清末民初禮與憲法關係的反思——兼論中國古代社會的共識

Rethinking on the Relationship Between Li (Rites) and Constitution: On Social Consensus in the Late Qing Dynasty and the Early Republic of China

從憲法地位與功能的角度觀察，“禮”在中國古代無疑具有“憲法”的地位與作用，中國古代高度的社會共識是以禮為核心形成的。清末民初，西方憲法思想與制度湧入時，從歷史發展邏輯上說，禮本當成為接納憲法並與憲法相次更迭的最佳選擇。然而當時的社會變革卻背離了這一邏輯。當西方憲制傳入時，主張移植憲法、效法西方的主導者們未能自覺地將禮與憲法相聯繫。在戊戌變法及清末預備立憲的過程中，禮與憲法互為畛域，憲法失去了傳統平臺的依託，禮失去了自我更新的歷史時機。民國初期“孔教入憲”的爭論不僅沒有厘清禮與憲法的關係，反而使禮與憲法的對立進一步加深，從而撕裂了社會的共識。反思近代以來，憲法在傳入過程中始終未能如人所願成為價值理念的追求，而是淪為權力角逐的工具，禮與憲法關係的曲折未必不是其中重要的原因。

"Rethinking on the Relationship Between Li (Rites) and Constitution: On Social Consensus in the Late Qing Dynasty and the Early Republic of China From the perspective of the status and function of the Constitution, Li (rites) undoubtedly had the status and role of ''constitution'' in ancient Chinese society, and the high social consensus in ancient China was formed with rites as the core. At the end of Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, when western constitutional thoughts and systems poured in, from the development logic, rites should be the best choice to accept and replace the Constitution. However, the social change at that time deviated from this logic. When the constitutional thought and system were introduced into China at the end of Qing Dynasty, the leaders who advocated to accept the Constitution and follow the example of the West did not consciously connect rites with the constitution. In the process of the reform movement of 1898 and the preparation of constitution in the late Qing Dynasty, rites and Constitution were the boundaries of each other. Constitution lost the acceptance of the traditional platform, and rites lost the historical opportunity of self-renewal. In the early period of the Republic of China, the debate about ''Confucianism into the Constitution'' not only failed to clarify the relationship between rites and constitution, but also deepened the opposition between rites and Constitution, thus tearing the social consensus. Since modern times, Constitution has not been the pursuit of values in China, but has become a tool for power competition. The tortuous relationship between rites and Constitution may be an important reason."