A Comparative Analysis of the Forces in the Controversy between the School of Feudal Ethics and the School of Law in the Late Qing Law Making

Concerning the controversy over feudal ethics and law in the making of law in late Qing Dynasty, it was held that the former was powerful while the latter was weak. This paper, however, after analyzing the controversy both dynamically and statically, points out that that was not the case. The School of Law was neither weak nor alone. The School of Feudal Ethics, which the Qing Dynasty did not back up strongly actually, did not win either in form or in content. The School of Law was not a failure either. In view of the fact that the controversy was the first step in the modernization of Chinese law, a comparative analysis contributes to a new understanding and evaluation of the modernization process of Chinese law.