合同演变历史考述

An Investigation of the Evolution History of Contract

在古代,合同是契约的一种,称作"合同契",出现于东汉,是在"判书"形式的契约基础上发展起来的。"合同契"与南北朝时期出现的"单契"适用于不同的缔约行为中,长期并行而用,直至建国后的50年代。在漫长的发展过程中,"合同契"在适用关系、名称、格式、款缝文字、惯用语等方面,都经历了复杂的变化。20世纪50年代后期,经过数年的混用期,"合同"作为一种独立的文体最终取代了"契约",成为最重要、最常用的协议类文书。

In ancient time, he tong is a kind of contract, also called ＂he tong qi＂. It first appeared in the Eastern Han Dynasty and was developed from the form of ＂pan shu＂. ＂He tong qi＂ and ＂dan qi＂, which appeared in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, have been used simultaneously for a long time till 1950s, applied in different contract activities. During the long history of evolution, ＂he tong qi＂ has gone through complicated changes in terms of relationship of application, name, format, terminology and expression, etc. In later 1950s, after a period of hybrid using, ＂he tong＂ as an independent style of document became the most important and most frequently used form of contract.