法律儒家化及其解释力

The Confucianization of Law and Its Explanation

在近代法律史知识体系的背景下,瞿同祖用法律儒家化对中国刑律的发展趋势做了描述,所解释的是始自汉代但是兴于魏晋的引礼入法现象,具体就是用礼来修改刑律。法律儒家化的解释前提是春秋战国以来的礼、刑分离,当德、礼、政、刑从周礼中分化后,礼融入法才有基本前提。法律儒家化能够准确解释西汉中期以后刑律的发展趋势,但是由于其内含与君权的冲突,这是法律儒家化的解释限度。从刑律及其实践来看,刑律文本的儒家化程度最高,司法实践次之,司法制度在经历儒家化后又呈现回溯法家的趋势。即使儒家化程度最高的刑律文本也包容了很多法家理念,这种现象可以用儒法融合或礼法融合来描述。

In the backgrounds of the knowledge of legal history in modern times,Qu Tongzu used the Confucianization of law to describe the development of Chinese penal statutes.It explains the phenomenon of introducing rites into laws which started from the Han Dynasty and thrived in Wei and Jin.The basis of the theory is that rites separated from laws in the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States periods,after morality,rites,politics and penalties separated from Zhou Rites,the rites could be integrated into laws.The Confucianization of law can correctly explain the development of penal laws after the midterm of the Western Han Dynasty.However,as the theory of Confucianization of law includes conflicts with the power of the Emperor,it can only explain the development of the penal laws to an extend.In the view of penal laws and its practice,the confucianization of the judicial practice developed not so deep as that of penal laws,since the judicial system returned to utilize the practice of legalism after it had experienced the process of confucianization of law.Besides,even in the penal laws there existed the theory of legalism,which can be explained by the process of the integration of Confucianism and Legalism or the integration of rites and laws.