Project presentation

Legalizing space in China: the shaping of the imperial territory through a layered legal system.

This project is endowed with a fund by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche of France, related to the program "Space and Territory", and it will run from January 2011 to December 2014.

The project basically consists of  a translation of the Ming and Qing lüli, that is mainly the tiaoli that were codified from the 15th to the late 19th century.

-       This translation is intended to be “juridical” (or “conceptual”), thanks to the compilation of a glossary of basic legal terms, with English and French equivalents, which should become a full-fledge dictionary of Chinese law.
-       It is intended to be “contextual”, thanks to the connection of the codified laws to a selection of materials providing the reader with insights on how the codified laws were applied on the spot.
-       The “spatial” dimension of law naturally ensue from the attention to its context: taking into account the relation of Ming-Qing code with laws and regulations for, say, the Mongolian or Tibetan peoples, or the articulation between State central law with provincial and local rules, should result into a mapping of the various legal rules in force on the Chinese imperial territory.
The project website will provide for:

  • a data-basis of all the materials needed to develop the project, with related documentation (bibliography, articles in PDF).
  • a layout of the Chinese legislation, showing the place and roles of the texts (lüli 律例, huidian 會典, shengli 省例…) with electronic links between them.
  • Maps representing the administrative boundaries of the Ming and Qing empire, and the normative regions evidenced by research
  • works in progress: translations, glossary, research articles, diary of the research teams, etc.

Ours is a research project: the translation is a leading thread in the survey of all issues related to the making and enforcement of law in the late imperial China, which will be the matter for separated publications....


Last update on Wednesday 19 January 2011 (02:37) by  G. Foliot