Sun Jiahong (ed.), Compilation of the Laws of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Beijing: Social Sciences Academy Press, January 2022, ISBN: 9787520195423.

The inheritance and evolution of the written laws of the dynasties during the transitional period between Ming and Qing dynasties is an important and core legal historical issue. This book bases itself on the last important official block copy of law code of the Ming Dynasty, the Laws of the Great Ming with Collected Commentaries and Appended Precedents, promulgated in thirty-ninth year of Emperor Wanli’s reign, and the first version of the Laws of the Great Qing with Collected Commentaries and Appended Precedents, promulgated in in the beginning of Qing Dynasty (the third year of Emperor Shunzhi’s reign), takes the content of the catalogue of Qing Code as the guideline, compares the two law codes sentence by sentence, marked and analyzed the similarities and differences between them in detail, and profoundly reveals from a strict perspective of micro legal history the inheritance and reform of the laws of the Ming Dynasty in the early years of the Qing Dynasty. Based on solid and concrete documentary evidences, the author of this book endeavors to correct the historical prejudice that has been circulating for many years, and inspire colleagues in related academic circles to conduct more in-depth and detailed research.

The author of this book, Professor Sun Jiahong, was a master of history, a doctor of law, and a postdoctoral researcher in economics at Peking University, and a senior visiting scholar at the Collegium de Lyon, France. He has long been engaged in the study of Chinese legal history and is currently an associate research fellow at the Law Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.