The Representation of Chinese Lawyerand Lawyering in Hong Kong
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The Representation of Lawyers and Lawyering in Hong Kong Television Dramas Author Hsu, JIng-Yueh Published 2017 Thesis Type Thesis (PhD Doctorate) School Griffith Law School DOI https://doi.org/10.25904/1912/1167 Copyright Statement The author owns the copyright in this thesis, unless stated otherwise. Downloaded from http://hdl.handle.net/10072/366263 Griffith Research Online https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au The representation of lawyers and lawyering in Hong Kong television dramas Jing-Yueh Hsu Bachelor of Laws (Griffith University) Bachelor of Arts (Griffith University) Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice (Griffith University) Master of Laws (Griffith University) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2016 ii For Zu Ye Ye, my grandparents and my parents. iii Declaration of originality This work has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself. This thesis has been formatted in Griffith Law Review style. ________________________________________ Jing-Yueh Hsu 8 December 2016 iv Abstract This thesis is about representations of lawyers and lawyering in Hong Kong television dramas. It argues that the Hong Kong television industry produces dramas that frame the screening of lawyers and lawyering. This involves the negotiation by the lawyer of Western legality and traditional Chinese values. Further, the framing of Western law through the negotiation of traditional Chinese values has been remarkably consistent. It is evident regardless of date of the production, screen era of the drama or the gender and type of practice of the lawyer protagonist. In short, Hong Kong television has produced a ‘stage’ where East meets West, where legal professionals meet popular culture and where modernity meets tradition. Studies on law and popular culture have predominately been undertaken by Western-based scholars examining Western texts. This is partly because popular legal culture is just the beginning to emerge to the East. This thesis endeavours to further the studies of law and popular culture in the Asian world. The main findings are that Hong Kong television dramas connect and project the ways in which Chinese traditional values relate to lawyers, lawyering and the law. The study demonstrates that popular culture can help us to identify the ways in which traditional Chinese values have deeply impacted the legal profession in Hong Kong’s fictional world. An extensive examination of lawyers and lawyering in historical and contemporary dramas makes it apparent that, regardless of stage era, there is a clear integration of traditional Chinese values with law and lawyering. Hong Kong modern legal dramas confirm that Chinese traditions can often play the role of a ‘supporting character’, as the hidden jewel driving the behaviour of fictional Hong Kong lawyers who appear to be otherwise modernised and fundamentally Western. v Regardless of trial procedure and process, the consistent theme of the underlying importance of traditional Chinese values is evident in the three ‘courts’ examined in this thesis: the ‘Karma Court’, the ‘Home Court’ and the ‘Outlaw’s Court’. At each of these sites of justice, the impact of traditional Chinese values is shown, demonstrating how a ‘trial process’ diverted from the traditional form is set and carried out with fundamental values that are still traditionally Chinese. Furthermore, it is apparent that the bedrock premise is not that traditional Chinese values are setting some sort of strictures on one’s way of life; rather, it proposes behaviours that could cultivate a style of living and at the same time emphasises the importance of continuity. In a way, Hong Kong legal drama is not all about convincing the audience what the ‘right way’ is; instead, it conveys a message about the wisdom from traditional Chinese values that is portrayed through the fictional characters. Through an in-depth examination of a series of roles as lawyer and judge in different dramas portrayed by Jessica Hester Hsuan, the study found that her characters consistently reassert and display the fundamental theme. Hsuan’s depiction has set a televisual image of what it is to be ‘just’ as a fictional judge and lawyer. Her characters illustrate how Westernised education and lawyering in Hong Kong in fact contain a great deal of traditional Chinese substance, projecting to the audience a well-established and carefully packaged feminine ‘face of justice’, and an interesting phenomenon unique to Hong Kong. Hong Kong legal dramas make it obvious that even though they are based in Western law courts, Hong Kong legal professionals are influenced by traditional Chinese values, reproducing a new style of an assimilated tradition that is just as ‘Eastern’ as it is ‘Western’. vi Contents Declaration of originality ................................................................................................................... iv Abstract.. ............................................................................................................................................ v Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1 Research questions.................................................................................................................... 8 Literature review ..................................................................................................................... 13 Methodology and analytical framework ................................................................................. 21 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 29 Chapter 2 The historical versus modern lawyer ................................................................................ 30 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 30 Impact of cultural legal studies ............................................................................................... 31 Confucian, Taoist and Buddhist teachings .............................................................................. 33 Cultural values ......................................................................................................................... 34 Historical lawyers .................................................................................................................... 36 Confucianism .............................................................................................................. 36 Taoism…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 45 Buddhism .................................................................................................................... 48 Cultural influence ....................................................................................................... 51 Conclusion: Historical lawyers .................................................................................... 57 Modern lawyers....................................................................................................................... 58 Confucianism .............................................................................................................. 58 Taoism……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………68 Buddhism .................................................................................................................... 73 Cultural influence ....................................................................................................... 75 Societal influence ....................................................................................................... 91 Conclusion: Modern lawyers .................................................................................... 102 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 103 Chapter 3 The ‘other courts’ ........................................................................................................... 105 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 105 The Brink of Law: The ‘Karma Court’ ..................................................................................... 108 Heart of Greed: The ‘Home Court’ ........................................................................................ 121 vii Gun Metal Grey: The ‘Outlaw’s Court’ .................................................................................. 129 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 139 Chapter 4 Face of justice ................................................................................................................. 142 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 142 Western modernity ..............................................................................................................