ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how, among the half dozen long-lasting legal developments in the world, the Chinese legal system is the only uninterrupted legal culture. This chapter also analyzes in detail how the key characteristics of the Chinese legal culture, pragmatism, instrumentalism, statism, and favoritism, and the secondary role played by law, originated from the country’s ancient past, especially the Qin period, which planted the seeds for modern Chinese legal development.
