法治(fǎzhì)

以法治国。是站在君主的角度，主张君主通过制定并严格执行法令、规章来治理民众和国家(与“人治”相对)， 是先秦时期法家的重要政治思想。法家的“法治”思想有赏罚分明的一面，也有过于严苛、刚硬的弊端。自汉朝以迄清朝，“法治”和“人治”，各王朝多兼而用 之。近代以降，“法治”因西学东渐而被赋予新的含义。

Rule by Law

Rule by law, as opposed to rule by man, calls for ruling a state and its people by the ruler through enacting and strictly enforcing laws and regulations. It is an important political thought of the Legalist scholars in the pre-Qin period. Rule by law meted out well-defined rewards and punishments, but tended to be excessively severe and rigid in enforcement. From the Han Dynasty all the way to the Qing Dynasty, rule by law and rule by man were exercised by various dynasties, mostly in combination. With the spread of Western thoughts to China in more recent times, rule by law acquired new meanings.

Examples

【引例】

是故先王之治国也，不淫意于法之外，不为惠于法之内也。(《管子·明法》)

When our forefathers ruled the state, they did not act unscrupulously in disregard of law, nor did they bestow personal favors within the framework of law. (Guanzi)

故法治者，治之极轨也，而通五洲万国数千年间。其最初发明此法治主义，以成一家言者谁乎?则我国之管子也!(梁启超《管子评传》)

Therefore, rule by law is the supreme way to rule a country. It has been exercised by numerous countries in the world for several thousand years. Who conceived this idea and developed it into a theory of governance? It was none other than our fellow countryman Guanzi! (Liang Qichao: A Critical Biography of Guanzi)