The influence of Confucianism on legal regulations on the relationship between husband and wife

Strengthening the relationship between husband and wife, building a new cultural family in current conditions.

7. Structure of the thesis

Thesis includes:

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Preface

Chapter 1 General overview of Confucianism and the influence of Confucianism on Vietnamese legal regulations on the relationship between husband and wife

Chapter 2 The influence of Confucianism on Vietnamese legal regulations on the relationship between husband and wife

Chapter 3: Current status of the relationship between husband and wife - Absorbing progressive values of Confucianism in the trend of perfecting the law, aiming to strengthen the relationship between husband and wife, building a new cultural family in current conditions

Conclude

References

CHAPTER 1

GENERAL OVERVIEW OF CONFUCIUSISM

AND THE INFLUENCE OF CONFUCIUSISM ON THE PROVISIONS OF VIETNAMESE LAW ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HUSBAND AND WIFE

1.1. General overview of Confucianism and Confucian concept of the relationship between husband and wife

1.1.1. General overview of Confucianism

With its geographical location as a country located between two great cultures, India and China, Vietnam gathers many religions imported from many regions of the world. These include: Brahmanism, Hinduism, Buddhism from India, Confucianism, Taoism from China, Catholicism from the West, Protestantism from North America... Besides, within Vietnamese society, a number of other religions have also been born, such as Cao Dai, Hoa Hao Buddhism...

However, as a multi-religious country, it can be seen that Confucianism is one of the important foundations forming the ideology of Vietnamese society.

Confucianism was formed in the heart of Chinese society, developed and spread widely not only in this territory but also introduced to many other Asian countries, including Vietnam. The foundation of Confucianism was formed during the Western Zhou Dynasty, especially with the contribution of Zhou Gong Dan, also known as Zhou Gong. During the Spring and Autumn period, when society was in turmoil, Confucius (born in 551 BC) developed Zhou's ideology.

He systematized and actively propagated those Confucian ideas. Therefore, it can be said that Confucius was the founder of Confucianism.

The core of Confucianism is Confucianism. It is a political doctrine aimed at organizing society. To organize society effectively, the most important thing is to train a ruler, and a model ruler. This model ruler is called a gentleman (a lord is to rule, a gentleman is a ruler). To become a gentleman, a person must first train himself, must cultivate himself. After cultivating himself , a gentleman must have the duty to practice the Way , that is, to act according to morality.

To cultivate oneself , a gentleman must achieve three things in the process of cultivating oneself:

First , attaining the Way . The Way means the path or way of conduct that a gentleman must follow in life. There are five things to attain the Way in the world: the way between king and subject, the way between father and son, the way between husband and wife, the way between brothers, and the way between friends, equivalent to the ruler and subject, father and son, husband and wife, brothers, and friends . These are the " five relationships ". In society, the best way to behave is " moderation ". Later, the five relationships were concentrated into only the three most important relationships called " three constants ", including ruler and subject, father and son, and husband and wife . The behaviors are no longer moderate but one-way relationships, which are: loyalty, filial piety, chastity, and righteousness . I must absolutely obey the king, the son must absolutely obey the father, and the wife must absolutely obey her husband. In addition, the wife's responsibility towards her husband is also expressed in three formulas called " tam tong " : at home follow the father, when married follow the husband, when the husband dies follow the son .

Second , attain virtue . A gentleman must attain three virtues: humanity - wisdom - courage . Confucius said, " There are three virtues of a gentleman that I have not yet attained. The humane person has no worries, the wise person has no doubts, the courageous person has no fear ."

Later, Mencius replaced "courage" with "rites and righteousness", so the three virtues became four virtues: humanity, righteousness, rituals, and wisdom . Confucianism added one more virtue, trust, so there were five virtues in total: humanity, righteousness, rituals, wisdom, and trust . These five virtues are also called the five constants .

Third , know Poetry, History, Rites, and Music . This standard emphasizes that in addition to morality and ethics, a gentleman must also know Poetry, History, Rites, and Music. That is, a gentleman must also have a comprehensive cultural background.

After cultivating himself, a gentleman must also practice the Way , that is, he must become an official, do politics, or also known as " regulating the family, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world ". A gentleman must complete small tasks - family tasks to big tasks - governing the country and achieve the greatest task of bringing peace to the world (unifying the world). Confucianism clearly states that in order to do these tasks, a gentleman must follow two principles. These are:

First , humane governance . Humanity is human love, humane governance is to rule with human love, with kindness, to consider others as oneself. Confucius once said, " What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others ." Humanity is considered the highest of ethics and morality.

Second , proper name . Proper name means that each thing must be called by its correct name, each person must perform his or her proper duty. If the name is not correct, the words will not be in accordance, and if the words are not in accordance, the work will not be successful. Confucius said, “The king should act like a king, the subject should act like a subject, the father should act like a father, and the son should act like a son .”

The above can be considered the most essential things of Confucianism. They are summarized as: self-cultivation, family harmony, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world . Ultimately, these things are only for the purpose of governing. The gentleman originally meant a ruler, a person with morality and knowledge of poetry, literature, rituals, and music.

1.1.2. Confucian concept of the relationship between husband and wife

Confucianism advocates “ self-cultivation, family harmony, governing the country, and world peace ”. Thus, one of the core contents of Confucianism is “ family harmony ”, which means family and standards of conduct, responsibilities, and duties among family members. This is the core, the first thing people must worry about before taking care of social affairs. The family includes many relationships between family members such as the relationship between husband and wife, between father and child, between older and younger brothers... Accordingly, these relationships must follow certain standards. Children must absolutely obey their fathers, wives must absolutely obey their husbands, and siblings must be responsible to each other.

