1, mouse prison
Zhang Tang was a Tingwei in the Western Han Dynasty and an ancient counselor. He presided over many major cases in his life and used harsh words. He showed his potential as a judge when he was a child. Once his father went out, he was alone at home, and the mouse stole the meat. His father got angry when he came back and hit him. Zhang Tang dug a mouse hole and caught the mouse. The mouse hasn't finished the meat he stole, but the mouse has got all the stolen goods. According to the formal trial procedure, Zhang Tang interrogated mice, recorded confessions and made documents. Finally convicted and sentenced, the mouse was hanged. When his father came home, he was surprised to find that his confession was written by an experienced prison guard. Later, Zhang Tang was asked to write a judgment.
2. Three-legged method
Du Zhou was a famous cruel official in the Western Han Dynasty. He is a very important person, and he doesn't talk much. His heart is engraved. They were all appointed as Tingwei and Physician. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty admired him very much. What is the reason? One is that he was arrested one by one, and the other is that he is in prison, which is subject to the will of the emperor. When the emperor sued the people he hated, he fell into the wrong way: when the emperor wanted to release someone, he made an excuse to release them. Someone asked him in this regard: "You are the king of the world, and you don't follow the rule of three feet. You only treat people's thoughts as prisons. Is the prisoner so solid? " The so-called three-foot method refers to the legal provisions written on a three-foot long bamboo tube. Du Zhou laughed off this accusation and said plausibly, "Where is the three-foot method?" The former owner did the law, and the latter owner did the law. What was the law at that time? "It should be said that Du Zhoudao is telling the truth, telling the very common law enforcement mentality and phenomenon in feudal society. Du Zhou can admit this frankly, but there are also loveliness.
3. The Taishou fell off the cow.
Therefore, Anguo was the satrap in the Northern Zhou Dynasty. When Ren Taishou was appointed, both Ren and Du lost their cows. Later, Ren's family got a cow, and both said it was their own cow, each holding its own word, and the county could not decide for a long time. An official in Yizhou said: Yu Taishou must have an idea. After that, I took over the case. Said, "This is easy to understand." He ordered the two families to drive their cows to the front of the county government and let them claim them. As a result, the cattle to be claimed entered any cattle. In the past, I asked my officials to slightly hurt the cow to claim it to observe the reaction of the two families. Ren Jia felt distressed after seeing it, but Du Jia ignored it. So Yu decided to give the cow to Ren Jia, and Du Fu pleaded guilty and left.
4, the law when often.
Di Renjie was a famous minister in the Tang Dynasty. His official career has gone through two dynasties: Gaozong and Wuhou. When he was appointed Cheng Dali, after a year's interruption, 17,000 people were imprisoned, and he was called Uncle Ping. On one occasion, the general Quan Shancai of Wu Wei mistakenly cut down the cypress tree in Zhaoling, and the emperor was dismissed. Tang Youzong was very angry and ordered to punish Quan Shancai. Di Renjie was guilty of playing with power and wrongful death. Gao Zong said, "I am unfilial because of my kindness. I must kill him to get rid of my hatred. " When people heard this, they all winked at Di Renjie and told him to leave the palace. However, Di Renjie said unhurriedly, "When I heard that I disobeyed Long Lin, I thought I was a hero since ancient times, but when I met him, I didn't think so. Jay and Zhou are difficult to live in, but Yao and Shun are easy to live in. I was lucky enough to meet Yao Shun today, and I was not afraid of being punished for fighting. Your majesty's practice, hanging like Wei, is a capital crime, with equal difference. Do you commit a non-capital crime, that is, give the death penalty? Since the law is impermanent, what can the people do? Your majesty must want to reform, please start today. " It is said that he was tactful and decent, took care of Gao Zong's face, and eased his attitude, so Shan was spared from death.
From ancient times to the present, many explorations and studies have been carried out in the process of national governance. Some dynasties ruled by law, while others ruled by virtue. But in general, the combination of the two is the best choice.
The rule of law and the rule of virtue are complementary. The rule of law is the premise of maintaining social normality, and the rule of virtue is the cornerstone of long-term social stability. In the early days of any dynasty, it is necessary to use morality and legal system to stabilize the social level, and then restore economic development and improve people's production and living conditions.
In the development of the dynasty, the rulers will find the breakthrough point and balance point of rule of law and rule of virtue in politics, and will also adopt the way of combining rule of law and rule of virtue in social and economic development. Carry out the policies before the reform, win the friends of the people and safeguard their own rule.
