FILE PHOTO The English editions of renowned Chinese legal scholar Zhang Jinfan's work, The History of Chinese Legal Civilization, were published by Springer in 2020 (the series comprises two volumes).

---

As the system of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics gradually takes shape, it is particularly timely to enhance the international communication of China’s legal culture and actively present its achievements in the rule of law to the global community. Legal publications serve as an important vehicle of self-expression for Chinese legal scholarship within the pluralistic global legal landscape. High-quality translation and international communication hold profound academic and cultural significance for building a rule of law discourse system with Chinese characteristics.

Remarkable progress  versus remaining challenges

Since the reform and opening-up, Chinese legal scholarship has flourished, with a wide variety of publishing initiatives and steadily increasing funding laying a foundation for outstanding legal works to “go global.” A representative example is the “Chinese Academic Translation Project” by China’s National Office for Philosophy and Social Sciences. Since its inception in 2010, the project has approved 122 legal translation initiatives with the total number steadily increasing. These translations span nine legal subfields—the five most prominent being jurisprudence, civil and commercial law, legal history, international law, as well as constitutional and administrative law. To date, these works have been translated into 10 languages, with English accounting for 65.6% of the total, followed by Japanese, Russian, and Korean.

According to WorldCat, a global online library catalog, translated Chinese legal works are currently held in the libraries and databases of 60 major universities and research institutions abroad. The top five foreign countries in terms of library holdings are the US, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK. Domestically, publishers such as China Renmin University Press, Law Press China, The Commercial Press, Social Sciences Academic Press, and Peking University Press have been at the forefront of this effort, achieving notable results in large-scale translation and digital publishing.

To a certain extent, these efforts have made meaningful progress in promoting the core values of Chinese legal culture while facilitating more equitable exchange between the Chinese and other legal systems. Nonetheless, a gap remain between the intended objectives and actual outcomes of communication. Several factors contribute to this gap: the translated works concentrate on China’s traditional legal culture, with little discussion of China’s proposals for global governance; the quality of translation varies, with insufficient participation by native-language translators; inadequate use of digital and integrated publishing technologies limits access to publications; and translations are mostly undertaken by individual scholars, hindering scale effects.

Strengthening  international communication collaboration and education

The translation and international communication of legal scholarship involves disciplines such as translation studies, legal studies, and communication studies. To enhance the global influence of Chinese legal scholarship, it is essential to break down disciplinary barriers and establish collaborative communication mechanisms.

Refining topic selection and deeply exploring the cultural dimension of China’s rule of law: A think tank dedicated to the international communication of Chinese legal culture could be established, along with a research repository. Emphasis should be placed on promoting legal practices with Chinese characteristics and proposing high-quality “Chinese solutions” to global challenges.

Cultivating interdisciplinary communication professionals with expertise in “foreign languages + law + media + X”: Universities should emphasize interdisciplinary knowledge in curriculum design and teaching arrangements, while enhancing their international engagement through credit transfer schemes and academic exchange programs. A collaborative translation model—led by Chinese translators and supported by foreign scholars or overseas Chinese academics—can also help ensure that translations of Chinese legal works are grounded in China’s national stance while achieving a high degree of linguistic precision and international readability.

Expanding multistakeholder collaborative communication channels and building an omnimedia communication matrix: Chinese universities can collaborate with overseas counterparts to promote outstanding Chinese legal scholarship through academic activities. Chinese publishers can partner with foreign publishing houses to develop legal translation series, build legal translation repositories, and scale up digital publishing. China’s globally oriented media outlets can report on developments in Chinese legal research and practice, thereby diversifying the channels available for global engagement with Chinese legal thought.

A key mission of China’s legal communication efforts is to showcase the theoretical appeal and practical strength of its legal thought. Advancing the translation and international communication of Chinese legal scholarship will, in turn, support the development of Chinese legal studies and innovation in China’s rule of law.

He Jingqiu is a professor from the School of Foreign Languages at Northwest University of Political Science and Law.

Edited by WANG YOURAN