古罗马家父权与中国家父权的差异及其文化成因

The Difference between the Patria Potestas of Ancient Rome and the Patriarchy of Ancient China and Its Cultural Causes

在古罗马和古代中国的发展历程中,以父系血缘为纽带组合成的基本社会单元——家,在两种社会中均扮演了重要角色。而作为享有家内最高权力的男性家庭成员——家父,都处于家内关系的核心地位。尽管从权力内容等方面来看,古罗马家父所享有的权力和古代中国家父所享有的权力在外观上有着很大的相似性,但仔细观察两者在一些行为动机和性质上的不同,便能够发现两种权力在本质上存在差异。这些差异不仅源于古代中国和古罗马在社会和文化背景上的不同,也源于东西方文化在对待个人价值态度上的根本不同。

In the history of the development of ancient Rome and ancient China,the family,being the basic social unit formed by the paternal blood ties,has played an important role in both societies.As the male family member with the highest power in the family,paterfamilias is at the core of the family relationship.Although in terms of the contents of power and other aspects,the power held by paterfamilias in ancient Rome and the power held by paterfamilias in ancient China are quite similar.However,a careful observation of their differences in some behavioral motivations and behavioral properties reveals that these two kinds of power are different in nature.These differences not only result from the social and cultural background differences between ancient China and ancient Rome,but also seem to result from the fundamental differences between eastern and western cultures in their attitudes towards personal values.