CISLS Book News: Cheng Jinhua's "Lecture Notes on the Rule of Law Society" : Why and What to Talk About

Title: Lecture Notes on the Rule of Law Society

Author: Cheng Jinhua

Publisher: Higher Education Press

Publication Date: August 2025

Preface：

"Lecture Notes on the Rule of Law Society" : Why and What to Talk About?

Cheng Jinhua

"At the entrance of a building that I often visit." The security guard said that shared bikes cannot be parked here. Me: "Who stipulated this?" It's so spacious here. Why can't we park? It's more convenient for everyone. The buildings nearby have similar functions to ours and all offer parking. Has any leader told you that this place is more prestigious? Security guard: "Anyway, someone told me that I can't stop." Me: "If you tell me who made such a rule, then I'll go to him to report it and offer my opinion, and ask about the rules." If you just say that and there's no notice posted here saying that it's based on some management regulations, then I can't listen to you like that either. A society ruled by law starts with me. Resist the phenomenon that anyone dares to control others just by wearing a uniform.

One evening in 2024, while browsing my wechat Moments, I came across the above sharing from a friend. In recent years, I have frequently exchanged views with people from all walks of life on "the theory and practice of building a law-based society" in various occasions. Therefore, I am particularly sensitive to the term "law-based society" mentioned in this sharing.

Of course, the sharing of the author's friend also reflects a deeper issue in the current construction of the rule of law in China: Who has the qualification to formulate "regulations", what contents are "stipulated", who will enforce the "regulations", and in what way should the "regulations" be implemented to make the citizens/residents who are "stipulated" by the regulations truly convinced? ! Obviously, my friend is not convinced by the rule that shared bikes cannot be parked at the entrance of the building he often visits and its enforcement, so he made a joke about it in his Moments. Such matters can be big or small. My friend is a rational and highly educated person. Therefore, he merely made jokes in his wechat Moments and took the opportunity to promote the proper way to build a "society ruled by law". He is a disseminator of positive energy. However, in more cases, what may be triggered are quarrels, resentment, even physical altercations and more serious disputes. Therefore, in a certain sense, this is yet another microcosm of the current rule of law construction in China.

Entering the 21st century, "rule of law" has increasingly taken center stage in the political and daily lives of Chinese people. Since the report of the 15th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 1997, the ruling party has advocated "governing the country by law", and it has developed to the current "comprehensively governing the country by law". Correspondingly, Article 5 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China also stipulates that "The People's Republic of China practices law-based governance and builds a socialist country under the rule of law." In recent years, the ruling party has explicitly proposed to take "Chinese-style modernization" as the goal of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and the strategy of the rule of law in China is an important component of it. Against this historical backdrop, the term "society under the rule of law" has gradually become part of our daily language, political and legal discourse, and academic terms.

However, although it is often on people's lips, in different contexts, "a society ruled by law" has distinct meanings and there is no clear consensus. For instance, as Chinese people become wealthier, they often travel abroad. Europe is an important destination, and an increasing number of Chinese people are taking self-driving Tours in Europe, freely traversing unfamiliar cities and even staying in strangers' homes. You ask these Chinese people, "Aren't you afraid when traveling to unfamiliar places?" Many people would say: "Don't worry, because 'Europe is a society ruled by law.'" This is the first context. The term "society under the rule of law" as referred to by ordinary Chinese citizens is mostly used in this context.

For instance, since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, central documents have repeatedly mentioned "adhering to the integrated construction of a law-based country, a law-based government and a law-based society." In December 2020, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China also issued the "Implementation Outline for the Construction of a Law-based Society (2020-2025)", which clearly states that "a law-based society is the foundation for building a law-based country, and the construction of a law-based society is an important part of achieving modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity." Since then, local governments at all levels have also successively formulated plans for the construction of a law-based society in their respective regions. This is the second context, the "society under the rule of law" in the implementation of official documents and policies in China.

