“信用”这一概念产生于上古时代,到西周和春秋战国时期有了进一步发展。“信用”作为中国政治伦理和道德准则,以软约束的形式规范了君主、民众甚至国家的行为,在借贷、商业贸易等经济领域产生了一定的影响,并在国家治理方面发挥着重要作用。整体上看,先秦时期的国家信用可分为国内信用与“国际”信用(列国间的信用)两个方面;从历史发展看,可分为商西周、春秋、战国三个阶段。 The concept of “credit” originated in the ancient times and went further to the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Period. As the Chinese political ethics and moral code, “credit” regulated the behavior of monarchs, people and even countries in the form of soft restraints and exerted some influence in the economic fields such as lending, commerce and trade and played an important role in the governance of the state effect. On the whole, the pre-Qin state credit can be divided into two aspects: domestic credit and “international ” credit (between countries and countries); from the perspective of historical development, it can be divided into three stages: Shangxi Week, Spring and Autumn Period, and Warring States Period.