Saratov, Russian Federation
The article traces the evolution of the legal system in China from ancient times to the present, with a focus on the effect of innovations and borrowings on traditional norms. The author identified the transformation patterns to determine those cultural, political, and external factors that shaped the unique hybrid model of Chinese legal system. The historical and legal method was applied to historical codes, decrees, and legal doctrines. The comparative legal method made it possible to compare and contrast Chinese legal institutions with foreign ones. The systematic approach highlighted the correlation between law, economy, and social processes. Chinese law started as a Confucian-Legalist synthesis, where morality was balanced with strict norms. Later, it was modified by Chinese socialism, which combines authoritarianism with market mechanisms and digital technologies. Innovations entered the system as borrowings but were always adapted to local realities to maintain the cultural continuity. The current legal system of the People’s Republic of China is dual as it binds the formal liberalization of the economic law with strict control over society through national security laws and the social credit system. In China, the legal system managed to develop without abandoning cultural identity because its evolution proceeded under strict political control.
evolution of law, Confucianism, Legalism, Kuomintang Code, digitalization, social credit, innovations in law, reception, endogenous innovation of law, traditions vs. modernization, People’s Republic of China
1. Kuzmin N. A. The cult of ancestors in ancient China: Shang and Zhou periods. Obshhestvo i gosudarstvo v Kitae, 2016, 46(1): 384–389. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/vilqqf
2. Markhel E. Yu. Taoism and Confucianism alternative ways of development of ancient Chinese society. Tomsk State University Journal, 2014, (384): 50–52. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/sioztf
3. Ishkuvatova L. M., Tkachenko A. V. "Li" and "Fa" categories in traditional China legal boundaries. Review of Omsk State Pedagogical University. Humanitarian Research, 2015, (3): 20–23. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/ugwcjp
4. Dashkovsky P. K. Religious aspect of political culture and ministers of religion of central Asia nomads in Khunnu-Zhuzhan period. Izvestiya of Altai State University, 2008, (4-2): 36–45. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/kzyefv
5. Kozlikhin I. Yu. The Chinese legal tradition. Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Law, 2016, (3): 4–13. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.21638/11701/spbu14.2016.301
6. Moiseeva O. G., Avilova O. E. Punishments in Chinese law of the Tang Dynasty. Humanities, Social-Economic and Social Sciences, 2019, (2): 104–106. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/zashsx
7. Nikolaev A. M. Departments of maritime affairs in medieval China. Humanities Research in the Russian Far East, 2012, (3): 71–75. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/pzzjwd
8. Mylnikova Yu. S. The most important legal sources of Chinese traditional law in X–XIII centuries and their characteristics. Gosudarstvo i pravo v XXI veke, 2015, (2): 20–24. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/umuksj
9. Phunthasan P. P. "Supreme royal decrees" in the Chinese tradition: Evolution of the genre and its potential for the study of Buddhist history. Society: Philosophy, History, Culture, 2025, (7): 121–128. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.24158/fik.2025.7.16
10. Svistunova N. P. Chapter 18 "Robbery and Thievery" of the " Great Ming Code". Society and State in China, 2017, 47(2): 108–226. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/yqvpql
11. Polikarpova E. V. The transformation of the Chinese state in modern and contemporary times. Lex Russica, 2016, (2): 147–174. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.17803/1729-5920.2016.111.2.147-174
12. Li Zh. On Some major problems of Xinhai revolution in China. Russia and the Pacific, 2012, (2): 154–161. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/paayxr
13. Troshchinskiy P. V. Codification of Chinese civil law. Journal of Foreign Legislation and Comparative Law, 2021, 17(2): 56–68. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.12737/jflcl.2021.017
14. Trikoz E. N., Shvets A. A. The system of sources of traditional Japanese law. Society and Law, 2020, (1): 132–139. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/mciyhf
15. Morozov Yu. V. Taiwan as a "bone of contention" in relations between China and the USA. China in World and Regional Politics. History and Modernity, 2024, 29(29): 186–202. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.48647/ICCA.2024.47.11.013
16. Bazina O. O. The constitution of the People's Republic of China of 1982: History of creation, adoption and amendments. Social Sciences and Humanities. Domestic and Foreign Literature. Series 4: State and Law, 2025, (1): 57–70. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/uwypua
17. Troshchinskiy P. V. Legal system of the People's Republic of China: Formation, development and peculiarities. Courier of the Kutafin Moscow State Law University, 2015, (5): 99–117. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/vclhux
18. Saukina Yu. O. Law of the PRC on the mutual joint ventures of Chinese and foreign capital. International Cooperation of Eurasian States: Politics, Economics, Law, 2015, (2): 103–106. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/uyvddn
19. Popova E. O. Formation and development of China's patent law. Vestnik nauki i obrazovaniia, 2015, (3): 135–136. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/tsiodr
20. Pakhomova M. A. The specifics of the state-business relations in modern China. Eurasian Integration: Economics, Law, Politics, 2023, 17(3): 168–178. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22394/2073-2929-2023-03-168-178
21. Kormanovskiy M. V. Characteristic features of the modern legal system of the People’s Republic of China and the reasons for their occurrence. E-Scio, 2021, (11): 668–683. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/shffjq
22. Balakin D. A., Alikberova A. R. Features of the 2017 cybersecurity law of the People's Republic of China and international reaction to its adoption. Modern oriental studies, 2023, 5(2): 152–163. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/ceiiok
23. Gong N. Protection of personal data in China: Legislation in the digital age. Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Law, 2023, 14(1): 159–172. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu14.2023.110
24. Kireeva A. A. Belt and road initiative: Overview, objectives and implications. Comparative Politics, 2018, 9(3): 61–74. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/xtkusd
25. Vinogradov A. O., Danilyuk S. A. Present evolution of the belt and road initiative at the present stage (2021–2023). China in World and Regional Politics. History and Modernity, 2024, 29(29): 136–153. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.48647/ICCA.2024.32.87.010
