Lecture 2: An Introduction to Chinese State Governance Traditions and Legal Concepts

The goal of this lecture is to make you familiar with some basic concepts with which, as we hope, you will be able to make sense of major characters of Chinese State governance and the role of law therein. In specific, we will first explain the concepts and perspectives with reference to general legal theories and Chinese governance ethics:

·         Law and philosophy: what makes (valid) law? Why does the society need law?

·         Law and culture: how are law and morality theorised in ancient and modern China?

·         Law and legitimacy: what is the role of law in sustaining the legitimacy of State governance?

With these basic concepts explained, we will then look into some of the key moments in the making of the Chinese modern State governance:

·         The fall of imperial governance (the late 19th century to the 1910s): as the imperial State became manifestly impotent to resist the European and Japanese dominations over its sovereignty, how did the State leaders react?

·         The rise and decline of republican governance (the 1900s and 1940s): what are republican governance legacies for the Chinese modern State governance?