Between law and literature

Author: Xu Zhongming
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-01-01
Features: The Chinese nation has a long history of academic and cultural dissemination. In our classical culture, academic fields such as economics, history, and literature have achieved remarkable brilliance, becoming an important part of the world's cultural heritage. However, like the cultural traditions of any other country, the development of classical academic culture in China is uneven and has its shortcomings. Notably, although we have a long tradition of written law, the study of law as an object of research has long lagged in development. Since the late Qing Dynasty, with changes in social structure, the influence of foreign cultures, and the establishment of law schools, law has only gained its independent status as a discipline. However, the turbulent history of China over the past century has made it difficult for law to take a smooth path, often oscillating between imitating foreign law and annotating current laws. During the decade of the Cultural Revolution, it was even completely halted. With both inherent weaknesses and developmental imbalances, Chinese law can truly be said to have a tragic fate and a difficult journey. The title of this book, "Between Law and Literature," is intended to reflect that the texts included are divided into two parts: one is the study of legal issues in classical Chinese literary works, which is the fundamental reason for the title; the other is the study of some issues in ancient and modern Chinese law, which can be categorized under the umbrella of law.