Essays on Modern Chinese Law, Volume 1. Basic Law Section

Author: He Qinhua
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-08-01
Features: The Volume of Essays on Basic Law in the Essentials of Republican Era Legal Scholarship spans from 1911 to 1948. During this period, China faced internal turmoil and external threats, with frequent wars and an unprecedented national crisis. The people lived in extreme hardship. In this era of saving the nation and preserving survival, a group of legal scholars tirelessly sought ways to transplant legal systems from developed countries, hoping to guide China toward a healthy path of legal development, which was another form of saving the nation. As the editor-in-chief remarked, "Although many of these works exhibit obvious limitations of their time, they also contain outstanding masterpieces and represent a valuable treasure in the history of Chinese law and legal scholarship." Such praise is far from hyperbole. Let us take a few examples from The Essentials of Republican Era Legal Scholarship (Volume of Essays on Basic Law):
1. The first essay in the collection is The Etymology of Law by Qiu Hanping, followed by The Sources of Law by Fu Wenkai. The former first examines the meaning of "law" in the Chinese language, citing classical texts and conducting in-depth research. It then compares and argues with the meaning of "Jus" in Roman law. The latter classifies the sources of law into substantive and formal sources, with substantive sources further divided into historical and legal sources. The reasoning is thorough and rigorous.
2. The 23rd essay, Some Issues in Chinese Legal Education, was written by Rui Mu, a towering figure in the modern legal scholarship community, at the age of 28 in 1926. The article pointed out four shortcomings in the legal education system at the time: first, a lack of domestic legal talent; second, an overemphasis on current laws while neglecting the study of the essence of law; third, improper research on foreign legal systems; and fourth, domestic law schools focusing on knowledge rather than teaching methods. Compared to today, the essay still resonates profoundly.
3. The 29th essay, The Development of Legal Thought in Pre-Qin China, was written by Jian Bozan, a renowned historian. The author focuses on several key figures: Yang Chu, Shen Buhai, Shen Dao, Shang Yang, and Han Fei, providing a detailed evaluation of each. The intellectual lineage of Pre-Qin legal thought is thus clearly outlined. The author's grasp of historical materials and unique perspective are noteworthy. Other essays, such as those comparing the two legal systems, also offer innovative insights. Due to space limitations, they cannot all be mentioned here.
Additionally, two essays in the collection are particularly worth reading. The 41st essay, The World Legal Map, is a translation. The article is concise but provides a macroscopic overview of the global legal system. The last essay, Soviet Legal Theory and Socialism, is also a translation. It offers perspectives on the Soviet Union's disregard for private law in the 1930s, arguing that private law is an important part of human legal culture. Both essays, in contemporary terms, could be considered "alternative" works. Academic papers are not valued for their length but for their innovation. The 64 essays in this collection each have their strengths and styles, with some displaying exceptional literary flair.
The editor-in-chief writes in the preface, "Due to the passage of time and the limitations of preservation conditions, some of these works have become rare (or even single copies), while others have yellowed, become brittle, and are at risk of tearing or falling out of pages at the slightest touch. We are deeply moved and anxious about their potential loss." In excavating this limited body of legal scholarship from the Republican era, the compilers have painstakingly sifted through the sand to find gold, pouring their hearts into the effort. The hardships involved are beyond imagination. Yet, it is a blessing for contemporary readers to be able to access this collection of Republican legal essays and for scholars to have convenient access to related materials. This is a great fortune for the legal community, and we are deeply grateful to the compilers for their labor.
I. This series selectively compiles classic legal essays from the Republican era (with a small number from the late Qing era), making no changes that would detract from the original text, only performing appropriate technical editing.
II. All vertically formatted original texts are converted to horizontal formats. Phrases like "as follows" and "as above" are used instead of "on the left" and "on the right."
III. Traditional characters are converted to simplified characters.
IV. Original texts without punctuation or with non-standard punctuation are uniformly revised to use modern punctuation marks.
V. Dates in the original text, such as "Republic Year 10," are converted to "1921," or explained in parentheses upon first occurrence in the text.
VI. Proper nouns and specialized terms in the original text are revised to current common usage.
VII. Original texts without paragraph divisions are appropriately divided into paragraphs.
VIII. Obvious errors in facts, numbers, names, and other cited materials in the original text are corrected as needed.
This book is the Volume of Essays on Basic Law in The Essentials of Republican Era Legal Scholarship, collecting 64 essays on basic legal topics from the Republican era.