Mei Xiaying Be your true self

▲Mei Xiayingnan,19703652_3684 2007Selected by the Ministry of Education“New Century Excellent Talent Support Plan”Our reporter Jiang Anjie Intern of this newspaper Zhang bright

It rained lightly in Beijing during the Grain Rain period of the Chinese lunar calendar. The patter of rain dispersed people's thoughts. The reporter met at the w88 casinoMei XiayingProfessor, he has just returned from the postgraduate re-examination examination room. Although he is a little tired, he still talks loudly and eloquently when talking about Chinese law and Chinese culture———

Chinese culture should make great achievements

Liang ShumingWhen discussing Chinese culture, Mr. Wang said that China’s society has almost stagnated for more than two thousand years since the Qin Dynasty. It has not derived modern science, economy, democracy, etc. like the West, but the country is still standing. inLiangSir, this is really a tribute to Chinese culture.

“Our social order99%It is supported by social consensus and traditional ethics formed over thousands of years. They are invisible and intangible, but they have been internalized in our thinking and consciousness.”

Mei Xiaying believes that the moderation, realistic moralism and moderation in traditional Chinese culture are not dross, but should be actively promoted. In Western cultural concepts, equality and confrontation between people are particularly emphasized, and tolerance and patience are not emphasized. This concept can easily cause tension in interpersonal relationships and social turmoil.

He vividly said that after the Chinese people introduced the Western concept of confrontation, it was like drinking a glass of strong wine, which only added some aggressive characters, but was actually not beneficial to society.

In his opinion, there is still a long-term concept in Chinese traditional culture, that is, there is absolutely no utilitarian purpose and the goal is to maintain lasting harmony between people. And“Cultivating oneself, managing one’s family, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world”'s humanistic sentiments include a heavy sense of historical responsibility.

Mei Xiaying said with emotion that I don’t know when the Chinese people who were not specialized in digital management began to pay attention to itGDPIt increases by several digits.

He believes that in addition to the need for performance assessment, this mainly reflects the Chinese people“Concept of progress”. However, for thousands of years, the Chinese people have attached great importance to the unity of nature and man, and have required themselves to be quiet and inactive, seeking others instead, and not competing with nature and society. There is no so-called“Progressive concept”. This concept of progress is an accessory of the spread of Western France to the east.

The concept of progress originating from the West is based on consumerism. It requires that society can only move forward and not stop. However, the development of life and society has a corresponding rhythm. The faster society develops, the more tense the relationship between man and nature, and man and society will be. The final result can only be the outbreak of various crises.

“The law starts from individualism, emphasizes rights, emphasizes the value of the individual, and emphasizes equal protection for everyone. However, everyone is equal and everyone's rights are maximized as much as possible. It requires the harmonious development of society while leaving little space for society. This in itself is a contradiction.”

How to resolve conflicts? The law is not a panacea. Mei Xiaying believes that besides the law, there are also beautiful emotions in the world such as responsibility, family affection, and love. The coldness and sharpness of the law cannot replace the softness and gentleness of human nature, nor can punishment replace probation. Reason and wealth cannot necessarily improve people's happiness. A healthy and beautiful society relies on millions of people to face the chaotic world with various gestures and actions of love that are higher than the law and beyond justice.

Jurists should accurately explain society

Recently, some scholars wrote in the media that we should pay special attention now70The growth of post-scholars. Because the older generation of scholars are limited by the times and conditions, it is difficult for them to make breakthroughs in academic research. And70Scholars born later are blessed by the times and enjoy various favorable conditions for engaging in academic research, so they can be innovative in academic research.

as70As a member of the post-modern scholars, Mei Xiaying has a deeper understanding of the responsibilities and mission of scholars.

He believes that Chinese academic circles are now filled with a large number of specious views. This stems from scholars’ lack of overall grasp of Chinese society and lack of explanatory power in legal theories and social phenomena.

To a certain extent, Mei Xiaying prefers to regard jurists as skilled workers who master legal technology. He believes that the mission of jurists is to use professional knowledge to accurately explain social phenomena and reveal the direction of social development, so as to prescribe the right medicine and establish a good system to bring society into good order.

Perhaps this value-free view is not in line with the mainstream view in the academic community, because it has almost become a social consensus that law is the embodiment of fairness and justice. In Mei Xiaying's view, jurists must first affirm the existing order of society, and on this basis, use legal knowledge to promote the steady progress of society.

Whether a politician or a legal scholar, you cannot think that you are smarter than others. Human rationality has its limits after all. Some grand outlines may seem beautiful, but actually contain dangerous consequences. Because the road to hell is often paved with good intentions.

A legal scholar should pursue fairness and justice, but in a specific environment, he should be more concerned about how to resolve social disputes through technical means and how to create social harmony through legislation, judiciary, and law enforcement.

