Research On The Relationship Between "laws" And "clan Rules" In Chinese Traditional Society

The relationship between “national law” and “civil law” and the role of the two in local governance have always been the focus of research in the field of legal sociology.Investigate the fundamental problem,the relationship between laws and ethnic regulations explored in this article is the specificization of the relationship between state law and civil law.Existing studies on the relationship between state law and folk law in traditional Chinese society use the relationship between state and society,the interaction between “officials” and “civilians”as the research perspective,and often lack attention to the interaction process of the two in the specific historical background,Ignoring the actual operating status and relationship between the two from the comprehensive background of Chinese traditional laws,such as the geographical particularities,customs and the demands of villagers.Based on the existing research,this article selects the case of the dispute between the surnamed Li and the surnamed Zhou,which occurred in the Huizhou region with a strong patriarchal system in the Ming and Qing Dynasties,through a combination of case studies and practical historical research.The dispute case occurred frequently in the Huizhou area at that time,and it passed the stage before and after the court issued a law of “opening up for good” against the dispute between big and small surnames.To this end,this case provides a very typical case for exploring the relationship between laws and ethnic regulations in the process of exploring civil disputes and maintaining their respective dominant positions in the traditional Chinese society.This article first explores the historical evolution of the laws and regulations that take “dividing households” as the core.The core issue is the harmony between the court and the clan on the pros and cons of dividing households by blood relationship;second,returning to the typical Big and small surname disputes.Through the analysis of the cases before and after the promulgation of the court decree and the analysis of the interaction process between the decree and the family rules,the following conclusions were drawn: First,the “decree” issued by the court is different from the feudal authority generally considered in existing research.The characteristics of strong and cruel punishment have unearthed the settlement of civil disputes in the actual civil disputes process.Civil disputes are a starting point for the generation of court laws;An interactive process from rules to conflicts,and from conflicts to contradictions.The interactive relationship between the two shows that the laws and regulations have certain flexibility and timely adjustment;the laws and regulations have undergone the transformation from “people are determined by nationality” to “openness to good”.The relationship between the two is conflict and complementarity.The origin of the conflict between the two is the imperial power’s control of the clan and clan power.The complementary relationship between the two is actually the result of the confrontation between the imperial power and the clan power.