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Background
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The Law Collection and Services Section of the Run Run Shaw Library (which is currently managed under the Instruction and Reference Services) started to establish exchange programmes with several law libraries in China as early as 1993. Through these exchange activities, the Library felt that there was a need to build up a special collection focusing on Chinese legal history. Since then several Chinese legal scholars and experts from Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and overseas have also given us valuable suggestions. From mid-1997, the Library started to actively acquire materials. It also received a generous donation of more than 600 volumes on Ancient Chinese law from the China University of Political Science and Law. Subsequently donations from other law libraries in China were also received. By 1998 the Collection had reached a certain size and in May 1998, it was opened to the user. To better serve the users, the Collection began offering borrowing services in 2024.
The Collection incorporates materials on Chinese legal system, Chinese legal philosophy and Chinese legal culture, covering the period from Ancient China to 1949. It aims to promote and support academic study and research activities in Chinese traditional legal culture.
1. Documents Catagories
i. History Texts/Historical Records:
In Ancient China, the boundaries of the subjects such as Humanities and the Social Sciences were not clearly defined. Legal documents were often included in various historical works. The Collection therefore includes the major historical works such as hui yao(records of a dynasty), hui dian(records of laws and systems of a dynasty), zi shu (books of philosophers), lei shu (encyclopaedias), wen ji (collections) and the like.
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hui yao, hui dian |
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ii. Scholarly Works:
This includes scholarly publications by Chinese authors from Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and overseas. There are also foreign publications in English, Japanese, French and other languages.
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The Provisional criminal code of the Republic of China The Regulations relating to civil procedure of the Republic of China |
II. Period Covered
The Collection covers the period from Ancient China to 1949 with emphasis on the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) and the Republic (1912-1949). Primary sources and major works of this period include the Qing Hui Dian (Qing Records of Laws), judgments of famous officials, legislation, departmental regulations, judicial interpretations, local laws and regulations, collection of cases and other relevant scholarly works. The Library also collects di fang zhi (local chronicles) of various localities, search on the online platform CityU LibraryFind.
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Some rare books were acquired in reprint, photocopy or electronic edition due to the difficulty in obtaining the original versions.
The Chinese Legal History Special Collection is housed in the Purple Zone of the Library.
The Collection is open to all staff and students of CityU as well as holders of other valid identifications recognized by the Library. Scholars from both local and overseas institutions are also welcome. Users can browse the list of documents, search on CityU LibraryFind, or refer to the 中國法律史特藏目錄.
Telephone: 3442-8316 or E-mail: lbasprs@cityu.edu.hk.
