The Historical Implications and Modern Transformation of China's "Group-oriented" Legal Thought

Authors

    Lei Huang, Yuanquan Xu Xingzhi College Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321000, Zhejiang, China Xingzhi College Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321000, Zhejiang, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18063/lne.v3i6.1156

Keywords:

group-oriented, clan-based, family-based, rights and obligations, modern transformation

Abstract

This paper examines China's "group-oriented" legal thought, which prioritizes group interests, linking individual rights/obligations to blood, geographic or social groups. Tracing its evolution from pre-Qin clans, through imperial "family-state integration," to modern individual-collective coexistence under Western influences, it is rooted in patriarchal clans, Confucian ethics, with practices like joint liability. Its core—individual responsibility to groups—endures; it advocates adapting collectivism to modern rule of law, balancing rights and group interests for localized legal modernization.

References

Chen M, 2023, Social and Legal Aspects of Historical China: Reading "The Essentials of Chinese Culture" and "Chinese Law and Chinese Society". Journal of Shanghai Socialist Institute, 2023(04): 129-139.

Qian M, 1994, An Introduction to Chinese Cultural History (Revised Edition). Beijing: The Commercial Press, 1994: 55.

Tang C, 1998, Tang Code with Commentary. Annotated by Liu Junwen. Beijing: Law Press, 1998: 50.

Fei Z, 1985, The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 11, Late Ch'ing, 1800-1911, Part 2. Beijing: China Social Sciences Publishing House, 1985: 15.

Xiao G, 1998, A History of Chinese Political Thought. Shenyang: Liaoning Education Press, 1998: 554.

Pang J, Zhao X, 2023, Autonomy First or Tolerance Supreme: Dilemmas and Approaches to Protecting Minority Groups in Contemporary Western Liberalism. Journal of Henan Normal University (Philosophy and Social Sciences), 50(06): 1-7.

Yao X, 2001, On the Significance of Legal Tradition in Modern Legal Systems. Research on Legal Modernization, 2001(00): 225-233.

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  • " /> [2]Qian M, 1994, An Introduction to Chinese Cultural History (Revised Edition). Beijing: The Commercial Press, 1994: 55.
    [3]Tang C, 1998, Tang Code with Commentary. Annotated by Liu Junwen. Beijing: Law Press, 1998: 50.
    [4]Fei Z, 1985, The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 11, Late Ch'ing, 1800-1911, Part 2. Beijing: China Social Sciences Publishing House, 1985: 15.
    [5]Xiao G, 1998, A History of Chinese Political Thought. Shenyang: Liaoning Education Press, 1998: 554.
    [6]Pang J, Zhao X, 2023, Autonomy First or Tolerance Supreme: Dilemmas and Approaches to Protecting Minority Groups in Contemporary Western Liberalism. Journal of Henan Normal University (Philosophy and Social Sciences), 50(06): 1-7.
    [7]Yao X, 2001, On the Significance of Legal Tradition in Modern Legal Systems. Research on Legal Modernization, 2001(00): 225-233." />

Published

2025-07-26

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 6 (2025): Lecture Notes in Education, Arts, Management and Social Science

Section

Articles