殷周时期的法律观念与制度乃是中国传统法律文化的源头 ,对后世产生了重大影响。殷代非道德主义的神权法思想被转化为重刑主义的司法实践 ,是导致殷帝国垮台的重要原因之一。周初统治者接受了殷亡的教训 ,提倡“明德慎罚” ,使中国早期的法律文化进入了一个新时代。周代的一些法律观念和制度至今仍有借鉴价值 The legal concepts and systems in the Yin and Zhou Dynasties are the source of the traditional Chinese legal culture and have had a significant impact on later generations. It is one of the important reasons that led to the fall of Yin Empire that Yin Dai’s non-moralist thoughts of theocratic law were translated into serious criminal judicial practice. In early Zhou Dynasty, the rulers accepted the lesson of cherishing death and advocated “careful punishment by Mingde”, so that the early legal culture in China entered a new era. Some legal concepts and systems of the Zhou Dynasty still have reference value