Jérôme Bourgon (2020), Historians at the Court: How Cultural Expertise in Qing Law Contributes to the Invention of Hong Kong “Chinese Customary Law”, Law and History Review, Cambridge University Press, Volume 38, Numéro 1, Février 2020. pp. 85-98

This paper relies on the narrative of a renowned historian of Qing law from China mainland who has been called by Hong Kong High Court in 2007, to witness as an expert in “Chinese customary law.” At the opening of the trial, he recognized one well-known and estimated colleague from Taiwan in the expert engaged by the other party. During one week, these two legal historians called up a vast array of knowledge in Chinese history, culture, and law, to ensure the triumph of their party. [Lire la suite]

Claude Chevaleyre & Jérôme Bourgon (2020), notices dans Pierre-Étienne Will, Handbooks and Anthologies for Officials in Imperial China: a Descriptive and Critical Bibliography (2 vols). Brill, 2020

The 1,165 entries of Handbooks and Anthologies for Officials in Imperial China by Pierre-Étienne Will and collaborators provide a descriptive list of extant manuscript and printed works—mainly from the Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties—created with the aim to instruct officials and other administrators of imperial China about the technical and ethical aspects of government, and to provide tools and guides to help with the relevant procedures. Both generalist and specialized texts are considered. Among the latter, such disciplines as the administration of justice, famine relief, and the military receive particular attention. Each entry includes the publishing history of the work considered (including modern editions), an analysis of contents, and a biographical sketch of the author.

Claude Chevaleyre (2020), 107 notices (traduites de l’anglais) in François Martin et Damien Chaussende (dir.), Dictionnaire biographique du Haut Moyen-Âge chinois : Culture, politique et religion de la fin des Han à la veille des Tang (IIIe-VIe siècles), Paris : Les Belles Lettres, 2020.

Le haut Moyen Âge de la Chine, qui s’étend du IIIe au VIe siècle de notre ère, fut une période particulièrement troublée sur le plan politique. Elle vit en effet s’établir sur le sol chinois une vingtaine d’États plus ou moins éphémères, dont certains furent fondés par des populations étrangères venues des steppes nordiques. Ces quelques siècles n’en furent pas moins extrêmement riches et bouillonnants du point de vue culturel. Ils virent en particulier le bouddhisme s’acclimater au sol chinois et le taoïsme se constituer en véritable religion organisée. La littérature connut d’importants développements, notamment dans le domaine de la poésie et de la prosodie. L’art bouddhique connut un âge d’or et donna lieu à de splendides réalisations sous la dynastie des Wei du Nord. La culture de cour qui se constitua dans les États chinois du Sud exerça quant à elle une influence profonde sur les arts, qui devait se maintenir pendant des siècles, notamment sous les Tang…

Claude Chevaleyre (2020), « Sold People: Traffickers and Family Life in North China, written by Johanna S. Ransmeier, 2017 », book Review in T’oung Pao, Volume 105: Issue 5-6, pp. 636–643.

Sold People is a rarity. Based on her Ph.D. thesis,1 Johanna Ransmeier’s first monograph is the kind of book that sets a milestone and opens a new research field. In the space of 395 pages, Sold People takes the reader on a fascinating journey into the often-overlooked world of slaving and human trafficking in northern China (1870s-1930s). Although the topic has long been a recurring issue in the field of social history of the late Qing and Republican periods, few scholars had attempted to address it comprehensively and on its own right.2 For this reason alone, Johanna Ransmeier’s remarkable work will remain a landmark study and, it is to be hoped, inspire a new generation of social historians of China.