As for the connection between academics and politics, Mei Xiaying believes that in any country, academic research cannot be completely separated from politics. Politics pursues legitimacy, while academic research pursues truth. How to grasp the balance between the two requires scholars to use their own wisdom to make judgments.

The process of Western learning spreading eastward is still continuing today, and jurists have transplanted a large number of concepts and theories from the West. It is questionable how much explanatory power the legal discourse originating from the West has on Chinese society.

Mei Xiaying said that in recent years, he has been paying close attention to the academic debate on the direction of Chinese legal science, and has also thought about it to some extent. He believes that Chinese jurisprudence is almost entirely Western from concept to system, and Chinese jurisprudence is almost incapable of thinking without Western things. However, China urgently needs its own legal theoretical system to respond to various current problems.

Therefore, on the one hand, we must objectively evaluate the Western knowledge system, and on the other hand, we must use the power of wisdom to propose our own theoretical system.

Legislation should cultivate genes that adapt to social changes

The contradiction between the stability and changeability of law has always troubled people. For China in its transition period, this contradiction is even more prominent. Mei Xiaying believes that China in the period of transformation is changing rapidly, and if the law cannot keep up with the pace of social development, it will become an obstacle.

As legislation in a period of transition, it should have genes suitable for change, and various technical means must be used to adapt the law to the development of society. Legislation should be sufficiently forward-looking and flexible, and the future legislative model should be suitable for implementation. When new changes come, there is no need to rush to amend the law, because we have already foreseen it and are not trapped in a cocoon.

Therefore, despite participating in the drafting of the Civil Code, he still held a skeptical attitude toward the Code. In his view, although the code satisfies the logical self-sufficiency of law, as the jurist Maine lamented“As soon as the code appears, the spontaneous development of law ends”。

The German Civil Code can be said to be the most important reference for drafting the Chinese Civil Code. In Mei Xiaying’s view, the German Civil Code represents the end of the old era rather than the beginning of a new era. The Germans are very conservative, and independent innovation in society was extremely slow after the promulgation of the Civil Code. It lies there motionless like a toad, absorbing social changes like a magnet, but after the changes of the times, it has become covered with dust. Relatively speaking, the Japanese Civil Code embodies the flexible characteristics of Eastern nations and is worth learning from. European codification countries have paid a certain price for their civil codes.

Therefore, in Mei Xiaying’s view, the development direction of civil legislation should choose the path of separate legislation.

A scholar with a straightforward personality

Mei Xiaying worked as a teacher in a middle w88 casino in her youth. Later, he was admitted to Wuhan University as a graduate student, a teacherCong Ma JunjuMr. studied civil law until graduating with a doctorate.

When she was studying in Wuhan, Mei Xiaying felt particularly hesitant and unsure about where her future would go. However, he thought he was made to be a lawyer. To this end, he worked part-time as a lawyer in several law firms. But after a period of time, I felt that my personality was still not suitable for being a lawyer.

So, he returned to the student dormitory of Wuhan University and began to devote himself to learning. A week later, his debut novel was completed. What he didn't expect was that this article was actually published in "Chinese Social Sciences".

After graduating from Ph.D., Mei Xiaying came to Renmin University of China for postdoctoral research, and her co-supervisor was a famous law studentJia Wang LimingProfessor. During this period, he participated in the drafting of the Chinese Civil Code and Property Law.

After leaving the postdoctoral position, Mei Xiaying came to work at the Law w88 casino of the w88 casino. Now, reading, thinking, writing, and teaching constitute the main line of his life.“When teaching students, I feel very happy and confident.”He said,“If a person wants to know what he is suitable for, he must dare to try. The most important thing is to do your best for your first work120%’s efforts cannot be limited to a superficial taste”。

“My life is about subtraction, not addition.”Mei Xiaying firmly believes in Buddhism. Buddhism has brought him a peaceful state of mind and opened the door to wisdom in life. Talking about Buddhism, Mei Xiaying said that there are four Dharma seals in Buddhism, that is, all actions are impermanent, all outflows are suffering, all Dharmas have no self, and Nirvana is silent. Each Dharma seal can enlighten life and knowledge.

When talking about future development, Mei Xiaying was very calm. He told reporters that he just wanted to be his true self. Quietly open up a piece of land academically, build a small garden of your own, and enjoy the fun of planting in spring and harvesting in autumn.

Mei Xiaying, a scholar with a straightforward temperament, likens himself to a little person trapped in the wheel of the times. In the great changes at the turn of the century, although they were unable to stop the chaos of the times, they paid as much attention as possible to the sinking and rising of Chinese culture, and worried about what the law could and could not do to China.

(Legal Daily, Page 8, May 11)