地方自治观念在近代中国的嬗变——从政治意义上的自治到法律意义上的自治

Local Self-Government Theory and Its Evolution in Modern China

中国传统社会存在特定的地方自治观,它构成了近代中国地方自治观念及其嬗变的前见和基础,在西方地方自治学说传入中国后的相当长时期内,一直是占居主导地位的地方自治观。西方自治学说的影响不在于全然颠覆中国传统自治观的政治内容,而是赋予它地方自治团体的法律上的人格化形式。因此,地方自治西方移植说只有针对法律意义上的团体自治才能成立。我国的自治学说直到民国中后期才完成从政治意义到法律意义的转变,并相应地获得了前所未有的法学学说形式。地方自治团体的概念是近代中国地方自治学说嬗变的最大收获。

In traditional Chinese society,there have existed certain forms of local self-government theory,which constitute the pre-knowledge and foundation of local self-government theory and its evolution in modern China.Since the late Qing Dynasty,the western theory has been far from overturning the tradition al Chinese theory,rather it has given the Chinese theory a legal form.That is the local entity as a public legal person.The argument that local self-government theory was transplanted from western to China could only make sense within the transformation from political sense to legal sense.The notion of local entity is the most important fruit of the late evolution of local self-government theory and it could also be constructive and helpful in the current reform of local government law.