中华法系的百年历史叙事

回顾中国现代法学的世纪历程,中华法系的历史叙事主要在进化论、民族论和法治论三种语境中展开。不同语境中的法史学者,通过将中华法系与其他法系相比较,揭示出了彼此有别的中华法系之历史面貌。在进化论语境中,中华法系因其古.老而落后,丧失了型构现实生活秩序的生命力,需整体性地予以批判和否定。在民族论语境中,中华法系因其系统性、连续性和民族性而独具特色,整理、发掘、重述其历史谱系,既有助于增强民族文化自信力,也为重建“新中华法系”提供了重要的精神前提。在法治论语境中,中华法系以其“治乱之道”和“良法善治”的血缘伦理身份内涵表明,在前现代社会中法律不可能获得型构社会生活秩序的权威地位。法制现代化是不同语境下中华法系之历史叙事的共同追求,中华法系研究的百年学术史,实质上是一部追求法治文明的中国现代精神史。

Historical Narratives of the Century-old Chinese Legal Tradition

Looking back on the development of modern Chinese legal science in the past century,the historical narrative of Chinese legal tradition has mainly been carried out in three contexts,i.e.,evolu-tion,ethno-nationalism,and the rule of law,and legal historians in different contexts have constructed different historical truths of the tradition in comparison with its counterparts.In the context of evolution,the Chinese legal tradition is old and backward,and has thus lost the vitality of being able to construct the real-life order.As a result,it needs to be criticized and negated in its entirety in order for China to enter into an advanced legal civilization.The construction of the Chinese legal tradition in the ethno-na-tionalistic context is unique for being systemic,continuous and ethno-nationalistic,the review and re-statement of which will not only help strengthen national cultural self-confidence,but also constitute an important spiritual prerequisite for the construction of the“New Chinese Legal Tradition”.And the Chi-nese legal tradition as presented in the rule of law context manifests consanguinity-based ethical identity connotations of“fighting chaos”and“good law and just governance”,revealing the impossibility for law in pre-modern societies to obtain an authoritative position in shaping and maintaining social order.The modernization of legal system has been the shared goal of all the historical narratives as constructed in these different contexts,and the century-old academic history of the Chinese legal tradition has essen-tially been a spiritual history of pursuing the rule of law civilization in modern China.