Research on"Fa(灋)"in Zhouli and Rule of Morality Philosophy in Dasikou
The character"fa(灋)"in Zhouli has been historically interpreted by classicists as the ancient form of the character"fa(法)".Shuowen Jiezi explains it as a term related to criminal law.Some scholars have used this interpretation to categorize Zhouli as a legalist work.However,upon closer exami-nation of the use of"fa(灋)"in Zhouli,it becomes evident that it has little to do with criminal law and is instead a comprehensive term that encompasses ceremonies,cultural systems,official laws,regulations,legal forms,quantities,and technical specifications,possessing the nature of"soft law".This indicates that its administrative management had reached a level of standardization and networking.The judicial sys-tem and trial procedures of Zhouli are fully recorded in Qiuguan.In Dasikou,the six official laws are led by the"five punishments"that embody the law of moral education,followed by mild methods of educating the people such as"Huan tu"and"Jia shi",and then by the attention to vulnerable groups such as"Fei shi",while the"correction of the five punishments"is relegated to Xiaosikou and Sixing.That order is intended to highlight the Confucian"rule of morality"philosophy that prioritizes education and the preven-tion of crimes,with the hope of achieving the peaceful realm of the early Zhou Dynasty when"punishments were not used for more than forty years".
fa(灋)rule of moralityDasikoufive punishmentssoft law
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