Philip C. C. Huang is professor of history emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles.

In this book Huang demonstrates the extent to which key aspects of late imperial civil law—the deliberate gulf between representation and practice and the emphasis on community mediation—have survived the hegemonic weight of 'modern' Western formal law under the Chinese Republic, and again in the current reform era. This is a magnificent example of the uses of history to understand the puzzles of contemporary reality.

• Preface: Why Do We Need a Different Approach to the Study of Chinese Law?Introduction: The History-of-Practice Approach to Studying Chinese LawChapter 1: Community Mediation, Past and PresentChapter 2: Centralized Minimalism: Semiformal Governance by Quasi-Officials and Dispute ResolutionChapter 3: Divorce Law Practices: The Origins, Myths, and Realities of Judicial "Mediation"Chapter 4: "Reform" in Evidence Procedure: Reasonable and Unreasonable Practices of Divorce LawChapter 5: Civil Adjudication, Past and PresentChapter 6: Court Mediation, Past and PresentChapter 7: Whither Chinese Law?Conclusion: Past and Present

Philip C. C. Huang is professor of history emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles.

In this book Huang demonstrates the extent to which key aspects of late imperial civil law—the deliberate gulf between representation and practice and the emphasis on community mediation—have survived the hegemonic weight of 'modern' Western formal law under the Chinese Republic, and again in the current reform era. This is a magnificent example of the uses of history to understand the puzzles of contemporary reality.

• Preface: Why Do We Need a Different Approach to the Study of Chinese Law?Introduction: The History-of-Practice Approach to Studying Chinese LawChapter 1: Community Mediation, Past and PresentChapter 2: Centralized Minimalism: Semiformal Governance by Quasi-Officials and Dispute ResolutionChapter 3: Divorce Law Practices: The Origins, Myths, and Realities of Judicial "Mediation"Chapter 4: "Reform" in Evidence Procedure: Reasonable and Unreasonable Practices of Divorce LawChapter 5: Civil Adjudication, Past and PresentChapter 6: Court Mediation, Past and PresentChapter 7: Whither Chinese Law?Conclusion: Past and Present