礼法结合:中国古代法律发展的基本线索

Combination of Etiquette and Law: Basic Clues of the Development of Law in Ancient China

同样是调整人们行为的规范,礼的作用在于防患于未然,通过教化使人们自觉地不去犯罪;而法则是对犯罪的事后追责,依靠刑罚的威慑力量强制人们去遵守。儒家在主导中国古代的官方思想之后,一直致力于将礼义道德融入到法律中去,并最终在唐代完成了这一事业,《唐律疏议》成为"一准乎礼"的代表。而礼法结合的思想,不但深深烙印于中国古代法律文明之中,而且对周边国家乃至当代都产生了深远的影响。

In terms of regulating people’s behavior, the function of etiquette is to prevent dangers in the future and to make people consciously refrain from committing crimes through enlightenment. The law is to pursue after the crime and to force people to abide by it by the deterrent force of penalty. Confucianism, after leading the official thought in ancient China, has been committed to incorporating etiquette, justice and morality into the law, and finally completed the cause in the Tang Dynasty. The Tanglü Shuyi has become the representative of "strictly abiding by etiquette". The thought of combining etiquette with law is not only deeply imprinted in the ancient legal civilization of China, but also has a far-reaching impact on the surrounding countries and even the contemporary era.