At age 83, the famous jurist and China University of Political Science and Law professor Zhang Jinfan has just completed his two-volume History of Legal Civilization in China published by Law Press·China. Volume one is about ancient legal history; volume two covers modern and contemporary legal history. The work traces the basis of legal civilization in China, starting from the origins of the legal system in the Xia Dynasty and the legal system in Western Zhou Dynasty. Where these early foundations were representative of slave society in ancient China, Confucianism played an instrumental role in the formation of the legal system in the Western and Eastern Han Dynasties, with the pattern of the Chinese legal system becoming fully and finally established in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. In detailing the abolition of the feudal legal system in the Qing Dynasty, the second volume also provides background about the influx of Western legal culture and changing attitudes toward the law in the late Qing Dynasty. The work also introduces how the groundwork for constitutionalism was laid during this time, continuing with a history of the legal system in the New Democratic Revolution Period (1919-1949), the Common Program in 1949, the 1954 Constitution and the construction of the legal underpinning for socialism with Chinese characteristics. Overall, one cannot help but be impressed by the long, rich intellectual and political tradition embodied in Chinese legal history.

 

People’s Court Daily, the newspaper of the PRC Supreme People’s Court, released a review extolling Zhang’s completion of such a brilliant work at his advanced age. The review praised his concern and dedication in appealing to a more general audience, noting that Zhang’s sources included the most fundamental but also most typical legal documents and materials and that his language was fluid but simple and straightforward enough to be more than approachable for non-specialists. Given this balance, the review prescribed History of Legal Civilization in China as both a basic introduction and a textbook on the development of the Chinese legal system. As a work of history, the two volumes instill in the reader a deep appreciation for the historical process and historical experience—Zhang Jinfan goes beyond simply introducing the past glories of China’s legal system, but pushes the reader to glean the lessons that can be learnt from the process of building up China’s legal system.

 

 

The Chinese version appeared in Chinese Social Sciences Today, No. 450, May 15, 2013

                                               

                                                                                                                            Translated by Zhang Mengying