20世纪末,欧洲法学界提出“软法(Sofl Law)”的概念,认为是可以补充“硬法”(国家法)之不足而存在于民间的某些规范。近年,罗豪才先生将“软法”概念引入当代中国的公共治理领域,倡言“在建设法治国家特别是法治社会的进程中,法治的实现既要依靠国家来推动,更要夯实社会共同体自律互律的基础,依靠多样化的法律规范来保证社会既有序发展、又充满活力”1,读之令人耳目一新。迄今为止,有关的讨论主要集中在法学界,尚未引起史学界的关注。本文试图将“软法”放到中国传统“礼治”的背 At the end of the 20th century, European jurisprudence put forward the notion of “Sofl Law,” which is considered to be some norm that can be supplemented by civil law because of the inadequacy of the “hard law” (state law). In recent years, Mr. Luo Haocai introduced the concept of “soft law” into the field of public governance in contemporary China and advocated that “in the process of building a state under the rule of law, especially in the society ruled by law, the realization of the rule of law depends on both the state and the community Self-discipline and mutual legal basis, relying on a variety of legal norms to ensure social orderly development, but also full of vitality ”1, read a refreshing. So far, the relevant discussions have mainly focused on the legal circle, which has not drawn the attention of historians. This article tries to put “Soft Law ” into the traditional Chinese “Rule of Rites ” back