中国古代之民法——“礼”——从民法的本质谈起

Rites:the Civil Law in Ancient China——About the Essence of the Civil Law

从20世纪初至今,学界对中国古代有无民法的问题一直争论不休。对该问题的两种相对的立论反映了近代以来对中国法律本土资源的不同认知。我们首先从无民法论之立论角度,指出以西方近现代民法之概念为视角的不妥之处,从民法的本质、特征、表现形式指出中国古代礼即为民法。

Ever since the beginning of the 20th century, the debate about whether there was the civil law in ancient China has never ceased in the academic circle. The two opposing views on the issue reflect the two different cognitive ideas of the legal resources in China. It is a wrong viewpoint to apply the Western modern concept of civil law to the issue. We hold that the rites of ancient China were just the civil law with regard to the nature, characteristics and forms of civil law.