Harvard Law Review · Constitutional Law Essentials

Author: Qiebo Zhang Qianfan (USA)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-12-01
Features: The articles selected for this collection mainly fall into two categories: one is the classic works with an unshakable historical status that have had a lasting impact on the development of the U.S. Constitution, such as the two mentioned above and Professor Chefei's commentary on freedom of speech; the other is recent summaries by prominent scholars on the development of U.S. constitutional (law) scholarship. Some of these may reflect only personal opinions, but they still provide insights into the new developments in certain aspects of the U.S. Constitution. Overall, the standard for the former is higher. Time, like a tide washing away the sands, gradually erodes the influence of thoughts. For ordinary papers, the older they are, the weaker their impact; only true classics can, like aged wine, develop an increasingly rich aroma with time. Whether the more recent works belong to one category or the other depends on our judgment and fate. As we see them now, they represent milestones in constitutional scholarship at this stage, though they may later be overshadowed by even higher monuments.