“Conflicts of Li and Law” of the Collision of International Order between the East and the West in the Modern Times

Abstract: Before the formation of the contemporary global international order,various regional international orders widely existed all over the world.One of the reasons why the collision of international order between the East and the West was inevitable in modern times is the gradual escalation and intensification of the “conflicts of li(“礼”) and law”.As a kind of “status quo order”,the traditional East Asian order gradually weakened its defense and headed towards losing power,due to the exemption of responsibility and reduction of encouragement of the meta-rule of tianxia li(“天下礼”).As a kind of “rising order”,the emerging Western European order intensified its offensive and moved towards gaining power step by step,due to the consolidation of privilege and increment of punishment of the meta-rule of international law.Nowadays,the exchange and mutual learning of human civilization is the trend.We should avoid repeating the same mistakes in history and use the organic unity of good rule of law,good rule of li and good governance to build a more just and equitable international order.