"A fascinating account. . . . [Macauley] has put forth sophisticated arguments which will guide the next round of archival discoveries in Chinese legal and social history."—Eighteenth-Century Studies "Macauley's book will be important reading for those who want to understand both the stereotypes and the realities of legal culture of imperial China. It is wonderfully rich in archival material, and its treatment of case materials constitutes document reading at its very best."—American Historical Review "This work pushes the reader to move beyond interpretive clichés to consider new ways of looking at Qing law, legal institutions, and judicial administration, and Macauley has broadened the methodological and interpretive approaches to all three."—China Review International