From ancient times to the present, from tradition to modern times, we can draw such a fact from the experience and lessons of governing the country. Ruling the country by virtue and ruling the country by law is the right choice. This is also the common aspiration of all the people.
"Ruling the country by law" and "ruling the country by virtue" are long-standing differences in the history of China, but in practice, ruling the country by virtue is more reliable.
Abstracting these two methods is actually the main ideological difference between Legalists and Confucianists, which leads to obvious differences in their methods and means of governing society.
In ancient times, "ruling the country by virtue" was obviously better than "ruling the country by law".
It is necessary to clarify one thing first. Governing the country by law is not governing the country by law. These are two completely different means.
A word difference, a world of difference.
In ancient China, there were no laws in the modern sense, only laws governing society. It is necessary to explain the difference between them.
The law in the modern sense represents the will of all the people, and it can only take effect after strict legislative procedures. Its purpose is to establish a framework for society, including what can and can't be done, and the beneficiaries are all those who participate in making laws.
If you think about it carefully, you can find that this benefit process includes initiative and passivity, and the rights and obligations are clear. The subject protected by law can not only protect their rights and interests through law, but also be punished for violating the law.
But this situation is rare in ancient laws.
Ancient laws were made by rulers, and as a tool to manage the people under their rule, most of them were what they could not do and what they had to do.
Although both the ruler and the ruled will benefit from the implementation of the law, the ruled will passively accept it. What kind of preferential measures they enjoy or what kind of unfair treatment they suffer are all decided by law, and they have no right to choose.
Different from our laws today, rights and obligations are largely the same. In ancient law, obligations far exceeded rights.
Therefore, legalists force ordinary people to abide by their rules in the form of high pressure, which is the essence of "ruling the country according to law"
This is clearly put forward by Han Feizi in "Han Feizi has a degree":
However, in the Shang Yang period, this measure had been implemented. The most striking feature is that it abandons other theories, especially Confucianism, and the popularity of Confucianism is absolutely not allowed under its rule, which can be seen everywhere in Shang Jun Shu.
Therefore, the Legalist's "ruling the country according to law" is actually based on the "rules" designated by the rulers, and instilling such "rules" into the people under their rule in a mandatory form is essentially a kind of oppression.
The biggest problem with this approach is the lack of supervision.
Under the rule of man, they only need to passively accept such laws and have no right to raise opinions or questions. If the monarch is wise, there are many ministers and the external environment is under great pressure, such a system is feasible in a short time.
Just like the Qin State after Shang Yang's political reform, the law was very strict, but because the external pressure was too great, the contradictions in the domestic society were transferred to the contradictions between Qin State and the six countries, so there were no serious problems.
In other words, the society formed by high pressure is extremely unstable, and external pressure can alleviate the opportunity of its outbreak, but it cannot eliminate its existence.
Therefore, after Qin Shihuang unified the six countries, he continued to rule the country strictly. In the early days, there was the problem of Xiongnu invading the border. However, after winning the battle with Xiongnu, the Great Wall was built and internal contradictions began to break out.
This is also a very important reason for Qin Ershi's death, and history has also proved to future generations that "ruling the country according to law" is not feasible.
The opposite of "ruling the country according to law" is the Confucian "ruling the country by virtue", which is much more difficult to implement than legalists, but the effect is much better.
Governing the country by virtue is not only to restrain the society by virtue, but to unify the values of the whole society.
For example, the rulers of the upper class and the people of the lower class will think that the feudal monarch is reasonable and the aristocratic class exists reasonably, so the lower class must obey the orders of the upper class.
This obedience comes from the inner sense of identity, not from the pressure imposed on the people by the outside world.
Then under the influence of this kind of values, the orders issued by the rulers will be very smooth in the implementation process, which is obvious.
And such binding force also exists in the upper class.
For example, the rulers must implement "benevolent policies" to provide a better life for the lower classes, which is also the cognition of the whole society.
Then, when the rulers issue orders, they must consider the acceptance of the lower classes. Therefore, in the era of virtuous princes and good ministers, policies are often enlightened or relaxed, while under the rule of bad princes and bad ministers, life is frequent and cannot be recognized by society, which will inevitably lead to unrest.
Taking high pressure as a means can be compared with psychological identity. Although the former is very effective, its collapse speed is bound to be very fast, and the Qin Dynasty is an example.
What is more important for "ruling the country by virtue" is to establish a supervision system.
