释"儒皮法骨"华夏帝国治理模式的所以然

Abstract This paper provides a systematic explanation of the “Confucian Skin and Legalist Bones” (Ru Pi Fa Gu) hybrid, the core concept for interpreting the two-thousand-year imperial governance model within the “Productive Political Philosophy” framework. Using the three core methodological models—Community Cohesion, Dynamic Success Probability, and Political Philosophy Cohesion—this study argues that this hybrid was the optimal feasible solution selected by reversion pressure under China's specific geographical and climatic conditions. It traces how Confucius and Legalism each inherited fragmented parts of the Zhou Rites, and how Xunzi dismantled the theoretical barrier between them, providing the foundation for later emperors to invert his framework into the “Confucian Skin and Legalist Bones” structure. The paper argues that the “Constitutional Revolution” of 628 AD permanently solidified Confucianism's ideological dominance, transforming the emperor from an “organizer” of collective survival into a “performer” of moral virtue, thereby constitutionally locking in the structural separation of “ritual” (祀) and “warfare” (戎). The system's periodic collapses and resurgences, as well as its eventual demise due to the shift in productive forces by the industrial age, are systematically analyzed. Keywords Confucian Skin and Legalist Bones; Reversion Pressure; Xunzi; Constitutional Revolution; Organizer Identity; Ritual and Warfare; Zhou Rites; Productive Political Philosophy; Imperial China Governance