Introduction

This book examines the changing Chinese legal system within the scope of China’s political economy during the second half of the 20th century and the early years of the 21st century. In approximately 60 years, China experienced two dramatic changes: In 1949, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) successfully unified mainland China and founded a new China as a socialist nation. In the next three decades, the new communist government tried to safeguard and build the country at the same time and to follow MarxistLeninist-Maoist instructions both economically and politically. During this period, the function of law and the legal system was reduced to serve the communist government as an instrument. As a result, China suffered significantly from the chaos caused by endless class struggle. This period of time was usually labeled as the “rule of man.”