Abstract:

Compared with medieval European taxation, Chinese taxation in the monarchical society was quite different in its foundation of legal theory as well as in its formation.The Western taxation took private propriety as the foundation of its legal right, and at last a constitutional regime developed in which state taxation was controlled by common people with a representative system.In China, however, the foundation of taxation since the Qin Dynasty onward lay in that the imperial power was the final owner and dominator of all persons and their possessions.Such a legal notion not only led to a radical difference of Chinese monarchical society from European society in its institutional orientation, but also directly or indirectly molded a series of important characteristics of Chinese institutions.

Key words: Chinese and Western taxation, foundation of legal right, logic of legal notion, institutional result