Description
Book SynopsisFocusing on the power dynamics of Sino-Western relations during the century before the First Opium War, Li Chen highlights the centrality of law to modern imperial ideology and politics and brings new insight to the origins of comparative Chinese law in the West and foreign extraterritoriality in China.
Trade ReviewJust when we thought no one could offer any new approach to the subject of the Sino-Western encounter during the early modern period, this book pulls us back in. Li Chen sets a new standard for any future study on this topic. -- Zvi Ben-Dor Benite, New York University Li Chen makes a gift of his expertise in legal history to readers of every level. He not only reinterprets monumental historical episodes in the relations between China and Europe but also builds on this platform a cultural history of European perceptions of punishment, justice, and state prerogative in China. Anybody considering legal history an arcane or marginal element of late Qing history and its international relations will have to reconsider. -- Pamela Kyle Crossley, Dartmouth College Extensively researched and well-written... The aspiration of the author to restore the centrality of legal matters to Sino-Western interactions is clearly achieved. H-Empire
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction 1. Imperial Archives and Historiography of Western Extraterritoriality in China 2. Translation of the Qing Code and Colonial Origins of Comparative Chinese Law 3. Chinese Law in the Formation of European Modernity 4. Sentimental Imperialism and the Global Spectacle of Chinese Punishments 5. Law and Empire in the Making of the First Opium War Conclusion List of Abbreviations Notes Glossary Bibliography Index
