Jurisprudence: General Legal Science

Author: Yao Jianzong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Since graduating as a master's student and staying at the university to teach in 1992, I have served as the instructor for the "Jurisprudence" course for first-year undergraduates in the law major for over a decade. From the various doubts and questions expressed by my students—of course, including those who were not officially enrolled but frequently appeared in my classroom, both from within and outside the university, and from law and non-law majors across different grades—I have clearly felt their dissatisfaction with the uniform "Jurisprudence" textbooks currently used in China. At the same time, I have also experienced the shared sentiment of students, much like myself as a teacher of jurisprudence theory, regarding our "Jurisprudence" textbooks. That is: first, the "Jurisprudence" we study is largely dogmatic and preachy, forcing us to memorize propositions formed through strong "assertions" rather than genuine "arguments," which are presented as "truths" or "knowledge." Second, the "Jurisprudence" we study appears overly authoritarian and distant, cold and aloof due to its exclusionary attitude, creating a significant gap between it and the real lives of ordinary people. Third, the "Jurisprudence" we study is one-size-fits-all, lacking independent and autonomous academic positions, and rarely offers genuine theoretical interpretation. In many cases, it merely serves as a theoretical legal discourse commentary or transformation of real-world policies. It is full of empty rhetoric and hegemonic discourse, making it quite dull.
Therefore, at a discussion meeting in Changchun in the mid-1990s, where I proposed to completely reform the content and teaching focus of our "Jurisprudence" textbooks, organized by Professor Zheng Chengliang of the Law School at Jilin University under the commission of the Higher Education Department of the Ministry of Education, I suggested shifting the focus from "transmitting legal knowledge" to cultivating students' "legal spirit," "rule of law awareness," and "legal thinking." However, unfortunately, my proposal was not well-received by the majority of the experts present, who believed it was too idealistic and technically unfeasible. I do not agree with this assessment and have consistently maintained my view on the fundamental role of "Jurisprudence" as a core foundational course for law majors. Its primary function is not to "provide legal knowledge" but to "instill basic rule-of-law concepts," "spread the spirit of modern law," "cultivate professional legal thinking," and "shape ideal legal professional personalities," thereby enabling students to develop "excellent legal minds."
As a result, I have attempted to personalize the "Jurisprudence" textbook in terms of both content and structure in my teaching practice. This book is a preliminary summary of such teaching reforms. I call it a "summary" because: first, the book aims to reduce the dogmatism and preachy tone of "Jurisprudence," bringing it back to "reason" and "rationality." Broadly speaking, the book reflects my personal views on "Jurisprudence" as a textbook, as well as the general principles of the ideal framework—emphasizing the cultivation of students' "legal spirit," "rule of law awareness," and "legal thinking," while placing "legal knowledge transmission" in a secondary position (primarily to be handled by various departments of law). As a result, the purely formal content of "Jurisprudence" is highly compressed, and the book's length is significantly reduced, making the "Jurisprudence" textbook "thinner" rather than "thicker." This design also aims to leave more room for teachers to teach "Jurisprudence" in a personalized manner and for students to study it independently.
Second, the book seeks to make "Jurisprudence" more "lively," "approachable," and "interesting." In the "Reading and Thinking Materials" sections at the end of some chapters, I have compiled academic essays, excerpts from academic papers and books (in both Chinese and English), news articles, judicial interpretations, and English case studies (judgments or judges' opinions and dissents). These materials are not only intended to broaden students' reading horizons and spark their interest in learning "Jurisprudence" but also to allow them to subconsciously cultivate "legal spirit," "rule of law awareness," and "legal thinking" through these "extra-curricular" readings.
Third, although this is only a very preliminary attempt, the main purpose of the book's current structure and content arrangement is indeed to bring "Jurisprudence" back to the real, concrete lives of ordinary people, making it "life-oriented." I hope to help students gradually understand that the foundation of "Jurisprudence" lies in our ordinary, authentic, and vivid daily lives, and that the theoretical issues of "Jurisprudence" are problems in our daily lives. They are close to us, while the so-called "Jurisprudence" that is distant from our real lives is merely "dead," lacking both genuine "theoretical" substance and practical significance. Learning "Jurisprudence" requires us to gradually experience, reflect on, and comprehend these principles through our own life experiences and in our real lives. This process of experiencing, reflecting on, and comprehending the "principles of life" and "principles of law" is not just part of the "Jurisprudence" course but also includes the study of various departments of law, as well as other humanities, social sciences, and even natural sciences. More importantly, it must include learning through experience in life itself. In this way, those who study law can not only discern the "principles of life" but also understand the "art of law" and deeply grasp "jurisprudence." Thus, they will possess the "legal mind" and "legal thinking" capabilities.
I call this book a "preliminary" summary of my teaching reform of "Jurisprudence" because there are still several aspects that this book has not yet fully addressed or improved: First, although I am not entirely satisfied with the current "Jurisprudence" textbooks and teaching arrangements in China, writing a satisfactory "Jurisprudence" textbook is indeed very difficult—much more challenging than writing a personal monograph. I am also not entirely satisfied with this book's "Jurisprudence" textbook—not just in terms of structure but also in specific content. For example, the original design of the book included a chapter on "Legal Culture," but due to various considerations, it was temporarily excluded during the writing process and may be added later when the time is ripe.
Second, due to my insufficient research on contemporary Chinese judicial cases, I had to temporarily abandon the plan to select some representative contemporary Chinese cases as "Reading and Thinking Materials" for certain chapters. This work will also need to be gradually improved in the future.
Third, although the book has considered the relevance of the "Reading and Thinking Materials" to the corresponding chapter content to some extent, this aspect is still not well-developed and remains only a preliminary arrangement. More refined thinking and arrangements will have to wait for further improvement in the future.
It is particularly important to note that the personal essays included in the "Reading and Thinking Materials" may now reflect social realities that have changed. However, to maintain the authenticity of the circumstances at the time of writing and preserve the historical accuracy of these texts, I have made no changes to them.
Lastly, the book does not include a dedicated chapter on the major schools of Western jurisprudence—primarily because at Jilin University, we have a separate course, "Contemporary Western Legal Philosophy," to cover this topic. This is a deficiency in the book. Personally, I prefer not to include a dedicated chapter on Western jurisprudence in future revisions but to integrate the main views of major Western jurisprudence schools into relevant chapters for introduction and analysis. However, the conditions for completing this work are not yet mature, and further reflection is needed.
Proposing these ideas is also an attempt to express my sincere hope as the compiler: I hope readers and colleagues will provide their critical comments on this book. Your feedback is truly crucial and important for further revisions.