The great Qing code

"Until recently Chinese law was not much studied either in China or abroad. It is now generally realized that law has been enormously important in Chinese society and that most of what has been said about it is wrong. The recent development of 'new scholarship' on legal history has already begun to influence perceptions of imperial Chinese state and society in the broader sinological community and may well have an impact on scholars of contemporary China. Along with this development of an interest in Chinese law among sinologists has come a realization among students of comparative law of the necessity to consider Chinese law. One of the problems of pursuing this new interest in Chinese law has been the lack of translations of the relevant materials. The Great Qing Code is the first accurate and complete translation of the body of law which lay at the heart of Chinese law during the last dynasty of the Chinese Empire (1644-1911). Covering every aspect of law, from concubinage to criminal damage, the code was virtually a handbook for the administration of the Empire, and as such is one of its most remarkable products. It will be a great aid and stimulus to the study of Chinese law."--BOOK JACKET.