia contract has both the main part similar to the Chinese language contract and the unique national feature part of the Xixia party family.So far,a large number of literature materials and unearthed objects involving Xixia have been continuously excavated,making it possible for many of the precious literature materials that are unknown to the world to reappear.This has an irreplaceable historical significance for the in-depth study of the social economy in the Xixia period.With Mr.Shi Jinbo's successive collation of the "Documents of Russia and Heishuicheng",his concentrated research results have provided scholars great convenience in studying the Xixia language social documents and Xixia social economy.In addition,Mr.Shi Jinbo's“Integration of National Contract Documentation Unearthed on the Silk Road Xixia Volume"(unpublished version),which was compiled in 2016,allows us to get a glimpse of the social aspects of the Xixia era reflected by the Xixia Pact.Therefore,the author regards Mr.Shi's"Integration of National Contract Documents Unearthed on the Silk Road-Xixia Volume"(unpublished version)as the starting point for the study,from the format,basic contents,and state intervention of the contract and the development of the commodity economy.In the four aspects of the situation,it is compared with the Tang Dynasty Chinese contract.It was found that the Xixia contract largely inherited the habits of the Tang Dynasty Chinese contract in terms of contract format and content,but it abandoned the verbose assurance assemblages,and fixed sentences stipulated in the Order of the New Law of Tiansheng Law promulgated by Xixia government.Instead,it shows the unique style of Xixia people.In addition,in terms of state intervention,the Xixia Pact strictly complies with the Xixia Codex system.Compared with Tang contract,Xixia government has further strengthened the control of private deeds and the contract system has become more and more standardized.In terms of commodity economy,Xixia also reflects the distinctive economic development model and path of the Tang Dynasty.In summary,the Xixia loan contract has the same contractual origin as the loan contract of the Tang Dynasty,but it is also different on the basis of the development of the respective ethnic groups.Therefore,this article focuses on the Xixia loan contract and compares it with the loan contract of the Tang Dynasty.It makes detailed comparisons between the two kinds of contracts from the following four aspects:the format of the contract,the basic content,and the degree of state intervention as reflected in the contract and the development of the commodity economy.From its similarities and differences,we can see that the formation of the Xixia loan contract is not only an inheritance of the Tang Dynasty contract,but also a new development of the Xixia dynasty based on its own geographical characteristics and national characteristics,and it reflects to some extent the evolution of China's contract system to a new stage.