《神州交流》Chinese Cross Currents

Foreword: Culture, Law and Order
—Chinese and Western randitions

Vol. 2, No. 1, January-March 2005

In European countries, legal traditions have carried through history the various influences tightly knitted with the evolution of the nations and their cultures. Hence the differences in present day Europe between two prevalent legal systems, the "Common Law" of British origin and the "Civil Code" tradition initiated in France, the bi-centenary of the promulgation of which was celebrated last year.

It is no wonder that, in China, legal traditions are equally rich in their evolution, but with a difference. The history of Chinese law is illustrated by three main codes: the Tang, the Ming and the Qing law codes. Yet, despite the fact that, for centuries, the country had been broken up into separate kingdoms, or governed by non-Han rulers, in its basic elements the legal system of the Chinese Empire remained stable through different dynasties.

However, these three famous law codes dealt with criminal law only. Apparently, there was no civil law. The domestic order of the family clan, though, was protected to some considerable degree by the legal order, and infringements of family or private property were severely punished.

The stability of the legal system ensured the stability of the society and guaranteed that people knew their duties to enjoy their rights. As Professor Léon Vandermeersch explains in his contribution to this issue, it was also the role of the traditional family and "civil" rites to contribute significantly, through "civility", to maintaining such stability. Rigidity, however, and an incapacity for adaptation to the radical changes brought forth by a radically changing world were not absent from social life.

In Europe, the barbarians who broke up the Roman Empire brought a new and less civilised legal outlook, moderated only to some extent by humanitarian Christian principles.

In contemporary China, after the upheavals of the Chinese revolution and at the beginning of Deng's modernisation period, the reintroduction of law has been a driving force and was seen as a means of assuring the success of modernisation. But this has not developed without difficulties. Most recently, China's entry into the World Trade Organisation implies that China in many ways had more interaction with the international community. It seems, therefore, that the Chinese legal system has been moving towards more compliance with international standards.

In a number of places—including Hong Kong and Macao—celebrations were held to commemorate the bi-centenary of the Civil Code" tradition, and, in view of the recent debates in China related to the felt need for a better legal order, in November 2004 the Macau Ricci Institute held an International Symposium on the topic which gives its title to this issue.

The main questions addressed during the symposium were related to a central theme: Value System, Law and Order in Contemporary China . A comparative dimension was kept for further research: what is the relationship between culture and law in Western history and in the development of Chinese history? Is the "rule of law" a concept of Western origin? What is at stake for such a legal concept to be implemented in Chinese society with its proper cultural heritage? In a time of ever more thorough globalisation, can different legal traditions merge and, perhaps in different ways, further the "rule of law"?

For the readers of Chinese Cross Currents , this issue contains a short selection of contributions given during the symposium, the proceedings of which, in the near future, will be published in the Macau Ricci Institute's Studies series. Short as it is, this selection respects the dynamics of the symposium. Professor Léon Vandermeersch draws an insightful and contrasted comparison between "ritual" and "law" in China and in the West that observes a similar crisis in "civility" in both worlds. Glenn Timmermans, by studying the first Western translation by Thomas Staunton, the secretary of Lord MacCartney, of the Qing legal code, investigates the impact in the West of this "legal encounter. Zhang Haiting, thanks to his expertise both in Chinese cultural history and in present day China, offers his nuanced position on the "rule of law" in China. Finally, Chen Jianfu, relying on his very broad knowledge of legal matters, both in China and in the West, develops appropriately, in the context of China entering the World Trade Organisation, some perspectives on the possibility of a "Chinese civil code."

Chinese Cross Currents , by presenting this issue to its readers, is glad to include them in the debate and the exchange of various opinions formulated by the authors of these contributions.

Yves Camus, Director