敦煌买卖契约法律制度探析

Law System seen in Sale Contracts from Dunhuang

本文通过对敦煌买卖契约的分析，认为敦煌买卖契约构成我国古代民商法律制度的重要组成部分。契约要素条款齐全，合意制度，担保制度，时效制度等现代契约制度都得到了较充分的体现，而且已萌生出“官有政法，人从私契”公法与私法之法律基本分类。

Sale contracts discovered in Dunhuang are important materials to study the evolution of the forms and uses of contracts in ancient China.The contract design was perfected during the Tang Dynasty. It clearly stipulated the rights and obligations of the two parties and the legal consequences for not honoring a contract.Simple contracts were well established and therefore helped to standardize the contract system. As a result, disputes among parties to a contract were reduced.The process for making a contract binding was following: First, the two parties signed the contract and offixed their seal. Next, they added their thumbprint to the contract.A guarantor and witness were required to sign the contract. During the Tang Dynasty,the single contract became commonplace and the duplicate was abandoned (only the contractor kept a copy). Sale contracts preserved at Dunhuang combine standard characteristics for contracts (based on the central legal system) as well as unique characteristics divided from regional practices,religion, and the unique geographical and historical conditions on China's western border.