近代“破家非孝”思潮与传统家庭的“公共角色”

Anti-family System in Early Modern China and The Public Role of Traditional Family

近代私法改革中,历次修改制定的亲属继承法中都不同程度上保留了传统家庭制度的特征,但近代中国的'破家非孝'思潮却非常彻底地否定了这种制度。造成这种分歧的原因在传统家庭的'公共角色'。在家国同构的逻辑下,传统家庭成为公权力在乡土社会中的代言人,履行相应的公共职能,这在传统法律都有相应的制度安排。但近代中的'破家非孝'思潮将近代西方社会中作为私人领域的家庭制度奉为圭臬,以此来改革传统家庭。这显然误解了中国的传统家庭,忽略传统家庭的公共角色。职此之由,近代中国的法律改革者才没有亦步亦趋地附和'破家非孝'思潮,相反更多地肯定了传统家庭的相关制度,延续了传统家庭的公共角色,尤其体现在亲属法和继承法的改革上。

The public role of traditional family in China is fully based on the logic of'integrity of family-state'.In other words,traditional family is the actual proxy of public authority in the earth-bounded China.However,scholars of early modern China were honestly submitted to western thought of family,and criticized the whole virtues of traditional family according to that.The key point is that the scholars were completely unaware of the logic of'separation of family-state'in western tradition.Namely,the family belongs to private sphere and plays no public role in early western society.Because of this,legal reformers reasonably reflected the thought trend of the scholars,succeeded to the virtues of traditional family,and prudently connected the transition between traditional family and modern family in early modern China.