Chinese Legal Culture and Constitutional Order

This book examines China’s strive for a constitutional order in the twentieth century from comparative, historical, and theoretical perspectives.

Through a comprehensive study of six major constitutional reforms experienced by China in the last century, Shiping Hua explores pragmatism, instrumentalism, statism and favoritism as the key features of the Chinese legal culture. Demonstrating that these characteristics have roots in China’s ancient past and coincide with modern communist legal theory, it argues that Chinese legal culture has greatly compromised the country’s move to modernize its legal system. By analysing key constitutional periods in China's history, this book also evaluates patterns that can be used to better comprehend not only China’s present legal reform but its future legal developments too.

As the first book to examine how the Chinese legal culture has affected constitutional reform in the 20^th century, Chinese Legal Culture and Constitutional Order will be useful to students and scholars of Asian and constitutional law, as well as Chinese Studies more generally.

Shiping Hua is Calvin and Helen Lang Distinguished Chair in Asian Studies, Director of Asian Studies Program, and Professor of Political Science at the University of Louisville, USA.