Legal Transplantation in Early Twentieth-Century China

'This book provides a readable and clear account of the legal practices in the first three decades of the Republican era, which fills a gap in the legal history of China, and therefore much welcomed. Its archival research provides a new understanding of the period, by drawing attention to its process of assimilation of the traditional and Western legal systems.' —Song-Chuan CHEN, Assistant Professor, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, National Technological University, Singapore

‘Michael Ng's important study of the legal institutions of early twentieth century Beijing makes a major contribution to our knowledge of the legal order of Republican China. At the same time, it illuminates the complex interactions between the late imperial tradition, surviving in unexpected ways, and the transplanted institutions of liberal legal modernity.’ — Teemu Ruskola, Professor of Law, Emory University, U.S.A.

‘Ng’s point that older practices and expectations informed the conception and workings of modern police and legal institutions in early 20th-century China is an important one. In making this argument, Ng is contributing to a significant body of scholarship which has examined various ways in which the Republican judiciary continued to grapple with imperial precedents in civil and criminal law as well as in the organization of judicial institutions.... Ng’s book is notable for surveying a range of ways in which old and new policing and legal practices interacted in one city while demonstrating that these legacies facilitated the modern administration of justice while, at other times, presenting challenges to new institutions and professional groups as they struggled for legitimacy.’ — Frontiers of History in China, Volume 11, Issue 1, 2016