The Collision Of Traditional Culture And Modern Rule Of Law In Rural Society

Law,an embodiment of the "national spirit" in Savigny’s eyes.Now,in China,we are facing the collision between tradition and modernity.Chinese legal culture has a long history and its own characteristics,but it has been exposed to the impact of other legal cultures from the second half of the 19 th century,which has cultivated useful development but brought regrets as well."From the Soil: The Foundations of Chinese Society" described by Fei Xiao Tong is a society deeply influenced by Chinese traditional legal culture,with the most distinguishing features that are the "pattern of difference order" and the "rule of propriety".However,present China has not completely got rid of the word "rural",but entered the era of "post-rural society".This article tries to explore the collision between traditional culture and modern spirit of rule of law from a small perspective by analyzing the example of S village,and with the guidance of professor Su Li’s "local resources theory" in order to explore the "ideal prospect of Chinese rule of law" in the author’s mind.First of all,S village is located in a mountainous area with backward material conditions and population aging problem,and has to deal the problem of relocation.Now it faces the problem of relocation.In the process of relocation,it appears a problem that cannot be ignored--the inheritance of the right to use the house site land.On one hand this problem is a conflict between the civil law,property law and land management law.On the one hand,and the traditional concept of “the house follows the land”,inheriting "ancestral house" and the provisions of collective land in the modern law.In essence,it is also a small fragment under the collision of traditional culture and modern spirit of rule of law.This article focuses on the solution of this problem through the analysis of the inheritance of the right to use house site land.Secondly,S village is also a part of the Chinese "post-rural society".Chinese rural areas are undergoing the most drastic changes,and the popularization of laws has changed every aspect of rural life.Rural areas,now it seems to be the most affected place by Chinese traditional culture,when it is forced to accept the modern culture of the rule of law,the conflict is sometimes invisible,but definitely not ignorable.Hence,this article,from the the perspective of Chinese traditional culture,focuses on observing the historical development of the traditional legal culture,and discusses the modern spirit of the rule of law.By making a comparison of these two,the author tries to draw a conclusion of the elements of rule of law in rural society.Last but not least,focusing on Su Li’s "local resources theory".Since 1990 s,"Local resources" is an important theoretical study on the rule of law in China.Twenty years later,whether there is new development about the Theory and whether it suits the current situation are the major concerns.Besides,the article pays attention to Deng Zheng Lai’s analysis and criticism of Su Li’s theory,trying to clarify the conflicts therein.Generally speaking,no matter Su Li’s theory or Deng Zheng Lai’s theory,they all focus on the issues of traditional vs.modern and foreign vs.local.Once such problems are handled simply,consequences like what happens in S village are inevitable.This is the basic proposition that the modern rule of law can not avoid.