中国古代立法崇古倾向探微

中国古代立法具有鲜明而强烈的崇古意识,从以古制入法、以古礼释法和以古礼品评今法等方式表现出来。崇古倾向具有使立法显示正统性、合理性和权威性等现实功能。崇古倾向的影响体现为礼法融合、以秩序为最高立法价值,从而导致法典体例的保守,民商法等部门法典难以生成以及对外来法律文化的排斥,认为祖宗之法不可变。这种立法中崇古倾向来源于中国传统文化中强烈的崇古意识,其深层根源则在于中国古代的农耕生产方式和相对封闭的地理环境。

A Probe into the Tendency of Ancient Worship by Legislation in Ancient China

The legislation in ancient China bears a strong sense of ancient worship illustrated by means of integrating ancient rules into laws,interpreting laws with ancient ritual,and reviewing contemporary laws with ancient ritual systems.The tendency of ancient worship does make the legislation more solemn,rational and authoritative,but it also leads to the integration of ritual and law and sets the order as the supreme legislative value,accounting for the conservation of legal system.As a result,the civil and commercial laws and the like are hard to be codified and alienate the foreign legal cultures holding that the traditional and ancient laws are beyond challenge.This tendency originated in the strong sense of ancient worship in Chinese traditional culture and rooted in the ancient planting production mode and relatively enclosed geography.