China's Legal Soul

China's Legal Soul PDF Author: John Warren Head
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 268

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Book Description
This new look at Chinese law and society reflects the "triple anniversary" that 2009 will mark for Chinese law reform. In 1979, the People's Republic of China embarked on a dramatic new phase of legal transformation; thirty years before that, in 1949, Mao announced the creation of the PRC itself, another moment of legal reorientation; and thirty years before that, in 1919, the May Fourth Movement also had legal reform at its core, as thousands of protesters in Beijing erupted at the refusal Western powers to acknowledge that China's legal system was no longer inadequate and uncivilized. This claim--that China's legal system is inadequate and uncivilized in--remains in play today, particularly in respect of how China approaches the rule of law and human rights. Professor Head's new book (following his earlier work, Law Codes in Dynastic China) examines these issues by focusing on modern China's "legal soul"--by which he means the set of fundamental and animating legal principles or values that give a society its unique spirit and character. His lively and insightful comparison of contemporary Chinese law with dynastic Chinese law--readily accessible by (and written for) non-specialists--addresses these central questions: (1) what sort of a "rule of law" does today's Chinese legal system hope to achieve against its ages-old Legalist-Confucianist background; and (2) is there any modern correlative to the Imperial Confucianism that gave dynastic China its "legal soul," or is today's China "soul-less," as some would claim? In addressing these questions, Head insists on looking beyond easy assumptions and assertions found in much Western legal literature about China and its law; instead, he relies heavily on leading contemporary legal scholars at Chinese universities and their views on politics, constitutionalism, and rule of law in China. "Readers will be impressed by the wide variety of sources cited in China's Legal Soul's footnotes and by the book's detailed tables. ...[I]t is appropriate for nonlawyers with an interest in legal philosophy or Chinese history and is recommended for university and law school libraries." -- Law Library Journal

China's Legal Soul

China's Legal Soul PDF Author: John Warren Head
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 268

Get Book

Book Description
This new look at Chinese law and society reflects the "triple anniversary" that 2009 will mark for Chinese law reform. In 1979, the People's Republic of China embarked on a dramatic new phase of legal transformation; thirty years before that, in 1949, Mao announced the creation of the PRC itself, another moment of legal reorientation; and thirty years before that, in 1919, the May Fourth Movement also had legal reform at its core, as thousands of protesters in Beijing erupted at the refusal Western powers to acknowledge that China's legal system was no longer inadequate and uncivilized. This claim--that China's legal system is inadequate and uncivilized in--remains in play today, particularly in respect of how China approaches the rule of law and human rights. Professor Head's new book (following his earlier work, Law Codes in Dynastic China) examines these issues by focusing on modern China's "legal soul"--by which he means the set of fundamental and animating legal principles or values that give a society its unique spirit and character. His lively and insightful comparison of contemporary Chinese law with dynastic Chinese law--readily accessible by (and written for) non-specialists--addresses these central questions: (1) what sort of a "rule of law" does today's Chinese legal system hope to achieve against its ages-old Legalist-Confucianist background; and (2) is there any modern correlative to the Imperial Confucianism that gave dynastic China its "legal soul," or is today's China "soul-less," as some would claim? In addressing these questions, Head insists on looking beyond easy assumptions and assertions found in much Western legal literature about China and its law; instead, he relies heavily on leading contemporary legal scholars at Chinese universities and their views on politics, constitutionalism, and rule of law in China. "Readers will be impressed by the wide variety of sources cited in China's Legal Soul's footnotes and by the book's detailed tables. ...[I]t is appropriate for nonlawyers with an interest in legal philosophy or Chinese history and is recommended for university and law school libraries." -- Law Library Journal

Out of Mao's Shadow

Out of Mao's Shadow PDF Author: Philip P. Pan
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1416537058
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 371

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Book Description
An inside analysis of modern cultural and political upheavals in China by a fluent Beijing correspondent describes the power struggles currently taking place between the party elite and supporters of democracy, the outcome of which the author predicts will significantly affect China's rise to a world super-power. 125,000 first printing.

China Wakes

China Wakes PDF Author: Nicholas D. Kristof
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307764230
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 529

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Book Description
The definitive book on China's uneasy transformation into an economic and political superpower, and an insightful and thought-provoking analysis of daily life in China from the Pulitzer Prize–winning journalists and bestselling authors of Half a Sky. "Nick Kristof's and Sheryl WuDunn's work as correspondents in China was beyond compare, and now they have written a book every bit as astonishing. China Wakes is filled with anecdote, detail, and analysis of the highest order.... This book demands reading, and yet it is a pleasure as well as an education." —David Remnick, Editor of The New Yorker Featuring 16 pages of photos

The Souls of China

The Souls of China PDF Author: Ian Johnson
Publisher: Pantheon
ISBN: 1101870052
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 480

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Book Description
From the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist: a revelatory portrait of religion in China today, its history, the spiritual traditions of its Eastern and Western faiths, and the ways in which it is influencing China's future. Following a century of violent antireligious campaigns, China is now awash with new temples, churches, and mosques as well as cults, sects, and politicians trying to harness religion for their own ends. Driving this explosion of faith is uncertainty over what it means to be Chinese, and how to live an ethical life in a country that discarded traditional morality a century ago and is still searching for new guideposts. Ian Johnson lived for extended periods with underground church members, rural Daoists, and Buddhist pilgrims. He has distilled these experiences into a cycle of festivals, births, deaths, detentions, and struggle a great awakening of faith that is shaping the soul of the world s newest superpower. (With black-and-white illustrations throughout).

