| It has been a consensus in the circle of legal history that the system of statutes and decrees is an important concept. The system of statutes and decrees is a legal system mainly consisting in Statutes and decrees. It existed in the period of Zhan’guo, Qinhan, Weijin, Sui and Tang Dynasties in ancient China. After the development in Song and Yuan dynasties, statutes and cases became the main components of the legal system, hence the system of statutes and cases.
The collaboration between the two-the system of statutes and decrees and the system of statutes and cases-is very useful in analyzing the historical evolution of the ancient Chinese legal system.
The fundamental cause of the transfer from the system of statutes and decrees to the system of statutes and cases is that the law must meet the huge socio-economic changes occurring in Tang and Song dynasties. The transfer is a three-folded story. First, the transfer was a long and complicated process, during which cases initially considered as alien things were recognized and absorbed into the legal system, and "grew barbarically" under the specific historical conditions. Secondly, traditional legal system began to change dramatically and decline from the peak of prosperity. Finally, cases gradually absorbed "decrees". It is an important development in ancient China that the system of statutes and cases replaced the system of statutes and decrees. Statutes were the main form of law while cases were complementary. This structure not only adapted to the contemporary economic and social system, but also properly solved some contradictions accumulated in ancient Chinese legal system:it helped to resolve the contradiction between the simpleness and complexity of legal forms, coordinate conflict between sentiment and law in the judicial process, and promote the combination of reason and experience in the legislative process. |
京公网安备11010102006664号 京ICP备2023015853号