The semi-feudal and semi-colonial nature of modern China shows that although the imperial system has been overthrown, traditional ethics and morals still control the minds of the people. When imperialism invaded China, it also brought Western civilization to China, and human anatomy was one of them. Because it violates traditional ethics and morals, it is difficult to implement.
In traditional Chinese ethics, a living person does not have an independent personality at all, and even his body is not his own. Gift. Since we "carry the remains of our parents", do we dare not to cherish them? This constitutes a very important aspect of filial piety - cherishing one's own body. Zengzi said: "If the parents are in good condition, the son will not dare to go out. Therefore, the boat does not swim, the road does not follow the path, and the whole body can be used to guard the ancestral temple, which can be called filial piety." To sum it up with a sentence from "The Classic of Filial Piety", that is, "The hair and skin of the body are received by the parents, and they dare not damage them." If you accidentally damage your body, you will feel ashamed. "Zichun injured his foot when he went to the hall, and Liao Er counted it. The moon has not come out, but there is still a look of sadness. A disciple asked: "The master injured his foot when he went to the hall, and why did he not come out for several months?" Yue Zhengzi Chun said: "... The son was born with both parents intact. It can be said that he is filial to return the whole thing without damaging his body or his appearance! A gentleman does not take a few steps but forgets them, and forgets his filial piety, which is why he is worried." This story is very funny to read today. It would not be surprising if it is connected with feudal ethics. It vividly reflects the deep influence of this concept on people. Cherishing the body includes not only the body while alive, but also the body after death, so China has always advocated the preservation of corpses. Confucianism is based on benevolence, coupled with the influence of concepts such as "Do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you." The combination of the three constitutes an ethical obstacle to the poor implementation of human anatomy in modern times.
In order to strengthen the influence of the above concepts on people, the feudal code included special provisions to severely punish the mutilation of corpses. "Tang Lv Shu Yi" is the earliest and most complete legal work existing in my country. It is a collection of feudal laws from the Warring States, Qin and Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and Sui Dynasties. It became the blueprint for the formulation and interpretation of legal codes in the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. Based on this, the author analyzes the relevant provisions. Volume 17 of "Tang Lu Shu Yi" has a column of "Mutilating the Dead Corpse". If you kill someone and then dismember the body, or burn the body, not only will you be punished with the death penalty, which is the highest penalty - beheading, but your wife will also have to move two thousand miles away. If you do not kill anyone but only mutilate the dead body (burn it or dismember it), or abandon the body in the water, you will be punished with "a reduced crime of fighting and killing." If you cut off the hair of a corpse or damage it to varying degrees, you will be punished with "a reduced crime of fighting and killing." Anyone who encounters a dead body on the road and does not bury it, or smokes foxes in the cemetery and burns the coffin will be sentenced to two years in prison; The body was burned and he served for three years. These provisions for protecting corpses are thorough and detailed, even to the point of painstaking detail, and occupy a relatively important position in the whole book. It more directly and actively promotes the public's love for corpses and consolidates the idea that destroying corpses is unkind and illegal.
The two autopsy rules stipulate that all autopsies must be approved by the local chief executive before they can be dissected. In this way, whether the autopsy can be carried out smoothly depends to a large extent on the will of the local chief executive. Although they were officials of the Republic of China, they were still ideologically bound by feudal ethics and morals, and they were no more exposed to Western scientific civilization than the common people. They did not understand autopsy and equated it with dismemberment motivated by hatred and other motives. corpse. Therefore, at that time, "administrative offices were often confused about cause and effect, and often interfered with the results", which became an obstacle to administrative interference in the implementation of autopsies.