The meanings of "a society ruled by law" in the above two contexts are related, but not completely consistent. In the first context, as ordinary citizens, when we talk about a "society ruled by law", it is usually an overall description of a country's government governance methods and social order, meaning that both the government and citizens abide by the rules and act in accordance with the law. At this point, if we replace "society under the rule of law" with "country under the rule of law", the expression still holds true. This is also our overall impression of countries or regions such as Western Europe, North America, Australia, Japan and Singapore. For this reason, we are willing to travel and consume in places that advocate the rule of law. On the contrary, if a place is constantly frequented by car bandits and road bullies, brandisching knives and guns at passing tourists and Shouting, "This road was opened by me, this tree was planted by me," we would consider such a place a "bandit society" and it would be better to stay far away from it. Similarly, we used to often describe China as a "society of acquaintances", "society of fellow townspeople", "society of personal connections", "society of relationships" or "society of policies", rather than a "society ruled by law", which is also an overall description of the government's governance approach and social order.

In the second context, "a country ruled by law", "a government ruled by law" and "a society ruled by law" are placed in parallel sentences. Logically, it can be inferred that these three concepts are different. The connotation of a "society ruled by law" must be inconsistent with that of a "country ruled by law". Since the concepts of "state", "government" and "society" have emerged simultaneously, the "society under the rule of law" among them must summarize a certain state of the rule of law more from the dimension of society and emphasize the actions of citizens rather than the behaviors of the government. Therefore, its connotation and denotion must be narrower than the "society under the rule of law" in the first context. In view of this, it is advisable to refer to the rule of law society in the first context as the broad sense of the rule of law society and that in the second context as the narrow sense of the rule of law society.

In contemporary China, whether in academic research or governance practice, thinking about a society ruled by law in a broad sense and comprehensively considering the allocation and implementation of public power and private rights is not only an important academic tradition in the legal field but also a great historical mission for politicians. Professor Zhang Wenxian wrote an article titled "The Inevitable Path for China to Enter a Society Ruled by Law" in Social Sciences in China as early as 1989, directly stating: "The basic sign of a society ruled by law is: The fundamental aspects of economic, political and social life are all brought under the legal framework, subject to legal regulation and governance, and law is built on the foundation of respecting human personality, dignity, freedom, reasonable aspirations, enterprising spirit and property rights. Law holds the supreme position and the highest authority. All power in the state originates from law and must be exercised in accordance with the law. All citizens are equal before the law, without distinction in rights and obligations based on gender, race, color, language, belief or any other circumstances. Everything that is not prohibited by law is permitted. As long as everyone's actions do not infringe upon others' freedom and do not exceed the legal boundaries, they have the right to act according to their own will. Citizens' personal and property rights shall not be deprived without due legal procedures and adequate protection. All illegal infringements (whether from individuals or the state) can be compensated justly, reasonably and promptly.

From the above expression, it can be seen that the "society under the rule of law" in this article is basically equivalent to a "country under the rule of law" or "the rule of law" itself. For a long time, there have been many works discussing a society ruled by law in this way. From the perspective of national governance, discussing a society ruled by law in a broad sense has significant theoretical and practical value. In recent years, all countries around the world have been highly concerned about the construction of a law-based business environment, which essentially means building a law-based country or a law-based society in a broad sense. The rule of law is not only the "best business environment", but also the "best consumption environment" and the "best living environment".

