The Psychological Logic of Ancient Chinese "Li" Replacing "Lv": Judicial Officers’ Mental Health Adjustment and Legal System Optimization
Zhilin WangAbstract
Objective
Judicial personnel in ancient China faced severe judicial accountability pressure. It triggered intense psychological stress. It damaged mental health. It shaped risk-aversion mental states. It further affected the application of laws. This study explores the psychological logic of "Li" replacing "Lv". It aims to reveal the correlation between judicial personnel's psychological pressure, mental state and legal system adjustment. It interprets the psychological motivation behind legal system evolution.
Subjects and Methods
This study takes the legal system evolution of ancient China and judicial personnel's judicial behaviors as research objects. It adopts literature research and psychological analysis methods. It combs ancient judicial historical materials. It sorts out the characteristics of judicial personnel's risk-aversion psychology. It analyzes the connection between psychological stress relief demands and the prevalence of "Li". It explores the internal mechanism of legal system adjustment driven by psychological factors.
Results
High judicial risk brought persistent psychological pressure to judicial personnel. It led to unstable mental states and impaired mental health. Applying "Li" effectively reduced judicial decision-making risks. It alleviated psychological stress. It stabilized their mental state. It became the optimal choice for judicial personnel to avoid risks and maintain psychological well-being.
Conclusions
Judicial personnel's psychological pressure and risk-aversion mental state are the core psychological drivers of "Li" replacing "Lv" in ancient China. Mental health maintenance demands directly promoted the adjustment of the feudal legal system. Legal system evolution is essentially a response to judicial personnel's psychological stress relief and mental state stability needs under judicial risk.
Corresponding Author
Zhilin Wang, Shanxi University of Finance and Economics, Taiyuan 030006, China.