As mentioned earlier, the ancient "rule of law" is actually a kind of high-pressure rule, which inevitably lacks effective supervision means, while the Confucian "rule of virtue" means is relatively mild and the supervision system is relatively complete.
This kind of supervision is not only reflected in the supervision of the upper social power, but also in the mutual supervision of the lower society.
There is a saying in The Analects:
It is clearly mentioned that rulers need to govern the country by virtue, so that they can get the support of the stars, that is, the society. This is actually a kind of supervision from the society.
If you lose your virtue in politics, it will be "useless".
Therefore, this kind of supervision pressure is very great, especially in the ancient society of China, the stratum is mobile and there is no clear definition. This situation is particularly obvious after the implementation of the imperial examination. The supervisory power from the lower level can reach the upper level, which can not be ignored.
Compared with "ruling the country according to law", the lower class people have the right and method to express their wishes.
Since "ruling the country by virtue" takes its moral norms as binding values, it is necessary for the lower class to understand the connotation of these rules, so it is necessary to open up the wisdom of the people.
Therefore, Confucianism is one of the few theories that emphasize "people's wisdom", while Legalists, Taoists and other schools clearly advocate "people's wisdom".
"Smart people" is the general trend, which is an irresistible trend in the whole world history.
Confucian "ruling the country by virtue" actually focuses on cultivating ordinary people's view of right and wrong, and what kind of behavior is right and what kind of behavior is shameful.
In this way, it is conceivable that if an ordinary person violates the values recognized by the whole society, such as "infidelity", "unfilial" and "unbelief", he will not only be punished by law, but also be condemned by the whole society without disguise.
This binding force is more effective and lasting than the "sitting system" that is often implemented under the "rule of law".
Therefore, before there are more advanced measures such as modern and perfect laws and regulations, "ruling the country by virtue" is the effective way to truly achieve long-term stability.
Why the legalists' "ruling the country according to law" in ancient society was only a flash in the pan, while the Confucianists' "ruling the country by virtue" lasted for more than two thousand years. People often say that this is a historical choice. Specifically, this is the reason.
I think the rule of law and the rule of virtue are complementary and indispensable. In the face of different times, the means used are different, so choose according to the background of the times!
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, it was an era in which a hundred schools of thought contended, talented people came forth in large numbers, and the academic atmosphere was active. It was also an era of great division!
During the Spring and Autumn Period, the Seven Chivalrous Men fought for hegemony, and the people were in dire straits. This country is in a war-torn society. At this time, we need powerful means to control this dispute situation, and the legalist ideology can unify and stabilize the country!
The implementation of Shang Yang's political reform in Qin made Qin's economy develop, and gradually became the country with the strongest economic strength among the Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period, which laid a solid foundation for the later reunification of Qin! It also stabilized the phenomenon of "a hundred schools of thought contend" with Legalists at that time!
The most representative of "ruling the country by virtue" is that Dong Zhongshu put forward the idea of "ousting a hundred schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone" to unify the whole country, thus further strengthening the position of feudal autocracy and centralization!
Since the implementation of Confucianism in the Han Dynasty, the country's political, economic and cultural rule has developed to some extent. In the Tang Dynasty, the development of Confucian culture reached its peak, and the whole country was in a prosperous time!
And this thought ruled China's feudal rule for more than two thousand years, which also made the country have certain peace and development under the rule!
1949 since the founding of new China, the state has promulgated many laws, which have stabilized the country's stability and harmony, and the country has also achieved certain development, the most representative of which is our great leader-Mao Zedong.
Today's society is a pluralistic society and a harmonious and stable society. We have peace and tranquility today, which is our achievement by learning from the experience of our ancestors.
In the face of disasters and epidemics, the whole country is United as one, United as one, defying hardships and dangers, and resisting the enemy together. This is the embodiment and achievement of our combination of ruling the country by law and ruling the country by virtue.
Therefore, the rule of law and the rule of virtue are indispensable, and the combination of the two will make our country more prosperous!
The ancient judicature in China was based on farming civilization, and the rule of virtue was the main one. However, its strict laws are unmatched by the judicial system of modern western countries! Mainly reflected in inhumanity, the current judicial system in China was influenced by the background in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Although it has undergone many changes, it has not deviated from the overall style. It was established for the people's democratic dictatorship, and the people are still under dictatorship! Many system designs are very arbitrary and unreasonable, which is one of the important reasons why western countries don't accept China! Now our country advocates governing the country according to law, but moral education is the basis of governing the country according to law, and the rule of law is the rule of virtue! Be short of one cannot! Complement each other! This is not a matter of choice! I'm talking about modern society instead of focusing on ancient times, because the present is more important.
