刑期于无刑 – Chinese philosophy and culture

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xíng qī yú wú xíng 刑期于无刑

The Purpose of Punishment Is to Eliminate Punishment.

采用刑罚的目的在于消灭刑罚。这是儒家“德政”思想的延伸。依照儒家的观点,礼乐教化是治理国家的主要手段,刑罚只是一种不得不采取的辅助手段;国家治理的目标,在于通过这两种手段,使人受到感化,端正德行,恪守规范,从而达到天下大治,使刑罚成为不必要的存在,即“无刑”。这也是“德政”框架内刑罚手段所达到的理想境界,其中隐含手段和目的相一致的辩证观点。

The purpose of meting out punishment is to eliminate punishment, which is an extension of the Confucian idea of “rule by virtue.” The Confucian point of view is that education by rites and music is the main means of state governance, and penalties are only auxiliary. The aim of governance is to educate the people through these two means, educating and transforming them so that they adopt virtuous conduct and abide by the laws, thus bringing great order to all under heaven and making punishments unnecessary, that is to say, eliminating punishments. It is also the ideal state attained within the framework of “rule by virtue.” This represents the dialectical point of view of the unity of means and aims.

引例 Citation:

◎帝曰:“……期于予治,刑期于无刑,民协于中。”《尚书·大禹谟》

(帝舜说:“……希望我的政事达到理想境地,用刑罚消灭刑罚,人民合于中正之道。”)

Emperor Shun said, “…I hope my governance will reach an ideal realm, with meting out punishments for the purpose of eliminating punishments, and the people being in accord with the right path. (The Book of History)

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