Abstract:

Within the twodimensional framework (the state and the civil) in the legal order， Huang Zongzhi’s “practical view” and Zhang Jing’s “profit distribution view” represent the two explanatory perspectives on the civil dimension. This paper focuses on the recognition of justice by the folk using the “Estate Inheritance Case of Ye Yuzhen”. Both the state and the civil agree on the abstract principle that “justice means the consistency between rights and obligations”，but disagree when it comes to the concrete contents of obligations， showing a conflict in the understanding of individual obligations and family obligations. This paper reviews the historical changes in the widows’ estate inheritance rights since Ming and Qing Dynasties to reveal where agreement and disagreement exist in the perception of justice by the state and the civil. The paper finally points out that， on the civil dimension， “recognition of justice by the civil” has been neglected as an explanatory perspective and that this perspective should be added in the process to achieve the legal order.

Key words: family obligation, folk consensus, succession, the concept of justice