從禮、法與「禮之法文化」探析傳統中國法律的意涵

The Significance of Law in Traditional Chinese Etiquette/Li and Law/Fa and the“Legal Culture in Etiquette/Li”

傳統中國的禮法價值在過去扮演著重要的社會規範，拘束當時人們的行為。法律反映了社會行為模式及社會法意識，而理解法律與其所屬的社會基礎，與法文化有關，它是由該社會中人民對於法律能夠在何種程度下發揮法律應有之規範力而存在的。
本文對禮之法文化進行反省，分別論述傳統中國禮與法的法律意涵；禮之法與「禮法合治」的法文化孕育；並從西方法學概念探討傳統法律的意涵，闡析傳統中國的禮法是不是西方的自然法概念。最後歸結到傳統中國與西方法律發展模式本有不同，傳統中國的禮之法文化本有其自足的法律意義，而與西方發展出不同的路線，自然也無須將西方法概念植入傳統中國法。現在採納西方法學觀點用以詮釋法律，並不必然就是對傳統禮之法文化的完全背離，而是要提醒我們面對法文化的衝突、繼受、融貫的變遷中，如何去理解法認識上的差異，以及在何種條件與範圍下，能夠釐清因為法文化所產生的衝突或融合的可能。

The traditional etiquette(Li) and law(Fa) played a significant role in the past Chinese society. It helped curb people’s behaviors in the old times. Law reflects behavioral patterns and the consciousness of law in a society, while it takes a legal culture to understand the law and the grounds on which laws are based. The legal culture takes place only when citizens are aware of under what circumstances the law may take effect to restrain people’s behavior.
The study aims to reflect on the legal culture in etiquette(Li) in the following aspects: the ignificance of law in traditional Chinese etiquette(Li) and law(Fa), the incubation of the legal culture in terms of etiquette(Li) and law(Fa) and the merging of them, the significance of traditional law from the Western point of view, and it also explores whether the traditional Chinese etiquette(Li) and law(Fa) is a kind of natural law or not. In conclusion, the study finds that the development of the traditional Chinese law differs from that of the West. The traditional Chinese legal culture in etiquette(Li) is a self-sufficient system and can hardly be observed with the Western legal system. But today, when we apply the Western legal values to interpret our law, it does not necessarily mean that we are completely breaking off from the traditional legal culture in etiquette(Li). In doing so, we are trying to remind ourselves how we can do during the process of cultural shocks, absorption and merging, to understand
the differences in law and how conflicts deriving from legal differences may be avoided or even fused.