法者天下之平

The Law Is Just for All

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法律是天下最公平的東西，亦是天下共同的行為準則。中國的“法”字自產(chǎn)生之日起，即被賦予了“平之如水”的根本規(guī)定性。“平”即公正、公平，也有普遍準則之義。法律一旦確立，便對所有人都一樣。在法律實施過程中，如果輕重失當或有所偏頗，法律就會失去其根本規(guī)定性，不再是真正意義上的法律了，而人們的行為沒有了準繩，就會造成社會的整體失范。法律及司法的公平正義早已成為中國古人的共同崇尚。

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The law is just for all and it must be the common standard for all behavior. Since the character 法 (law) came into existence, it has included the meaning "leveled as even as water," while?ping?(平) means being just, fair, and it also refers to common guidelines for all. Once a law is established, it applies equally to all. Any deviant or improper implementation will undermine its basic function so that it loses its true meaning. Without standards to guide human behavior, society will fall into disarray. This concept of judicial fairness has been commonly upheld by the Chinese since ancient times.

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引例 Citations：

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◎廷尉，天下之平也，一傾而天下用法皆為輕重，民安所措其手足？（《史記·張釋之馮唐列傳》）

廷尉是掌管天下法律公平的人。一旦稍有偏差，天下的執(zhí)法者都會跟著隨意減輕或加重處罰，百姓不就無所適從了嗎？

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The Minister of Justice is responsible for administering the law fairly. Any deviations will lead to arbitrary, random punishments, and the populace will not know how to behave. (Records of the Historian)

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◎法者天下之平，與公共之。（《資治通鑒·唐紀十四·太宗貞觀二十年》）

法律是天下共同的行為準則，應當與天下人共同遵守。

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Laws guide the actions of all, and should be obeyed by all. (History as a Mirror)