Law in Pre-Modern China

Catalog description

This course, intended for graduate students and advanced undergraduates, offers a survey of the sources and research problems of pre-modern Chinese law. For reasons to be examined in the course, traditional Sinological education has neglected law as a legitimate field of inquiry; consequently, the secondary literature is surprisingly meager. Our readings will take us from the Warring States Period to the Qing dynasty--an interval of over two millennia--and will cover several varieties of legal documents, including statutes, handbooks, court records, and theoretical treatises. All the readings will be in English, and no knowledge of Chinese is presumed. Graduate students should see the instructor to discuss requirement for graduate credit.