However, there is also a narrow sense of a society ruled by law, which is distinct from a law-based country and a law-based government. Of course, treating a society ruled by law differently from a country ruled by law does not necessarily mean that the concept of a society ruled by law is "smaller" or "inferior" to that of a country ruled by law. Here, it is necessary to mention the research of the veteran jurist Guo Daohui. In an important pioneering article published in 1995 under the title "Rule of Law State and Rule of Law Society", he stated as follows: "When people talk about the rule of law (or the rule of law), they often think of the state, the government or the ruling party using the rule of law to govern the country and control society." The rule of law is merely a tool for these subjects to control society. However, society and the people, as the main body of society, are only in the object position of the rule of law. In fact, this is a misunderstanding or distortion. ... This one-sided concept of the state and state practice have led to an integrated pattern of "state-society" in the past period of time, to the extent that people, apart from the state, are unaware of the existence of a relatively independent and autonomous civil society that is above the state or serves as its foundation. ... As for the legal community, what needs to be discussed is, under the market economy system, how to pay attention to the theme of "state and law" while further strengthening the research on "society and law", so as to look forward to the future direction of the rule of law in contemporary China: from law as a tool for the state to unidirectionally control society to law becoming a tool for dual and two-way control by the state and society. From gradually realizing a law-based country to ultimately forming a law-based society. ... In conclusion, the state and society have evolved from integration to a dual complementarity, and from mainly relying on national legislation and law enforcement to gradually complementing the diverse establishment and enforcement of laws by society (here, "law" is borrowed to express the self-regulatory rules set by social organizations, such as group charters, industry behavioral norms, school and factory regulations, village and folk conventions, etc.). In this way, from a dual mechanism dominated by a single national legal system and supplemented by social norms, it gradually developed into one dominated by social norms... First, establish a country under the rule of law, and through long-term efforts, form a society under the rule of law.

It is obvious that Mr. Guo Daohui not only believes that a society ruled by law is different from a country ruled by law, but also - deeply influenced by Marx's view that the state will eventually perish - holds that a society ruled by law is a form of the rule of law that is superior to a country ruled by law, and it has a very strong people-oriented concept of the rule of law. Apart from Mr. Guo Daohui's research, before the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, although a few scholars treated a society ruled by law and a country ruled by law differently, this was not the mainstream view in the legal field and did not have a significant impact.

The real impetus for the academic community to study the rule of law society in a narrow sense originated from the strategy for building a law-based China since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which emphasizes the integrated construction of a law-based country, a law-based government, and a law-based society, as well as a series of arrangements made to achieve this strategy. Among them, the "Implementation Outline for the Construction of a Law-based Society (2020-2025)" points out: "A law-based society is the foundation for building a law-based country, and the construction of a law-based society is an important part of achieving modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity." Building a socialist society under the rule of law that believes in the rule of law, is fair and just, safeguards rights, abides by the law and keeps faith, is full of vitality and harmonious and orderly is an important measure to enhance the people's sense of gain, happiness and security. The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China established the basic construction of a law-based society as one of the important goals for basically achieving socialist modernization by 2035. This is of great significance, far-reaching influence and arduous tasks.

Against this backdrop, theoretical research on a society ruled by law has gradually produced relatively rich academic achievements. However, despite this, the connotation of a society ruled by law, as well as the theoretical logic and task planning for its construction, have yet to be fully explained. Therefore, it is necessary to provide readers who are theoretically interested and/or have practical needs in their work with a knowledge system for understanding a society ruled by law in a narrow sense.

