China's initial concept of covenant appeared in Xia Dynasty and prevailed in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Most of its contents are mutual "agreements" between vassal States or agreements with gods when praying for blessings, which are mainly engraved on tortoise shells and jade or written on gold silks. The original concept of covenant in the West appeared in Genesis, and God made a covenant with Adam and Eve.
The word "agreement" clearly appeared in Genesis for the first time. When the flood receded, God made an agreement with Noah and marked the land with a rainbow. This is the famous "rainbow agreement". Since then, God has repeatedly appeared in the Bible to emphasize his Covenant with people and his observance of the Covenant. This can be said to be the bud of the western concept of "contract".
Western society attaches great importance to "contract" and "contract" so far, which is also influenced by the Bible. The spirit of contract is the mainstream spirit of western civilized society. The word "contract" comes from Latin, which originally means transaction, and its essence is a concept of freedom of contract.
The historical origin of the spirit of contract;
The spirit of contract has a long history in the west, which can be traced back to ancient Greece. Aristotle's thought has a far-reaching influence on the contract theory of later generations. Aristotle's exposition of justice in ethics contains rich contractual thoughts, and Aristotle put forward the concept of exchange justice. Exchanging justice is the code of conduct for people to trade.
Harming others is the basic principle of exchange justice, and the spirit of modern contract originates from the theory of voluntary transaction. The principle of equivalent exchange and generosity theory, at the right time, the right quantity, give the property to the right object and keep the promise. Gaius, an ancient Roman jurist, divided debts into two categories: contract and private rights.
On this basis, Thomas Aquinas put forward the division of paid contract and unpaid contract based on this theory. Aquinas not only tried to explain that keeping promises is a virtue, but also explained when to keep promises. The reappearance of contractual justice and the principle of good faith in contemporary contract theory shows the influence of Aristotle and Aquinas' contract theory.