1995 Articles

The "Constitutional Tradition" in China

De Bary, Wm. Theodore

In this brief essay, I will discuss the constitutional elements within China's historically important intellectual traditions. First, I briefly examine the attitudes toward law held by both the Confucians and, alternatively, the so-called "Legalists." Next, an analysis of Tang and Ming dynastic codes is offered as exemplifying the basic law of the imperial dynasties. This is followed by some of the more important critiques of dynastic law offered by prominent Neo-Confucians in the twelfth and seventeenth centuries. Finally, I offer some speculations as to the possible relevance of these earlier views to the prospects for constitutionalism in contemporary China.