Chinese law in imperial eyes : sovereignty, justice, and transcultural politics /

Using an array of sources, this book surveys the production, distribution, and institutionalization of the discourse on Chinese law and society in the 18th and 19th centuries. Chen (Univ. of Toronto, International Society for Chinese Law and History) examines the formation and transformation of Western knowledge and the perception of Chinese law and society over time. He argues that Western discourse on China and Chinese law was central to many of the disputes that structured the trajectory of modern Sino-Western relations. That discourse was also a key site at which the cultural and national boundaries were constructed or negotiated. Chen studies Western representations of Chinese law and society as both produced by and productive of the historical processes and forces that shaped Sino-Western encounters of the 18th and 19th centuries. The book helps restore the centrality of law in the history of modern Sino-Western relations. It enriches discourses on legal, intellectual, and political dimensions of modern Sino-Western relations. The book is thoroughly researched--more than one-third of pages are devoted to notes and bibliography. Recommended to those who are interested in China's legal history and Sino-Western relations. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. --Zhiqun Zhu, Bucknell University