The Communist Judicial System in China, 1927-1976: Building on Fear

Qiang Fang

Published by Amsterdam University Press 2021

The Communist Judicial System in China, 1927-1976

Building on Fear

Qiang Fang

Volume 3 in the series China: From Revolution to Reform

https://doi.org/10.1515/9789048554102

Overview
Contents

About this book

Drawing on hundreds of newly released judicial archives and court cases, this book analyzes the communist judicial system in China from its founding period to the death of Mao Zedong. It argues that the communist judicial system was built when the CCP was engaged in a life-or-death struggle with the GMD, meaning that the overriding aim of the judicial system was, from the outset, to safeguard the Party against both internal and external adversaries. This fundamental insecurity and perennial fear of loss of power obsessed the Party throughout the era of Mao and beyond, prompting it to launch numerous political campaigns, which forced communist judicial cadres to choose between upholding basic legal norms and maintaining Party order. In doing all of this, The Communist Judicial System in China, 1927-1976: Building on Fear fills a major lacuna in our understanding of communist-era China.

Author / Editor information

Fang Qiang :

Dr. Qiang Fang is professor of East Asian History at the University of Minnesota Duluth. He is the current president of Association of Chinese Professors in Social Science (ACPSS). His recent publications include 'Sino-American Relations: A New Cold War', 'The Communist Judicial System in China, 1927-1976', and 'Power Versus Law in Modern China'.

Reviews

With his book The Communist Judicial System in China, 1927-1976, Qiang Fang has won both the 2022 Academic Excellence Award from Chinese Historians in the United States (CHUS) and the 2022 Best Scholarly Publication Award of the Association of Chinese Professors of Social Science (ACPSS).

"There is much to appreciate in this book’s coverage of familiar issues and time periods in the legal history of the Chinese Party-state. Fang’s thematic of "fear" helps explain the repressive conduct of an insecure regime. [...] The book is enriched by its reporting on details of local cases, statistics on judicial appointments and decisions, and its explanations of the political and policy contexts for judicial behavior. Fang’s book is a useful contribution to understanding law and governance in the PRC."
- Pitman B. Potter, University of British Columbia, The China Journal, No. 87 (2022)

"Overall, Fang’s book accomplishes its aim, delivers a sound historical analysis and offers a critical approach to the judicial system and its role within the governance of the PRC, a role that seems likely to continue shaping the future of China and its citizens. The Communist Judicial System in China, 1927–1976 merits the attention of observers wishing to understand not only the legal and judicial aspects of the PRC but also the complexities of the CCP administration through one of its most substantial apparatus."
- Guilherme Vargas Castilhos, Europe-Asia Studies, Vol. 74, Iss. 8 (2022)

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	1
Table of Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	5
Acknowledgement Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	9
Acronyms Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	11
Introduction: Building on Fear Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	13
1. Born in Blood, 1927-1935 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	37
2. Cornerstone or Aberration? 1935-1949 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	75
3. From “Excessive Lenience” to Harshness, 1949-1951 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	109
4. A Deliberate Purge, 1952-1953 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	143
5. A Golden Age? 1953-May 1957 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	179
6. The Great Leap of Law, June 1957-1965 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	215
7. Not the Worst Period of Law, 1966-1976 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	255
Conclusion: From Party’s Fear to People’s Fear Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	293
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	307
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	329

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: Amsterdam University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 336
Keywords: Fear; Communist Judicial System; Mao's China

eBook

Published: April 20, 2021
ISBN: 9789048554102