Testamentary Succession in Ancient China When the Testator Had Offspring

中国古代法律并未明文规定有子嗣时必须实行法定继承 ,在有承分人即非“户绝”条件下实行遗嘱继承 ,是为社会习俗认可并受法律一定保护的社会现实。中国古代遗嘱继承制度的特点表现在两方面 ,一是能采取遗嘱继承方式的被继承人有严格的身份地位限制 ,即只能是父祖尊长 ;二是由于家庭或家族共财制度赋予父祖尊长支配财产的特权 ,因此他们也拥有一定的遗嘱自由The law in ancient China did not explicitly stipulate that statutory succession was compulsory when one had offspring. Testamentary succession when the testator had an offspring was rather a social reality accepted by social customs and protected by the law. Testamentary succession in ancient China had two features: one was that a strict limitation was imposed on the personal status of the deceased who could adopt this method, that is, they could only be grandfather or father. The other was that since the father or grandfather had the privilege to dispose of the common wealth of his family he enjoyed the freedom to make a will in respect of the disposition of the wealth