Dong Changchun
The civilization of the rule of law in ancient China has outstanding continuity, which fundamentally determines that the Chinese nation must follow its own path of the rule of law. The civilization of the rule of law in ancient China is divided into four consecutive historical periods. The emergence of the ‘people-oriented’ concept during the Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties, as well as the preliminary understanding of the importance of standardization and the formation of the concept of ‘cautious punishment’, laid the cornerstone for the Chinese civilization of the rule of law. From the Spring and Autumn Period to the Qin Dynasty, the theorization of governance ideas, and the promulgation and systematization of written laws built the foundation for Chinese civilization of the rule of law. From the Han Dynasty to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the selection and maturity of governance ideas, the codification and precision of written laws, and the shaping of the concepts of ‘conviction based on original circumstances’ and ‘cautious penalty’ completed the comprehensive construction of Chinese civilization of the rule of law. From the Song Dynasty to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, with the Han and Tang Dynasties as the forerunners, the continuous construction of Chinese civilization of the rule of law was completed in the aspects of the transformation of governance ideas, the precision of legal codes and the deepening of judicial ideas. It is the adherence to the people-oriented idea, the efforts to make legal codes more precise, and the implementation of the concept of judicial fairness that have enabled the development of the Chinese civilization of the rule of law to be characterized with ‘outstanding continuity’, and have also become an important historical resource for the construction of socialist rule of law in contemporary China.
内容提要：中国古代法治文明具有突出的连续性，这从根本上决定了中华民族必须 走自己的法治道路。中国古代法治文明的发展分为四个连续的历史时段，夏商周时期“民 本”观念的产生、规范重要性的初步认识和“慎罚”观念的形成，为中国古代法治文明 奠定了基石；春秋至秦，治理思想的理论化、成文法的公布及系统化构筑了中国古代法 治文明的基础；两汉至隋唐，治理思想的选择与成熟、成文法的法典化及精密化、“原 情定罪”及“慎刑”理念的塑造完成了中国古代法治文明的全面构造；两宋至明清以汉 唐为宗，在治理思想的转型、律典的精密化、司法理念的深化等方面完成了中国古代法 治文明的续造。正是民本等理念的坚持、法典精密化的努力和司法公道理念的贯彻，使 中国古代法治文明的发展具有了“突出的连续性”，也成为当代中国社会主义法治建设 重要的历史资源。