| Circulating the Code: Print Media and Legal Knowledge in Qing China Subjects: Da Qing lü -- Publication and distribution; Legal literature -- Publishing -- China -- History; Law -- Study and teaching -- China -- History; China -- History -- Qing dynasty 1644–1912; Contrary to longtime assumptions about the insular nature of imperial China's legal system, Circulating the Code demonstrates that in the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) most legal books were commercially published and available to anyone who could afford to buy them. Publishers not only extended circulation of the dynastic code and other legal texts but also enhanced the judicial authority of case precedents and unofficial legal commentaries by making them more broadly available in convenient formats. As a result, the laws no longer represented privileged knowledge monopolized by the imperial state and elites. Trade in commercial legal imprints contributed to the formation of a new legal culture that included the free flow of accurate information, the rise of nonofficial legal experts, a large law-savvy population, and a high litigation rate. Ting Zhang is assistant professor of history at the University of Maryland. |