Research On The Interaction Between Folk Law And Law-from The Perspective Of Bride Price

The folk custom of betrothal-gift has undergone a process from more obvious restrictions and suppression to gradual relaxation since the founding of The People’s Republic of China,which reflects the divergence,tug-of-war,and reconciliation of state and folk law.For the custom of betrothal-gift,the state law has brought more obvious changes in its governance efforts at different times,and a considerable part of the traditional elements have been inherited.The two main changes include the inherited properties of the betrothal-gift and the transformation of individualism.At the same time,aspects of familism persist in contemporary betrothal-gift customs,and traditional cultural and life-living ethics have not disappeared as a result of the process of modernizing the rule of law state.As for the choice of the state law of betrothal-gift,the state law has always held a position of marriage and family based on affection or mutual affection,and the negative expression of "forbidding the solicitation of property through marriage" has been continued in the law,but in practice there are different norms for the handling of betrothal-gift disputes at different times.In particular,in contemporary judicial practice,state law presents an overall pattern of tension between expression and practice.In this particular area of judicial discourse,the courts have developed a "practical rationality" mechanism that allows for the harmonization of state and folk law on betrothal-gift in practice,without violating the official discourse and at the same time taking into account folk customs and the ethics of living in reality.The interaction between state law and folk law on betrothal-gift can complement the existing theories on the interaction between state law and folk law in folk law studies.On the one hand,state law promotes the transformation of folk law through the process of social governance;on the other hand,the widespread existence of betrothal-gift folk law and the heavy burden of contemporary betrothal-gift on some parties push the state law to make pragmatic adjustments to betrothal-gift disputes under negative expressions.The result of this two-way interaction process is a non-linear endogenous change of state law and folk law respectively,which means that the relationship between the two is not a simple one of folk law supplementing state law or state law leading civil law,nor is civil law an auxiliary or disadvantaged practical element,but the interaction between state law and folk law is a complex organic relationship.From the conclusion of this two-way interaction,the relationship between state law and folk law under the perspective of the rule of law should be dealt with by actively promoting the transformation of folk law into modernity while responding to and taking care of the ethics of life-living and folk traditions in folk customs.