It is understood that there are currently no specialized and systematic textbooks on a society ruled by law. The following types of publications are relevant. The first category of publications consists of academic works on the connotation of a law-based society and its construction. Relatively speaking, there are more papers published on a society ruled by law, but fewer monographs. The second category consists of serial publications on the rule of law society and its research. Among them, representative ones include the academic journal "Rule of Law Society" (founded in 2016) hosted by the Guangdong Law Society and the series of "Reports on the Development of Rule of Law Society in China" edited by Gong Pixiang (published by Social Sciences Academic Press since 2020). The third category consists of textbooks related to the field of a society ruled by law. In the Chinese legal circle, there has been an advocacy for "social governance law" in recent years. Higher Education Press also published "An Introduction to Social Governance Law" edited by Xu Hanming in 2023. From the perspective of content, the research of social governance law is also an area where the construction of the rule of law and social construction intersect, and thus has many similarities with this book. However, literally speaking, "Social governance law" has greater ambitions and hopes to open up a new field of law. The term "XX Law" should have a relatively rich knowledge tradition or/and knowledge system in terms of content, and - as the name suggests - it should focus on the formulation and implementation of legal norms related to social governance. However, both in China and globally, academic discussions and institutional practices regarding a society ruled by law have not been long and the accumulation is not rich enough. Therefore, this lecture note is more willing to share the author's immature views on related issues in this field with readers in a way of knowledge exploration (that is, in the form of a "lecture note"). With the increasing richness of academic discussions and institutional practices, the rule of law society and its construction may become a discipline that can be studied independently. In addition, there are relatively more textbooks on legal sociology related to a society ruled by law. Representative works include "Sociology of Law" edited by Zhao Zhenjiang (Peking University Press, 1998), "Sociology of Law" edited by Zhu Jingwen (Renmin University of China Press, 2005), "Sociology of Law" written by Gao Qicai (Beijing Normal University Press, 2013), and "New Stage of Sociology of Law" edited by Fu Zitang (Renmin University of China Press, 2014) (2021 Edition), "Course of Legal Sociology" edited by Huang Jialiang and Guo Xinghua (Renmin University of China Press, 2021 Edition), and "Legal Sociology" edited by Ji Weidong (Higher Education Press, 2023 Edition). In addition, research and teaching materials on the construction of the rule of law or social development are also related to a law-based society and are worth referring to. The last category of research achievements on a society ruled by law consists of dissertations from various universities and research institutions, especially doctoral dissertations. However, it is a pity that many universities do not make dissertations public (especially the latest submitted master's and doctoral theses), which also depriving readers of the opportunity to study these latest research achievements.

For this reason, based on my own theoretical research and by taking advantage of the first-hand observation data obtained from years of serving as a grassroots representative of the People's Congress and a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and other social part-time positions, and with the support of the leadership of the Kaiyuan Law School, I have written and had the honor of having the small booklet "Lecture Notes on the Rule of Law Society" published by Higher Education Press. When writing this lecture note, the author not only hopes to incorporate the above-mentioned relevant knowledge but also aims to achieve the following two "small goals". Firstly, try to combine the problems currently faced by China's rule of law construction and social development - or, in a broader sense, the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity - and use real cases and plain language to clarify and explain the theoretical logic of a society ruled by law. Secondly, the discussion on a society ruled by law, as the name suggests, at least involves legal knowledge and is inevitably related to sociological research. Therefore, the author hopes that this lecture note can truly integrate the relevant research of law and sociology and truly achieve an interdisciplinary analysis of legal sociology. Moreover, as discussed in this lecture note, the integrated construction of a law-based country, a law-based government and a law-based society, on the surface, is a matter of the unified construction and coordinated implementation of legal norms and social norms. At a deeper level, it involves the relationship among the state (power), society (power) and individuals (rights). How to handle the relationship among these three can be said to be one of the fundamental issues common to all social sciences. Therefore, the author also tries to incorporate knowledge from disciplines other than law and sociology into the discussion without misunderstanding the original intention, in order to stimulate readers' interdisciplinary thinking.

In this lecture note, the author puts forward the following main viewpoints regarding the rule of law society and its related issues: (1) Regarding the definition of a "rule of law society" : A society ruled by law refers to a governance form in which, under the premise of adhering to the spirit of the rule of law, social communities effectively govern themselves in accordance with social and legal norms and assist the state in effectively governing society in accordance with the law. The connotation of a society ruled by law simultaneously features inclusiveness and a "differential order pattern". (2) Regarding the relationship between the construction of the rule of law and social construction: In the construction of a law-based society, the top-down promotion of the rule of law by the state and the bottom-up exploration of social construction by social communities support each other and are interdependent. (3) Regarding the rule of law society and "China's governance" : If successfully built, the rule of law society may be able to organically connect individuals, society and the state in China through the "net of norms", solve the long-standing problem of "disorganized" in Chinese society, and build a dynamic Chinese nation community oriented towards the future. (4) Interdisciplinary research on a society ruled by law: The construction of a society ruled by law without legal guidance may lose its direction. Conversely, the construction of a society ruled by law without the support of sociology and other social sciences may be like water without a source. Research on a society ruled by law is both normative and empirical, and it is a beneficial attempt to explore "legal sociology for solving problems".