I think it is more reliable to govern the country according to law. Because there are all kinds of birds in the Woods, it is not enough for a person to be virtuous, nor can he be persuaded, because there will be some people who have no morality who will not buy your account and will not make you virtuous, and others will be indifferent. Only by ruling the country according to law and letting criminals get the punishment they deserve will they be afraid. It is terrible that a country has no laws. Those heartless people will be security guards everywhere, and people must be afraid. Law should also be people's first fear. Only by acting within the prescribed legal scope can we better protect ourselves and others. Without laws, a country is not a country. At present, ruling the country according to law is also the fundamental guarantee for developing socialist democracy and realizing the people being the masters of the country.
Law is the foundation of the country, and virtue is the flowers and leaves on the national tree.
The rule of law in line with social development will make a country from weak to strong and its politics, economy and culture flourish. That's what the ancients said: granary courtesy. Therefore, no matter ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign, we have never taken pains to talk about the importance of the rule of law. At the end of Qin dynasty, heroes from all walks of life competed for the Central Plains. When Liu Bang, who suffered repeated defeats, entered Hanzhong, he made three chapters to establish the Hanwang world. However, the invincible overlord of Chu committed suicide in Wujiang River.
Confucius traveled around the world all his life and made no great achievements. With Shang Yang's political reform, the small country in the northwest finally became the overlord. There are many such examples in history.
However, why did the later Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty silence a hundred schools of thought and respect Confucianism alone? What about the car crack after Shang Yang became a powerful country?
These two are actually a problem. The rule of law has been established and the foundation has been solid. The nutrition needed for flowering and leaf scattering needs to feed back the foundation. If the government is still harsh at this time, it will inevitably exhaust the people's strength and lead to the collapse of the foundation. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty immediately implemented Confucianism, which made the country virtuous and prosperous. Qin Shihuang extorted money from the people, but he didn't know how to share the interest with the people. Although he could destroy six countries, he died in the end.
Law is the bottom line of a country, and morality is the self-cultivation of citizens.
Making laws is a code of conduct established by legislators after in-depth study of the basic situation of the country. Whether it is implemented or not is directly related to the stability and security of the country, so it must be enforced with the backing of the state machine. Morality is a benchmark for citizens to restrain themselves and improve their self-cultivation, not a weapon to blame others. It is the sublimation of law. As long as it does not fall to the bottom line of the law, it will generally only affect individuals. One is rigidity, the other is flexibility, and the other is self-discipline.
If the law and morality are good, the country will prosper.
As trees are, so are fruits. Without a solid foundation, it is difficult to grow into a towering tree. If the foundation decays, the flowers will wither. Only by perfecting the rule of law can we provide positive energy. With positive energy, we can open the flowers and leaves of virtue, and the flowers and leaves of virtue can also feed back the roots of Buddhism. Only with good social ethics can we better strengthen the construction of the rule of law.
Therefore, it is more reliable to put the cart before the horse, rule the country by virtue and serve people by virtue.
The above are personal opinions, welcome to discuss and exchange.
Governing the country according to law, of course.
Ruling the country according to law was first put forward by legalists in the Warring States period in China, and it was Han Feizi who was first put forward clearly!
Ruling the country by virtue was first put forward by Confucianism in China during the Warring States Period, and it was definitely put forward by Mencius!
China's existing society is more in line with the rule of law, which is a sign of the progress and development of all mankind. Of course, the law is not omnipotent, and people need to restrain themselves with morality! As a part of superstructure, law and morality are important means to maintain social order and regulate people's thoughts and behaviors. They are interrelated and complement each other.
Moral norms and legal norms should be combined to play a unified role. In this sense, the rule of law and the rule of virtue are like the wings of a bird and the wheels of a car. The rule of law regulates people's behavior with its authority and compulsion, and the rule of virtue improves people's ideological and moral consciousness with its enlightenment and persuasion. Although they are different in nature, their functions and status are very important. Governing the country according to law means that all the work of the country is carried out according to law, thus ensuring the people's right to participate in the management of the country. Its basic requirements are that there are laws to follow, laws must be followed, law enforcement must be strict, and offenders must be prosecuted.
