Legal Origins (Eastern and Western)

Author: Xia Yong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-11-01
Features: Systematically discusses the historical origins and evolution of the rule of law, the traditional legal system of China and its reforms, and the characteristics of the rule of law in China and abroad. The chapter "What is the Rule of Law" primarily reviews and analyzes Western classic theories of the rule of law, ultimately landing on the ideological logic of the formation of the concept of the rule of law in contemporary China. Chapters 2, 3, and 4, "Revisiting the Rule of Law Thought in Ancient China," "The Rule of Law Thought and Reform in China in the Late Qing and Early Republic," and "China's Traditional Legal System and Its Reforms," primarily review and analyze the historical concepts of the rule of law in China and their relationship with mainstream thought, proposing some issues worth revisiting and researching. This part of the research spanned several years and was mainly used as lecture notes. Chapters 5, 6, and 7, "Confucius and Plato," "The Code of Hammurabi and the Rule of Law in Ancient East," and "The Quran as Law," were initially completed in the late 1980s and were also primarily used as lecture notes. These three chapters can broaden and enrich readers' historical perspective and interest, and also help deepen the understanding and grasp of the legal culture of Eastern countries, which differs from the Western legal tradition. Chapter 8, "Postmodernism and the Rule of Law in Non-Western Countries," carries the flavor of a nationalist declaration, focusing on the author's recent reflections on the issues of the "modernization" and "Westernization" of the legal system. The abridged version of Chapter 8 and the full text of Chapter 8 were previously published in the Social Sciences in China and Reading magazines, respectively. The other chapters have not been formally published.