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How was the vast ancient Chinese empire brought together and effectively ruled? What are the historical origins of the resilience of contemporary China's political system? In The Constitution of Ancient China, Su Li, China's most influential legal theorist, examines the ways in which a series of fundamental institutions, rather than a supreme legal code upholding the laws of the land, evolved and coalesced into an effective constitution. Arguing that a constitution is an institutional response to a set of issues particular to a specific society, Su Li demonstrates how China unified a vast territory, diverse cultures, and elites from different backgrounds into a whole. He delves into such areas as uniform weights and measurements, the standardization of Chinese characters, and the building of the Great Wall. The book includes commentaries by four leading Chinese scholars in law, philosophy, and intellectual history--Wang Hui, Liu Han, Wu Fei, and Zhao Xiaoli-who share Su Li's ambition to explain the resilience of ancient China's political system but who contend that he overstates functionalist dimensions while downplaying the symbolic. Exploring why China has endured as one political entity for over two thousand years, The Constitution of Ancient China will be essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the institutional legacy of the Chinese empire.

Culture and law --- Constitutional history --- Law and culture --- Law --- China --- Cina --- Kinë --- Cathay --- Chinese National Government --- Chung-kuo kuo min cheng fu --- Republic of China (1912-1949) --- Kuo min cheng fu (China : 1912-1949) --- Chung-hua min kuo (1912-1949) --- Kina (China) --- National Government (1912-1949) --- China (Republic : 1912-1949) --- People's Republic of China --- Chinese People's Republic --- Chung-hua jen min kung ho kuo --- Central People's Government of Communist China --- Chung yang jen min cheng fu --- Chung-hua chung yang jen min kung ho kuo --- Central Government of the People's Republic of China --- Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo --- Zhong hua ren min gong he guo --- Kitaĭskai︠a︡ Narodnai︠a︡ Respublika --- Činská lidová republika --- RRT --- Republik Rakjat Tiongkok --- KNR --- Kytaĭsʹka Narodna Respublika --- Jumhūriyat al-Ṣīn al-Shaʻbīyah --- RRC --- Kitaĭ --- Kínai Népköztársaság --- Chūka Jinmin Kyōwakoku --- Erets Sin --- Sin --- Sāthāranarat Prachāchon Čhīn --- P.R. China --- PR China --- Chung-kuo --- Zhongguo --- Zhonghuaminguo (1912-1949) --- Zhong guo --- Chine --- République Populaire de Chine --- República Popular China --- Catay --- VR China --- VRChina --- 中國 --- 中国 --- 中华人民共和国 --- Jhongguó --- Bu̇gu̇de Nayiramdaxu Dundadu Arad Ulus --- Bu̇gu̇de Nayiramdaqu Dumdadu Arad Ulus --- Bu̇gd Naĭramdakh Dundad Ard Uls --- Khi︠a︡tad --- Kitad --- Dumdadu Ulus --- Dumdad Uls --- Думдад Улс --- Kitajska --- China (Republic : 1949- ) --- History. --- Politics and government --- S04/0500 --- S04/0600 --- S08/0400 --- China: History--Ancient (Pre-Han and Han, incl. Sima Qian) --- China: History--Dynasties: 220 - 1840 --- China: Law and legislation--Constitution(al law): general and before 1949 --- PRC --- P.R.C. --- BNKhAU --- БНХАУ --- Politics and government. --- Chinese characters. --- Chinese empire. --- Common Program of 1949. --- Confucianism. --- Germany. --- Great Learning. --- Great Wall. --- Mandarin Chinese. --- Qin dynasty. --- Su Li. --- Third Reich. --- Weimar Constitution. --- administrative divisions. --- ancient China. --- beliefs. --- bureaucracy. --- civilization. --- commandery system. --- constitution. --- constitutional continuity. --- constitutional discontinuity. --- constitutional law. --- constitutionalism. --- cosmology. --- cultural community. --- cultural constitution. --- effective constitution. --- emperor. --- examination system. --- feudal clan law. --- feudal system. --- geoclimatic conditions. --- geopolitics. --- institutions. --- knowledge. --- large state. --- legitimacy continuity. --- legitimation. --- meritocracy. --- political life. --- political order. --- political rationalization. --- politico-cultural elites. --- politics. --- reading. --- recommendation system. --- revolution. --- rites. --- scholar-officials. --- selection system. --- social consensus. --- structural functionalism. --- territory. --- traditions. --- unified script. --- unified speech. --- uniform weights.