The greatest advantage of the rule of law is that it can prevent and defeat the rule of man. But law is not omnipotent, law is heteronomy, and its main social function is to punish evil; Morality is an individual's inner consciousness and self-discipline, and its main social function is to promote goodness. Only by combining the rule of law with the rule of virtue can we learn from each other and better play the role of governing the country.
Whether in ancient times or now, governing the country according to law is the most reliable!
Actually, there seems to be something wrong with our logic. We oppose the rule of law and the rule of virtue, as if it were either one or the other, but in fact, the two concepts of virtue and law are complementary. They have no chance or possibility of opposition. Governing the country by law is the real opposite of governing the country by power.
The opposite of governing the country by virtue is governing the country by the people.
The rule of law emphasizes norms, which not only regulate people's behavior, but also regulate the behavior of officials and kings. The rule of law has always been two-way, mainly limiting the rights of the three, accommodating each other, obeying and not overstepping. Before the rule of law, all social norms were based on power and were artificially stipulated by those in power. Of course, the most standard formulation also comes from reality, but it more reflects the will of the power class.
After the gradual development of the rule of law, the law began to challenge the privilege and compress the space of privilege. The challenge of the rule of law to the rights of emerging social classes began to tilt. From slavery to feudalism to capitalism, the scope of legal legislation has gradually expanded, from blood aristocrats to property, land aristocrats to the bourgeoisie. The privileged nature of the privileged class itself has gradually decreased, and social mobility has been greatly enhanced. The gap between the privileged class and the non-privileged class began to narrow. This is the justice that the law brings to society.
When the law begins to decay because of social unrest, it will become a tool of the privileged class and then evolve into governing the country by power. Many people say that a certain period is not a period of rule of law, thus demonstrating that the original lawmakers are not a period of rule of law, and they completely ignore the relationship between social development and the rule of law and power.
Moreover, law has moral attributes since its formation, and morality also has legal attributes in the place where it was formed. In ancient times, the two were usually confused. Only with the development of society, the scope of action, the degree of action and the purpose they want to achieve are divided. Law sets the bottom line of a society, and morality sets the upper limit of a society. It can be said that most people live and communicate in the social space between them.
The opposite of governing the country by virtue is governing the country by the people. Morality is a personal character. Any country has its own legal norms and moral norms. In authoritarian society, people usually believe in saints and regard them as memorial archways of moral chastity. We can believe, imitate and follow, but looking back, we will find that when we set up the chastity archway, we will believe in morality and become individuals. Although some people say that individuals are just symbols, for ordinary people, what they believe in is no longer morality, but the so-called saints, who are the ideal candidates in their minds. Based on this, the ruler will alienate morality into a personal tool just as law becomes a tool of power.
Therefore, whether governing the country by law or by virtue is not independent, but two things that must exist at the same time. The biggest taboo of these two things is that they must not be destroyed, become power, become personal tools, and be imposed on the whole society and people.
Ruling the country by law and ruling the country by virtue are actually reliable. They make use of different social realities and have different scopes of use.
The law is backward. When a person breaks the law, the only thing we can do under the condition of governing the country according to law is that they are causing serious consequences. In the future, we will use legal means and weapons to make them repent for their mistakes and pay the price. At the same time, use the law to deter those who have not committed crimes and let them retreat. In fact, a society with only laws is not feasible. For the rule of the people, we should not only use the power of reasoning, but also use the power of pulling, and the latter is morality.
The education we received from childhood was moral education, but less legal education. This is why education is more reflected in pulling, and law, as a means of punishment, is a driving force for social security. When we don't know what a crime is and what a disastrous consequence is, the family sociology school will teach us what to do, teach us what is right and wrong before we commit a crime or have the possibility of irregular social behavior, and restrain ourselves with morality. But this role must start from an early age, otherwise morality has no power, impetus and binding force on those fugitives, but only the wishful thinking of those with high moral standards and chastity arches.
Which is more reliable, the ancient rule of law or the rule of virtue?
In fact, the rule of law and the rule of virtue complement each other.
Although the rule of law in ancient times is very important, moralization is also very important.
Moral education is to establish people's obligations of loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, faith and courtesy, so that everyone can consciously abide by the law and live and work in peace and contentment.
It can be said that the rule of virtue is the basis of the rule of law, and governance is a social custom.
In ancient times, the rule of law represented the majesty of rulers and was a means to restrain crimes and punish criminals.
This is similar to that. Virtue is gentle treatment, while law is martial treatment. Ancient rulers should not only lose their majesty, but also have peaceful folk customs. Rule by virtue and rule by law are inseparable.