Civil Law (Third Edition)

Author: Yang Lixin, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-04-01
Features: According to the requirements of the textbook editing team, this revision has made significant changes in format and content. The following points are hereby explained:
1. According to the requirements of the textbook editing team, summaries and post-lesson exercises have been added at the end of each chapter. In the "Chapter Summary," each chapter's content is briefly summarized to facilitate mastery by teachers, students, and readers. In the "Post-Lesson Exercises," new types of questions have been added, such as "Definitions of Key Terms," which provide definitions for important terms, and "Case Analysis Questions," which include carefully selected typical cases with questions centered around the key points of each chapter, along with analysis guidelines to help teachers and students better grasp the content.
2. Reference cases have been added to key sections of each chapter. A total of over 60 typical cases have been selected and briefly explained, interspersed throughout the textbook to enhance clarity and ease of understanding, helping students grasp the difficulties and key points of the material.
3. The textbook content has been partially revised based on the latest laws, regulations, and judicial interpretations. For example, the provisions of the Supreme People's Court's "Interpretation of the Application of Laws in the Trial of Personal Injury Compensation Cases" have been fully incorporated into the textbook's Tort Law section.
4. The textbook content has been significantly streamlined to better suit the needs of vocational and technical college students. The principle of streamlining is as follows: content already thoroughly explained in the textbook is not repeated elsewhere; if a separate textbook is available for a specific course, this textbook does not duplicate that content; overly detailed or complex content unsuitable for vocational and technical college students is simplified. The specific streamlining includes:
(a) In the fourth part "Debt Law," a significant portion of the original textbook was repetitive with the "Contract Law" textbook. Therefore, the chapters "Performance of Debt," "Guarantee and Preservation of Debt," and "Transfer and Termination of Debt" have been removed. For this content, please refer to the "Contract Law" textbook in this series.
(b) Since identity rights belong to family law and should be explained in the "Marriage Law" textbook, the original chapter "Identity Rights" has been removed. Correspondingly, the section "Personality Rights Law" has been renamed "Personality Rights Law." At the same time, the original chapters "Right to Life and Health" and "Other Personality Rights" have been merged and uniformly referred to as "Specific Personality Rights."
(c) The original textbook's fifth part "General Principles of Civil Law" included a chapter on "Civil Liability," which was repetitive with both the textbook's sixth part "Tort Law" and the "Contract Law" textbook's breach of contract liability. Therefore, this chapter has been removed.
(d) The textbook's third part "Property Law" and the sixth part "Tort Law" have not been significantly revised because the legislative process for these two laws is accelerating, and they are expected to be promulgated and implemented by early 2006. The textbook will be revised after these laws are enacted.
The revised textbook is more concise and clear, with greatly enhanced practicality and applicability, making it more suitable for use by vocational and technical college teachers and students.
[Preface] Preface to the Second Edition
After its publication in 2000, this textbook was used as a planned teaching material for vocational and technical colleges by the Ministry of Education and was also adopted by many other law departments. It has been well-received by teachers, students, and a broad readership, with multiple reprints. In 2002, the textbook was awarded the first prize in the "National Outstanding Textbook for Higher Education" and was included in the "National Higher Education 'Fifteen' Plan Textbook" by the Ministry of Education.
In the three years since its publication, civil law research and civil judicial practice have undergone significant development, particularly with the launch of the legislative process for the Chinese Civil Code, which has greatly advanced the study of civil law theory and practice. The development of Chinese civil law has drawn increasing attention from civil law scholars worldwide. Therefore, the content of this textbook, published three years ago, needs to be updated. The editor-in-chief, in accordance with the requirements of the textbook editing team, has revised the content of this textbook.
The following revisions have been made:
1. Based on the development of civil law theory, legislation, and judicial practice, new content has been added. For example, the draft Civil Code currently under deliberation by the national legislative body has established a separate section for "Personality Rights Law" to strengthen its legislative focus. Accordingly, the structure of the "Personality Rights Law" section has been adjusted, and content explanations have been added. The draft Civil Code has also established a separate section for "Tort Law," with significantly expanded content. Therefore, the revision has strengthened this section, particularly providing new explanations on the principles of liability. In recent years, judicial interpretations have also seen significant development, adding many new aspects of civil law practice, such as the issue of spiritual damage compensation in tort law, where the Supreme People's Court's interpretation has greatly advanced the judicial protection of personality rights. The textbook has also made appropriate additions and modifications for these developments.
2. Some sections have been appropriately merged. For example, the original chapter "Termination of Debt" was relatively thin, so it has been merged with "Transfer of Debt" into a single chapter titled "Transfer and Termination of Debt," with the order adjusted accordingly.
3. The textbook has been revised to remove overly complex or unsuitable content, with adjustments made to the order to better align with other sections.
4. Inaccurate explanations and typographical errors in the original textbook have been corrected and rectified.
Amid the spread of "SARS," the authors have had sufficient time to revise this textbook. Despite this, errors are still inevitable. The authors welcome constructive feedback from teachers and students in law schools and a broad readership regarding any issues in the revised edition.