It is also worth noting that, on the one hand, neither the construction of the rule of law nor social development is a unique issue of China. This also means that in these two major fields, there are a large number of foreign documents available for reference. However, on the other hand, it seems that China is the first to put forward the concept of a law-based society as an independent one and to promote the construction of a law-based society as a specialized major national governance project. Based on the author's limited reading, no English term that can well translate "society under the rule of law" has been found so far. It is precisely for this reason that the systematic interpretation of a society ruled by law is also an effort of this lecture note to participate in the construction of an independent legal discourse system in China.

The above is the original intention and goal of writing this lecture note. The author hopes that the content of the main text will not deviate from the original intention and can also achieve the writing goal well. In terms of content, the following arrangements are made for this lecture note

The first lecture, in combination with three actual legal events that occurred in contemporary China, explains the common subjects involved in modern national governance by law and the types of basic norms required, the most fundamental national governance system composed of these subjects and norms and the three paths of governance by law, as well as the three types of governance by law challenges related to them That is, the challenges of direct governance based on legal norms, the challenges of governance based on social norms, and the challenges of collaborative governance based on legal norms and social norms. In response to these three types of challenges in law-based governance, the second lecture discusses the connotation and value of the "community", explains the meanings of the two major types of communities, namely the "state" and the "society", and their relationships with each other. It focuses on the importance of the coordinated governance of legal norms and social norms from the perspective of community construction, and proposes that the ideal state governance needs to achieve the construction goal of the "network of norms". The third lecture, drawing on the problem awareness and solutions from the previous two lectures, discusses the origin and development of the concept of a "society under the rule of law", explains the research status of this concept in the Chinese academic circle at different historical stages, clarifies different understandings of the connotation of a society under the rule of law, and defines the connotation of a society under the rule of law from the perspective of "differential order pattern". The fourth lecture focuses on the strategic deployment of "adhering to the integrated construction of a law-based country, a law-based government and a law-based society", which is closely related to the concept of a law-based society. It sorts out different interpretations in the theoretical circle, clarifies the understanding of the "integrity" of the rule of law construction in this lecture note, and elaborates on the "systematicness" of the goals and tasks of the rule of law construction and the "fundamental position" of the rule of law society in the entire construction of a law-based country. Next, the fifth and sixth lectures will respectively analyze the plans of the central and local governments for the construction of a law-based society and their academic reflections on these plans from the perspective of a "law-based society in books", and examine the practical situations of the construction of a law-based society in the four areas of norm formulation, norm implementation, dispute resolution, and norm compliance from the perspective of a "law-based society in action". It also advocates effectively connecting the "book" planning of a law-based society with the "action" practice of a law-based society through a "systematic" approach to the normative system, promoting the integrated construction of a law-based China to a higher level. The seventh lecture, in light of the "China's Governance" strategy for modernizing the national governance system and governance capacity since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, reviews the connotation of a society ruled by law and summarizes the historical significance of building a society ruled by law. After the main text, this lecture note presents several major theoretical topics related to a society ruled by law in the "Supplementary Discussion" section. It also shares the author's theoretical exploration on how to build a society ruled by law in a digital virtual space like the metaverse in the form of an appendix, so that readers can conduct more forward-looking thinking on the concept of a society ruled by law.

