Becoming Policy. Cultural Translation of the Weimar Constitution in China (1919–1949)

Autor/innen

  • Fupeng Li Max-Planck-Institut für europäische Rechtsgeschichte, Frankfurt am Main

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12946/rg27/207-221

Schlagworte:

Cultural translation, Weimar Constitution, social rights, fundamental national policy, comparative history of constitutional law

Abstract

During the drafting process from the 1920s to 1940s, the Weimar Constitution (WRV) played a decisive role in shaping Chinese social(-ist) constitutions, especially the part related to the social-economic issue. Through the lens of cultural translation, this paper seeks to explain how the WRV was adapted, reinterpreted, and recontextualized throughout several rounds of constitution making in China. By focusing on the roles played by the translators, legislators, and interpreters, this paper discusses how the social rights created by the WRV were translated into the fundamental policy of the 1947 Constitution of the Republic of China. Moreover, regarding »policy« as the legal instrument for regulating the social-economic life, and even broader fields, it triggers the modern transformation of Chinese meritocracy and reinforces the national legal tradition depicted in its modern form. To some extent, this case study on cultural translation of constitutional law discloses the mechanism, both temporarily and spatially, for the intercultural communication of the normative information.

Veröffentlicht

2019-06-26

Zitationsvorschlag

Li, Fupeng, Becoming Policy. Cultural Translation of the Weimar Constitution in China (1919–1949), in: Rechtsgeschichte – Legal History Rg 27 (2019) 207-221, online: https://doi.org/10.12946/rg27/207-221

Ausgabe

Rubrik

Fokus 2