A Brief Account of the Rise and Fall of the "Ancient Chinese Legal System" and a Comparison with the Romano-Germanic Legal System

Historia breve del auge y declive de la “Familia Jurídica de Antigua China” y comparación con la Familia Jurídica Romano-Germánica

This article aims to introduce the reader to the definition, history, and main characteristics of the "Chung Hwa or ancient Chinese Legal System", and to compare it with the Romano-Germanic Legal System through a macro-comparison approach. This methodology shows the differences between the two systems from multiple perspectives. The article begins by defining the "Chung Hwa Legal System," distinguishing it from the contemporary Chinese legal system, and presents a brief chronology of its rise and fall, inquiring into the causes of its final decline in the political, economic, and cultural aspects. Then, macro-comparisons are made between the Chung Hwa and the Romano-Germanic Legal Systems, focusing mainly on their differences in four aspects: the division between public and private law, how rights can be redressed, how the judicial system and the philosophy of law operate. We conclude that the "Chung Hwa Legal System" in China declined and eventually disappeared along with the feudal regime, due to the lack of development in the field of private law, the limited variety of rights redress mechanisms, and the lack of independence in the judicial system. These factors resulted in its inability to adapt to historical and epochal changes.