Zhiqiang Wang

This project is devised to answer the question: why the doctrine of due process of law is considerably weak in Chinese tradition, while there were a great number of procedural rules codified and practiced in late imperial China? Firstly, a textual study will aim to understand, sort and systematize procedural rules in the Code. Secondly, the study will be under the guideline of legal realism by comparing law in the books and law in action as reflected in central and local judicial archives. The third and last part will watch law “beyond” law, i.e., to explain juristic features in Chinese tradition from the perspective of political institutions, and to expose how the political structure and centralized authority has shaped criminal and civil procedure in Qing China.