Li Wu (悝) (悝) changed the law refers to the event when Wei Wenhou of the State of Wei was in power during the Warring States period, he appointed Li Wu as his chancellor to carry out reform of the law change.
Politically, Li Wu advocated abolishing the privileges of hereditary nobility, selecting the best and the strongest, and rewarding and punishing them severely. Economically, it mainly implements the exhaustive and flat law. It greatly promoted the development of agricultural production in the State of Wei, making the State of Wei rich and strong.
In order to further implement the change of law and consolidate the results of the change of law, Li Wu gathered the criminal codes of various countries and wrote a book called "The Book of Laws", which affirmed and protected the change of law in the form of law and fixed the right of feudal law.
Li Wu's change of law in the State of Wei was the beginning of China's change of law and had a far-reaching impact on Chinese history. At that time, it was a great shock to other countries, which triggered the first vigorous national change in Chinese history, paving the way for the transition from slavery to feudalism.
Later, the famous Shang martingale transformation method and Wu Qi transformation method were all influenced by Li Wu's transformation method. Li Wu's reforms not only made the State of Wei quickly rich and strong, but also had great significance in Chinese history.
Beginning with Li Wu, the political, legal, military, economic, and cultural innovations of the Warring States period gradually entered a deeper and broader level, that is, the changes in the entire social structure and system. As a result, Chinese civilization entered a broader and more profound stage.
The main contents of the Li Wu transformation method are:
First: abolish the hereditary system of the slave era, select officials according to ability, and abolish the hereditary fenglu that the old nobles originally enjoyed, so as to recruit talents and develop production.
Second: the traditional Chinese well field system was formally abolished, and the policy of "teaching the best of the land" was adopted, encouraging the people to reclaim the land, abolishing the land boundaries under the original well field system, and allowing private land to be bought and sold. At the same time, all land in the country is evaluated, the country's land output is estimated, and reasonable tax policies are formulated. According to the standard of land barrenness, the peasant land is allocated to encourage the peasants' enthusiasm for production.
Third: The implementation of the rule of law, the establishment of a complete Wei law "Law Classic", for the state decrees, government functions, officials promotion rewards and punishments, military merit rewards, have been completely stipulated.
The fourth is to reform the military system and establish a "martial pawn" system, that is, to evaluate the soldiers of the army, reward the outstanding ones, and rearrange them according to the operational characteristics of different soldiers, so as to give play to the combat advantages of the army.
In order to further implement the reform of the law and consolidate the results of the change of the law, Li Wu collected the criminal codes of various countries and wrote a book entitled "The Book of Laws", which was promulgated through Wei Wenhou and made it into law, affirming and protecting the change of law in the form of law, and fixing the right of feudal law. The Fa Jing is divided into 6 parts, namely the Law of Theft, the Law of Thieves, the Law of Imprisonment, the Law of Arrest, the Law of Miscellaneous Law, and the Law of Possession.
The Li Wu transformation method is the first successful change in the history of Chinese feudal society, and its content has important social and historical significance, and its success also has profound reasons. It not only unveiled the prelude to the law change movement in the Warring States period, but also first established the private ownership of land and the individual small peasant economic system in the State of Wei, which was a sign of the formal establishment of the feudal system in Chinese history.