How Does the Communist Party

of China Govern China by Law and Moral？

Dai Mucai

Jiangxi Education Publishing House

September 2017

58.00 （CNY）

Brief introduction：

A distinctive feature of Chinese socialist govern rule insists on combining “rule by law” and “rule by moral”. This book profoundly grasps the developmental history and dialectical relationship between “rule by law” and “rule by moral”， and systematically elaborates the basic connotation， theoretical support， and important approaches of “rule by law” and “rule by moral”. It links the history of “rule by law” and “rule by moral” with theory and practice， not only summarizing historical disciplines， but also answering practical questions. It enables overseas readers to understand the Chinese Communist Party’s wisdom in governing the country while reading the wisdom of traditional Chinese governance.

Dai Mucai

Dai Mucai， born in July 1965， is a doctor of philosophy. He is currently a professor and doctoral supervisor at the School of Marxism at Tsinghua University and the University Moral Education Research Center.

Carrying out moral requirements in the construction of the rule of law

“Rule of law” is based on “rule of virtue”， and “rule of virtue” also needs to be guaranteed by “rule of law”. They complement each other， are indispensable， and coexist. They promote and depend on each other in function. Morality is the internal basis for the rationality， legitimacy， and legality of the rule of law. The value， spirit， principle and legal theory of the rule of law are mostly based on morality. Many systems and norms of the rule of law are the institutionalization and legalization of social morality. Without moral support， law can only become a tool of punishment. To embody the socialist moral requirements in the construction of socialist rule of law is the basic requirement of “combining the rule of law with the rule of virtue”.

Morality is the autonomy of human spirit

Since the birth of human beings， there has been thoughts and questions on self， others， society， nature and their mutual relations， the pursuit of self-value and social ideal， and the understanding， guidance， and regulation of self-behavior. The understanding， guidance and norms of human beings with regards to self-behavior， can be roughly divided into two categories： one is external compulsory “governance of others”， such as politics， law and system; the other is internal conscious discipline and “autonomy”， such as morality， ethics and religion. The core of “the rule of virtue” is morality. Therefore， the understanding of the essential stipulation of morality is the premise of revealing the stipulation of the modern “rule of virtue”. From the etymological meaning of the word “morality”， we can see these sort of “categorical characteristics” of morality， which refer to a kind of “autonomous” spiritual characteristic of human beings. The original meaning of “Tao” is the method or path people take.

Shuowen （a Chinese reference book， in the Eastern Han Dynasty） said： “Tao， the way we go，” extending to the law of movement and change of things or the noumenon of all things. The original meaning of “virtue” and “gain” are interlinked. Laozi’s Tao Te Ching said： “Virtue is gaining.” Zhu Xi in the Song Dynasty said， “Those who are virtuous have their way， and those who are virtuous have their own heart.”

According to Cihai， the understanding and cultivation of “Tao” can be achieved by oneself， which is called “virtue”. Therefore， “morality” is a kind of spiritual characteristic which transforms the external objective law into the internal human qualities.

As a kind of spiritual character of humans， morality points not to the external world， but to the internal world. The internal world of humans is based on the internal world of an individual. Morality considers real behavior under the background of the possible world， mainly dealing with the value relationship between the subjective requirements and ideal pursuit of moral subject and objective reality. It is a kind of value inquiry of man to himself. Through hard work， reality becomes more ideal day by day. Ideal has the characteristics of guidance， standardization， and command. It mediates the relationship between self and others， society and nature through traditional habits， public opinion， and inner belief. Its basic contents are human value， human position in the world， the meaning， ideal and purpose of life， attitude towards others and society， as well as the responsibilities and obligations that should be undertaken by each individual. Consequently， the relationship between human self-development， self-realization， and social objective environment is mediated. Therefore， morality is also the way of human self-realization.