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LL4375 / LL5375 / LL6375 Traditional Chinese Legal Thought This Course

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LL4375 / LL5375 / LL6375 Traditional Chinese Legal Thought This Course LL4375 / LL5375 / LL6375 Traditional Chinese Legal Thought This course is an introduction to the major themes and issues in traditional Chinese legal thought. A basic premise and argument of this course is that Chinese legal thought should not, and indeed cannot, be studied in a vacuum. As such, we will also make reference to Chinese political and moral philosophy, as well as historical context. We will focus our attention on the close reading and analysis of selected works by various philosophers and various philosophical schools, including Confucius and later Confucian thinkers (including, but not limited to, Mencius, Xunzi, and Dong Zhongshu), the Legalists, and the Daoists. Attention will also be placed on understanding these thinkers and philosophical schools in historical context and gaining an understanding of how law was applied in premodern Chinese society. No prior knowledge of Chinese history or Chinese philosophy is assumed or required. All required readings are in English. At the end of the course participants should be able to: 1. Demonstrate awareness and understanding of the important norms, themes, principles, and concerns of traditional Chinese legal thought. 2. Describe and explain the key ideas of Confucian (including pre-Qin Confucianism, Han dynasty Confucianism, Tang dynasty Confucianism, and Neo-Confucianism), Daoist, and Legalist legal and political thought. 3. Develop an awareness and understanding of how traditional Chinese legal thought is enmeshed in traditional Chinese moral and political thought. 4. Develop an awareness and understanding of how ideas and norms in traditional Chinese legal thought were applied (or not applied) in premodern Chinese jurisprudence. 5. Develop an awareness and understanding of how traditional Chinese legal thought compares and contrasts to Western legal thought. 6. Develop an awareness and understanding of how traditional Chinese legal thought continues to influence and impact modern Chinese jurisprudence today. There are nine (9) seminars. The below is a guide to the topics covered in each seminar, although depending on classroom progress and discussion, we may begin coverage of some topics in an earlier seminar and/or begin coverage of some topics in a later seminar. SEMINAR ONE: MAJOR MACRO-LEVEL THEMES AND ISSUES OF CHINESE PHILOSOPHY GENERALLY; BASIC CONCEPTS OF TRADITIONAL CHINESE LAW; EARLY CHINESE LEGAL THOUGHT (PRE-CONFUCIUS) SEMINAR TWO: THE LEGAL THOUGHT OF CONFUCIUS, AS SEEN THROUGH CONFUCIUS’S THE ANALECTS SEMINAR THREE: THE MORAL, POLITICAL, AND LEGAL THOUGHT OF MENCIUS AND XUNZI SEMINAR FOUR: THE LEGAL THOUGHT OF DAOISM (LAOZI’S DAODEJING AND THE ZHUANGZI) SEMINAR FIVE: THE LEGAL THOUGHT OF THE LEGALISTS (SHANG YANG AND THE BOOK OF LORD SHANG) SEMINAR SIX: THE LEGAL THOUGHT OF THE LEGALISTS (HAN FEI AND THE HAN FEIZI) SEMINAR SEVEN: CONFUCIAN LEGAL THOUGHT IN THE HAN DYNASTY: THE LEGAL THOUGHT OF DONG ZHONGSHU AND THE “CONFUCIANIZATION OF LAW”; HAN DYNASTY JURISPRUDENCE SEMINAR EIGHT: “CONFUCIANIZATION OF LAW” ACHIEVED – THE TANG CODE AND TANG DYNASTY LEGAL THOUGHT; NEO-CONFUCIAN LEGAL THOUGHT AS SEEN THROUGH ZHU XI AND WANG YANGMING SEMINAR NINE: CONFUCIAN LEGAL THOUGHT IN THE EARLY MING DYNASTY: ZHU YUANZHANG’S LEGISLATIVE ACTS; CONFUCIAN LEGAL THOUGHT IN THE MING-QING DYNASTY TRANSITION: HUANG ZONGXI’S VIEWS ON LAW; TRADITIONAL CHINESE LEGAL THOUGHT AND ITS INFLUENCE (OR LACK THEREOF?) ON MODERN CHINESE LEGAL THOUGHT …. .
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