Chapter Roman Law in Late Qing and Early Republican Chinese Sources: A Founding Element of the Mediterranean and Western Civilisation

Abstract

One aspect still scarcely investigated in the literature on the reception of Roman law in China is the image of the Romanist legal tradition emerging from Chinese sources during the late Qing and early Republican Era. This was a fundamental phase in China’s decision to draw inspiration from the continental system for legal reform. A significant element, still under-examined, is the perception of the role exerted by Roman law well beyond the Italic territory, primarily within the vast cultural area of the Mediterranean. This chapter, therefore, aims to highlight how Roman law is presented in Chinese sources of the aforementioned period not only as an element connected with Rome and the Italic peninsula, but as a transnational element that transcends Italic borders, influencing the entire Western and Mediterranean culture.