The Division Of Etiquette And Law:The Differentiation And Turning Of Governance In The Spring And Autumn Period

Since ancient times,China has been known as the “state of rites and ceremonies”,“Rites” as a unique symbol of Chinese culture,originated from the primitive society worship customs,living standards and other “rites and customs”.With the development of human society and culture,“rites and rituals made by the duke of zhou” completed the transition from “rites and customs” to “rites and rituals”,and established the political model of the Western Zhou dynasty governing the country with rites.In the spring and autumn period(775-476 B.C.),when emperor declined and the system of rites was abolished,the social order with the core of rites was disturbed.Based on the rites of Zhou,Confucius viewed the “benevolence” as the basis of the “ritual”,playing the role of moral constraints in order to rebuild social order,the “righteousness” as rulers governing standards and “governing with morality”as the target to build a society.The idea of Confucius led to the breakthrough of thoughts in the axial age of China.Zi Si inherited and developed the thoughts of Confucius,and put forward the theory of rites such as “the beginning is close,the end is close to justice” and other people-oriented political views such as “for the government to virtue,teaching people to virtue”.Although the statesmen represented by zi chan were deeply influenced by the rites of zhou,they had to face the reality and chose to cast the torture letter punishment cauldrons in order to “save the world”sustaining social stability with the authority system and rigid rules and prefering the path of rule of law and autocracy.In the changes of the times in the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring Kingdoms Period(475-221 B.C.),the political goal of enriching the country and strengthening the army,the value orientation of utilitarianism and the means of governing the country with external coercive force won a complete victory in the debate of governing the country.From the ideal to the reality,from the values of propriety,righteousness,integrity,and honour to the valueorientation of utilitarianism was one of the fundamental changes in the thought of Zhou and Qin dynasties,which played a crucial role in shaping the Chinese social form after the Warring Kingdoms Period.