In family relationships, Confucianism especially emphasizes the relationship between husband and wife. In this case, the husband's role and authority are absolute. The husband has the right to decide all matters related to the family. Meanwhile, the wife has a completely passive role. The wife must obey her husband and almost does not participate in any important family matters. In addition, the wife's responsibility towards her husband is also expressed by three rules called the three obediences: at home obey the father, when married obey the husband, when the husband dies obey the son (at home obey the father, when married obey the husband, when the husband dies obey the son).

Thus, Confucianism always emphasizes the role of morality in married life. True marital morality according to Confucianism must first fulfill the duties and responsibilities of the husband towards the wife and of the wife towards the husband.

1.2. The influence of Confucianism on Vietnamese legal regulations on the relationship between husband and wife

Confucianism was introduced into Vietnam from abroad. It can be affirmed that previous feudal dynasties introduced Confucian ethical standards into Vietnamese society. During the Ly - Tran dynasties (from the 11th to the 14th century),

Confucianism began to influence Vietnamese society but not as deeply as in later dynasties. Throughout the development of the feudal period of Vietnam, Confucianism was always considered an ideological tool to control society, a tool to govern the country. Even in the later period, in the modern period, Confucianism still has a very profound influence on the life, beliefs, and spirit of the Vietnamese people and governs the habits and behaviors of all people in society. Not only stopping there, Confucianism also left a deep mark on the laws of the Vietnamese people.

Feudal period

Surpassing the period of Chinese domination, in the early period of independence, Confucianism began to become the spiritual tool of the Vietnamese people. The ruling class saw the importance of establishing its own laws to govern people and manage society. But at this time, due to the influence of Northern feudalism, rules were still used instead of laws. The Vietnamese officially had their own laws during the Ly Dynasty. During the Tran Dynasty, Confucianism continued to be spread into society. Confucianism almost retained its original characteristics. Therefore, the laws of the Tran Dynasty were very harsh, especially the penal code.

By the early Le Dynasty, Confucianism had reached its peak, occupying a unique position in the nation's ideology. The Le Dynasty relied on Confucian theories to build its own dynastic institutions, and at the same time built and enacted laws to consolidate and protect those institutions. The birth of the National Dynasty Penal Code showed much more completeness and progress than the laws of the Ly and Tran dynasties. The National Dynasty Penal Code dealt with many areas of social life such as laws on household, marriage, and land; laws on crimes of robbery and adultery; laws on fighting, lawsuits, and fraud; laws on arresting fugitives and wrongful trials...

In the 18th century, with the appearance of the Nguyen Dynasty, Confucianism still held a unique position as in the Le Dynasty, but the content of Confucianism had some fundamental differences. Confucianism in the Nguyen Dynasty had many harsh characteristics. Because of this characteristic, the Hoang Viet Luat Le of the Nguyen Dynasty, although it was the most massive law code, was not highly appreciated in terms of content value compared to the National Dynasty Penal Code.

It can be seen that the law under feudalism, regardless of the ideology, was cruel and harsh. Most of the law during this period only focused on criminal law, while other areas of social life only accounted for a very small part.

In addition, feudal law has a characteristic that in any dynasty, the law must ensure the supreme authority of the king, of the mandarins, that is, of the ruling apparatus, ensuring the stability of the throne. That is the reason why the provisions of the law are mainly criminal provisions, which are very harsh and barbaric in nature. Not only that, in order to carry out their governing purposes, feudal dynasties paid great attention to controlling relationships within the family. The family is the smallest social organization, and only when the family is peaceful can society be orderly. In the family, rules, seniority, and order are clearly defined and the punishment for wrongdoings is equally severe.

It can be seen that the Vietnamese family in the feudal period was organized according to the patriarchal system. The head of the family was the patriarch (head of the family). The family was considered a property owner and the patriarch exercised this ownership. The patriarch was the one who managed all the activities of the family, including the marriage of children and grandchildren.

The marital relationship at this time was established on the basic principles: ensuring order, class, and hierarchy of relationships between members, respecting men over women, and affirming the supreme power of the patriarch in the family. The relationship between husband and wife had a very clear inequality. The role of men was honored and the role of women was downgraded. The husband had the right to have many wives, but the wife had the obligation to be faithful to her husband. All family property and power were in the hands of the man - the husband - the patriarch.

French colonial period (1858 - 1945)

Throughout the thousands of years of history of the centralized feudal regime, although it no longer had a profound influence and exclusive value, Confucianism still left many impacts on the social life and laws of the Vietnamese people during the feudal colonial period (from 1858 to before 1945).

The French colonialists invaded our country, marking the introduction of Western civilization into Vietnamese society. However, with thousands of years of influence, Confucianism is still very strongly expressed in the life and thoughts of Vietnamese people.

After controlling the entire territory of our country, the French colonial government successively issued new legal documents. Although the French tried to reflect the traditional customs, habits, and lifestyles of the Vietnamese people, the law still had a Western cultural influence. Marriage and family law, regardless of the political regime, is the field that most deeply demonstrates this characteristic.

During this period, the French colonialists divided our country into three regions, each region applied a set of civil laws to regulate marriage and family relations. In the North

The influence of Confucianism on legal regulations on the relationship between husband and wife - 2

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