The above is the author's candid statement on the two questions of "why to talk" and "what to talk about" in the "Lecture Notes on the Rule of Law Society". Of course, due to various subjective and objective constraints, this lecture note is merely the author's initial exploration of a "society ruled by law". Therefore, there are bound to be various limitations, especially in the construction of the knowledge system. I sincerely hope that friends from all walks of life who have the opportunity to read this lecture note can point it out in an appropriate way and offer valuable critical opinions. This will enable me to have the chance to revise this lecture note and work together with all sectors to promote theoretical research and practical exploration of a law-based society in China - this is also a response to my friend's advocacy of "a law-based society starts with me".

Last but not least, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Teacher Yuan Yangyang, the editor of Higher Education Press, for her years of "gentle encouragement", which has finally given "Ugly Daughter-in-law" (this little booklet) the opportunity to meet her "in-laws" (all readers). The lecture notes were finally published. While the author was delighted, he was also very nervous inside: After finishing the makeup, he asked his husband in a low voice, "Is the depth of the eyebrows in time?" !

Content Introduction：

This book, in light of the current issues faced by China's rule of law construction and social development, integrates relevant research from law and sociology, and explains the theoretical logic of a society ruled by law in plain language. The book is divided into seven lectures: The first lecture reveals the legal challenges of national governance through real cases; The second lecture introduces the connotation of "community" and explains the "net of norms" required for ideal governance. The third lecture categorizes the existing definitions of the connotation of a society ruled by law in the theoretical circle and provides the definition of a society ruled by law in this book. The fourth lecture, through the interpretation of "adhering to the integrated construction of a law-based country, a law-based government and a law-based society", explains the systematic tasks of a law-based society and its fundamental position in the construction of the "network of norms". The fifth lecture will sort out the basic situation of the central and local governments' plans for the construction of a law-based society. The sixth lecture discusses the practical exploration of building a law-based society across the country through case studies. The seventh lecture conducts a summary discussion on the significance of building a law-based society to "China's governance" from two aspects.

This book can serve as a textbook for undergraduate and postgraduate law students, and also as a reference book for relevant legal practitioners and theoretical researchers.

Contents：

Author's Profile

Cheng Jinhua, who holds a Ph.D. in Legal Science (JSD) from Yale University, is currently the director of the Library at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, a distinguished professor and doctoral supervisor at the Koguan School of Law , and the vice dean of China Institute for Socio-Legal Studies and the director of the Center for Empirical Legal Studies at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Academic positions include Executive Committee Member of the Computing Law Branch of the China Computer Federation, Secretary-General of the Shanghai University Library Working Committee, Vice President of the Shanghai Rule of Law Research Society, Vice President of the Shanghai Society of Legal Sociology, etc. Social positions include being a member of the Central Committee of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang, a Standing Committee member of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and the chairperson of the Xuhui District Committee of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang, etc. He once served as a visiting professor at the University of Chicago Law School in the United States and was seconding to serve as the assistant procurator-general of the People's Procuratorate of Pudong New Area, Shanghai. The main research fields include legal sociology and legal empirical research. More than 60 academic papers have been published in Chinese and English periodicals such as "Social Sciences in China", "Legal Studies", "China Law", "Sociological Studies", The China Review and Hong Kong Law Journal. Published States, Intergovernmental Relations, and Market Development (New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2018) and Legal Empirical Research: He has authored academic monographs in both Chinese and English such as "Classical Exploration" (Law Press, 2022), and co-edited "Legal Empirical Research: An Introductory Guide" (Law Press, 2020) and "Legal Empirical Research: He has published academic works such as "Selected Readings of Classics" (Contemporary China Press, 2024 Edition), and has presided over more than 20 research projects including key projects of the National Social Science Foundation. He has been successively selected for or received talent projects or honorary titles such as the "New Century Excellent Talents Support Program" of the Ministry of Education (2013) and the Young Scholar Project of the National Major Talent Program (2019).

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