ABSTRACT
At this juncture, it may be interesting to pause for a moment to reflect upon the essentially non-litigious character of Chinese society. This is particularly relevant in view of the fact that in Chapter 2, we explored the idea of the secondary role the Law plays for the traditional Chinese in general. In Western jurisprudence, Law is regarded with supremacy and respect. Similarly, legal institutions and the machinery employed in the implementation of laws and rules are almost regarded as sacrosanct. On the other hand, the Chinese position contrasts sharply with such an observation. Something else then must fill this void and produce a desirable and orderly society for the Chinese in a similar fashion. My proposition is that customary norms and social precepts quite happily satisfy such a social requirement for order and stability, and, in the case of the Chinese, the paramountcy of harmony. I have, in fact, come to regard these Chinese customary norms and social precepts as attaining a status the equivalent of Western juridical aspirations. They are not only practically relevant, but enjoy an informal 'legal' relationship with its participants in the sense that they compel social obedience the way that promulgated laws and regulations in the West are seen to be doing.