China’s Struggle for the Rule of Law

China’s Struggle for the Rule of Law PDF Author: Ronald C. Keith
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1349131105
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 300

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Book Description
The 'rule of law' is more than the mere existence and application of law within the sphere of state activity. Contemporary Chinese debate on the 'rule of law' underlines the limiting of arbitrary government, the materialisation of 'human rights', legal protection of 'rights and interests' and the principle of equality in the impartial legal mediation of conflicts within society's 'structure of interests'. Based upon China interviews and a comprehensive survey of the domestic press and Chinese-language legal journal materials, this book places pre- and post-Tiananmen Square legal reform in political context. The evolving contents of specific laws across the departments of constitutional, administrative, criminal, civil and economic law are assessed in light of the politics and intellectual dynamic of China's legal circles in their struggle to create a 'rule of law'.

Soul Mountain

Soul Mountain PDF Author: Xingjian Gao
Publisher: HarperCollins Australia
ISBN: 0730491196
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 31

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Book Description
the worldwide bestselling novel by the winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize for Literature.Soul Mountain is a picaresque novel of immense wisdom and sparse beauty, bursting with knowledge and experience and portraying a culture as vast and fascinating as the history of humankind itself.In China in the early eighties, the book's central character embarks on a cross-country journey in search of the mysterious 'Mountain'. Along the way he collects stories, lovers, spiritual wisdom and undergoes myriad experiences that are sometimes violent, sometimes frightening, sometimes funny, but always enriching. He researches the origins of humankind and Chinese culture, and explores philosophical issues such as truth, knowledge and how oneᱠchildhood affects later life. At the end of the book, he realises that all along what was important was not finding the elusive Soul Mountain, but rather the journey itself. Part love story, part fable, part philosophical treatise and part travel journal, this is one of the most challenging, rewarding and inventive works of fiction since Ulysses.

The Barefoot Lawyer

The Barefoot Lawyer PDF Author: Chen Guangcheng
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
ISBN: 0805098062
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 401

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Book Description
An electrifying memoir by the blind Chinese activist who inspired millions with the story of his fight for justice and his belief in the cause of freedom It was like a scene out of a thriller: one morning in April 2012, China's most famous political activist—a blind, self-taught lawyer—climbed over the wall of his heavily guarded home and escaped. Days later, he turned up at the American embassy in Beijing, and only a furious round of high-level negotiations made it possible for him to leave China and begin a new life in the United States. Chen Guangcheng is a unique figure on the world stage, but his story is even more remarkable than anyone knew. The son of a poor farmer in rural China, blinded by illness when he was an infant, Chen was fortunate to survive a difficult childhood. But despite his disability, he was determined to educate himself and fight for the rights of his country's poor, especially a legion of women who had endured forced sterilizations and abortions under the hated "one child" policy. Repeatedly harassed, beaten, and imprisoned by Chinese authorities, Chen was ultimately placed under house arrest. After nearly two years of increasing danger, he evaded his captors and fled to freedom. Both a riveting memoir and a revealing portrait of modern China, The Barefoot Lawyer tells the story of a man who has never accepted limits and always believed in the power of the human spirit to overcome any obstacle.

Law Codes in Dynastic China

Law Codes in Dynastic China PDF Author: John Warren Head
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
In telling the story of Law Codes in Dynastic China, John Head and Yanping Wang offer a bird's eye view of Chinese legal history from the earliest dynasties to the last. They survey the majestic sweep of China's legal tradition by allowing the details to emerge from the works of many scholars and then connecting those details in a storyline that revolves around a unifying theme: legal codification. In this way, Law Codes in Dynastic China brings to life such characters as the Duke of Zhou, Confucius, Khubilai Khan, and dozens of other emperors, rebels, scholars, and eunuchs. The book also illuminates the great movements and philosophies of China -- Imperial Confucianism, Legalism, correlative cosmology, Daoism, and others -- all in order to reveal both the spirit and the practicalities of law in dynastic China. This new one-volume text will prove valuable not only for researchers in the areas of Chinese law, legal history, and Chinese history, but also for students in a variety of undergraduate and graduate programs and for legal practitioners whose work calls for them to have a historically-based understanding of China's legal culture. For all readers, the book provides comprehensive citation to authorities and sources for further study -- with special emphasis on recent findings and translations. Moreover, for the general lay reader, the book offers a fascinating look at the intersection of three paths of literature and learning: law, history, and China. In doing so, it facilitates a broader appreciation of contemporary China as well. "I have never enjoyed reading a book of History so much since Terry Jones' The Crusades. However, it is also a serious book. Despite the breaktaking speed with which the authors drag the reader through the highs and lows of Dynastic China, the authors are careful in their presentation and are faithful to the sources... a useful sourcebook for researchers as well as an entertaining read." -- Law & Politics Book Review

The Chinese Legal System

The Chinese Legal System PDF Author: Pitman B. Potter
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : China
Languages : en
Pages : 261

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Book Description


Origins of Chinese Law

Origins of Chinese Law PDF Author: Yongping Liu
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
"Origins of Chinese Law develops and supports an original, yet controversial, picture of early Chinese law. Casting doubt on the accepted premise that there was a unified system of law and punishment throughout the ancient Chinese empire based on the wuxing, or five punishments, the author suggests a more complicated and diverse picture: that from their earliest origins the Chinese people were subject to different laws and punishments based on their clan or social status." "Using a wealth of literary evidence from the Confucian classics and historical writings, and making use of recent archaeological excavations of oracle bones, bronze inscriptions, and bamboo strips, the author elucidates the central concepts that formed the basis of early Chinese law such as Li, covenant, punishment, and the theories and practice of law of the Qin and Han dynasties."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved