This book challenges the long-prevailing interpretation of China’s legal tradition as “virtue given priority over penalty,” arguing that this proposition is a projection of modern Western rule-of-law discourse and fails to accurately reveal the structure of traditional Chinese legal thought. The author introduces the concept of “virtue as foundation, penalty as function”—framing “virtue” as the bedrock of ruling legitimacy, moral education, and social self-governance, while “penalty” serves as a necessary tool for upholding order. It offers a novel theoretical framework for scholars and interested readers worldwide to re-examine China’s legal heritage and its embedded governance wisdom.

Dejia Li is Associate Professor at the Law School of Beijing Normal University and Secretary-General of the Chinese Legal Culture Research Society, Beijing Law Society. His research focus on Chinese legal history and legal culture, with additional work in education law. He has received the China Legal Culture Research Achievement Award and the Sun Guohua Youth Research Achievement Award, and serves as a cooperating expert for China Central Television (CCTV).