Chinese_legal_system_1_

Chi[e-mail]OfficiallycalledasthePeople’sRepublicofChinaorPRC(Chinesepeople,forthousandsofyears,calltheircountry“zhongguo”,whichliterallymeans“CentralCountry”or“MiddleKingdom”,reflectingthefactortheirbeliefthatthecountrystoodasaleadingcivilizationforcenturies,outpacingtherestoftheworldintheartsandsciences.)Largestcountryintermsofpopulation(over1300million)Thirdthelargestintheworldinarea(aftertheRuriaandCanada;slightlylargerthanU.S.A.LocationandClimateStretchingfromitssouthernbordersintheHimalayastothedesertsofMongoliainthenorth,andfromtheEastChinaSeathroughtheYangziRiverValleyplains,totheTibetanPlateauinthewesternmainland,Chinacoversanareaofsome9,600,000squarekilometreswithmorethan5,000islands,ofwhichTaiwanandHainanarethelargest..Theclimatevariesfromthesubtropicalsouth,withaheavymonsoonrainfall,tothearidNorth-west;inwinterthetemperaturecanbe-30°CintheNorth-east,yet15°CinthefarSouth.AMapofChinaDiversityofPeopleandLanguageOver50differentnationalitieslivinginChina.Themajority(94percent)areHanChinese;theothergroupsincludeTibetans,Mongolians,Zhuang,LiandMiaowhoselanguagesandcustomsarequitedifferentfromthoseoftheHan.TheofficiallanguageinChinaisMandarin(Beijingdialect),asspokeninBeijing(theCapital),buttherearealsomanydifferentdialectstolistenfor.ChinaasaThirdWorldCountryLeftbehindbyEuropeancivilizationsinthe19thandearly20thcenturies,duringwhichitwasbesetbyforeigninvasions,militarydefeats,civilwars,andmajorfamines.ChinasometimesseesitselfasaThirdWorldcountry,butoutsiderssometimesfinditpuzzlingthataThirdWorldcountrycanbuilditsownrocketsandnuclearweaponsandhaveadvancedresearchprogramsinmanyaspectsofscience.About70percentofthepeopleliveinthecountryside,andthoughmanypartsofruralChinaarestillpoor,theChinesehave,throughtheirownefforts,managedtosolvetheirfoodproblem,achievedaremarkablelevelofhealthcare,andprovidedatleastprimaryeducationforthemajorityofchildren.Since1949,China'sachievementshavebeenaninspirationtomanyThirdWorldcountries.Secondlargesteconomyasof2002(WorldBankdata2002:);Arguablytheforthlargesteconomynow.2.Chineselegalhistoryandlegaltradition:theConfucianschoolandthelegalschoolLiVersusLaw•Similarity:bothaimedatthemaintenanceofsocialorder;•Difference:whatconstitutedanidealsocialorderandbywhatmeanssuchanordercouldbeattained.LiandConfucianistsDeniedthatuniformityandequalitywereinherentinanysocietyEmphasizedthatdifferencewereintheverynatureofthingsBelievedthatafairsocialordercouldonlybeachievedthroughtheharmoniousoperationofthesedifferencesIrrationaltoequalizewhatwasunequal,resultingindestructionofrationaldivisionoflaborandinoverthrowofsocialorderHumanbeingscharacterizedbydifferencesinintelligenceandinvirtuesThesedifferencessetthestagefordivisionoflaborTwofundamentaltypeofworkrecognized:thementalandthephysicalThelattertoservemental-laborclasswiththeproductionandservicesScholarsandofficialsbelongedtothemental-laborgroup,tostudy,acquirevirtue,andtogovernthepeopleMentalworkhighlyvaluedLinedrawnbetweenthesuperiorandtheinferior,leadingtoarelationshipofsubordinationandsuperordination“Greatmanhavetheirproperbusiness,andlittlemenhavetheirproperbusiness…Somelaborwiththeirmindsandsomelabortheirstrength.Thosewholaborwiththeirmindsgovernothers;thosewholaborwiththeirstrengtharegovernedbyothers…Thisisaprincipleuniversallyrecognized.”--ByMencius“Theyoungerservetheolder;theinferiorservethenoble;thedegenerateservetheworthy.Thisisthepervadingruleoftheuniverse.”--ByHsunTzuDistinctionbetweennobleandhumble,superiorandinferiorbasedupontalentandvirtueofeachmemberofthesocietyFurtherdifferencesbasedoncriteriaofgeneration,age,degreeofrelationship,andsex.Statusandmodesofbehaviorinthelargersocietyweredeterminedbythefactofsuperiorityandinferiority,inafamily,bythedegreeofnearnessandremoteness,superiorityandinferiority,andseniorityandjuniorityThefunctionofLiMen’sstatusesshallbeclearlydefined;theirexpectedrolesproperlycarriedoutLi:rulesofbehaviorvaryinginaccordancewithone’sstatusdefinedinthevariousformsofsocialrelationship;FormulatedbytheConfucianistsThefunctionofLiistoachievedifferentiation:whenaperson’stitleandpositionaredifferent,theLiusedarealsodifferent.Confucianistsbelievedthatdifferentiationwldfinallyleadtoarealizationoftheiridealsocietybasedupontheprincipleof“humanrelationship”—asocietyinwhichtheruleractsasarule,theministerasaminister,thefather,theson,theelderbrother,theyoungerbrother,thehusband,thewife,etc.SanGangWuChang(三纲五常：threeprinciples&fiveconstants)1.ThreeprinciplesA.Emperoristheprincipleofsubjects;B.Fatheristheprincipleofson;C.Husbandistheprincipleofwife2.Fiveconstants:仁(Ren)kindness;义(Yi)loyalty;礼(Li)courtesy&rites;智(Zhi)wisdom;and信(Xin)trust.Regardedasinthehumannature.LiconsideredbyConfucianschoolasprimaryandfundamentalingovernmentA