Study On The Changes Of Parental Disciplinary Authority From The Late Qing Dynasty To The Early Republic Of China (1840-1927)

In ancient China,the relationship between parents and children is an important part of family relations.Children should do nothing but follow the filial piety,and the parents have the rights to punish their children,including personal punishment and punishment by local authorities.If the children violate the orders,the parents may punish them according to the family law.Even if it is intentional homicide,the children were assaulted irrationally,parents are just inflicted punishment with a hundred guards.Parents may also submit their children to the local authorities on charges of "unfilial" or "offenders" and request the local authorities on behalf of discipline.In Qing Dynasty,parents can also submit "The request for banishment" to ask the local authorities to discipline their unfilial children by litigation,parents can rescind the request as well.Overall,the degree of the punishment was totally controlled by parents.In Late Qing Dynasty,the relevant legislation surrounding the parental disciplinary authority in the legal reform has aroused a heated debate.Through legislative documents of the legal reform like the emperor's encyclical,the memorials of the ministers,the endorsements of the provinces and deliberation records of the Senate,this paper will observe the background,process and results of the relevant legislation of parental disciplinary authority.In the < New Criminal Code of Qing Dynasty>,the traditional penalty system went to the end,banishment was replaced by life imprisonment;"unfilial" "descendants violating the orders" and other feudal ethical provisions were deleted;parents who killed the guilty children are no longer entitled to penalty immunity,the scope of parental punishment is drastically reduced.But under the pressure of the rituals,<Temporary Article>V was attached to <New Criminal Code of Qing Dynasty>,within which,the descendants' defense to their respect relatives cannot be justifiable defense,indirectly recognize the legitimacy of parents against their children.<Civil Draft Law of Qing Dynasty>learns from the Western legal system,establishing Parental Right System for the protection and custody of minors.Parents with parental rights can punish the minors personally within the necessary range,or request the local authorities to punish them.At the beginning of the Republic of China,the Code failed to be fully updated timely.The civil provisions were based on the civil effective part of <Current Criminal law in Qing Dynasty> and the Precedents and Interpretations made by Supreme Court.At first,there was no provision relating to the parental disciplinary authority.Later,Yuan Shikai tried to restore the monarchy and promulgated the <Supplementary Regulations>,the eleventh of which stipulated the rights of parents to request punishment for children.According to analysis of the Precedents and Interpretations made by Supreme Court,this paper will explain the particularity about the disciplinary owners,the disciplinary person,the nature and procedures in the Early Republic of China.This paper will explore the practical interaction between law and trial,according to the relevant case comparison at the same time.The changes of parental disciplinary authority from the Late Qing Dynasty to the Early Republic of China are the outcome of the legal reform.In the transformation from traditional society to modern society,the power of parents under the traditional legal system gradually splited,ethical hierarchy was challenged,modern parental rights system gradually arose,behind which is the legislation principal from the familism to individualism,an equal attitude was tried to use between parents and the children.The parental disciplinary authority is no longer a means to guarantee the authority of the parents by the penalty,but the content of parental right in the civil law.