Circulating the Code

Print Media and Legal Knowledge in Qing China

af Ting Zhang

Contrary to longtime assumptions about the insular nature of imperial Chinäs legal system, Circulating the Code demonstrates that in the Qing dynasty (1644¿1911) most legal books were commercially published and available to anyone who could afford to buy them. Publishers not only extended circulation of the dynastic code and other legal texts but also enhanced the judicial authority of case precedents and unofficial legal commentaries by making them more broadly available in convenient formats. ... (Læs mere)