Southwest University of Political Science and Law’s The Civil Code in China and 100 Questions Related to Citizens’ Life Released Globally

Recently, the English edition of The Civil Code in China and 100 Questions Related to Citizens’ Life, a high-quality book for public legal education edited by Professor Hou Guoyue of Southwest University of Political Science and Law and published by Chongqing Publishing House, has been officially launched. It is distributed by William S. Hein & Co., Inc., a world-renowned legal academic publisher, for global sale.

The English edition of The Civil Code in China and 100 Questions Related to Citizens’ Life. Photo courtesy of Southwest University of Political Science and Law

Written in a question-and-answer format, the book presents 100 representative cases concerning everyday life, covering areas such as the protection of virtual assets and minors’ rights and interests. It translates provisions of the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China into concrete everyday situations. More than 1,000 public legal education talks based on the Chinese edition have been held nationwide. The newly released English edition provides general readers overseas, legal professionals and researchers following the development of the rule of law in China with an accessible introduction to China’s civil legal system and social governance practices.

To accurately convey the legal philosophy and institutional framework of the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China, the English translation project was led by the School of Foreign Languages at Southwest University of Political Science and Law, with a team of experts and scholars from inside and outside the university. The translation adopts a combined strategy of terminological equivalence plus cultural annotation. In terms of terminology, the translation draws on internationally accepted norms for legal translation to ensure accurate and rigorous expression of core legal terms such as real rights and contracts. From the cultural perspective, background notes are added for specific scenarios in China’s social governance and folk culture, helping overseas readers better understand how the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China responds to practical needs in everyday life and safeguards citizens’ legitimate rights and interests.

Library catalog entry. Photo courtesy of Southwest University of Political Science and Law

Library catalog entry. Photo courtesy of Southwest University of Political Science and Law

The English edition has been listed in the Library of Congress catalog and included in WorldCat, the global library union catalog. It will later be available in the HeinOnline legal database and on Amazon, reaching broader audiences including overseas universities, legal institutions and the general public.

Over the years, the university has given full play to its strengths in legal disciplines and the expertise accumulated by its foreign language faculty in legal translation, actively contributing to national rule-of-law development and international communication. The global rollout of the English edition of The Civil Code in China and 100 Questions Related to Citizens’ Life is one of the achievements of the Key Base for International Communication at Southwest University of Political Science and Law. It represents an important effort by the university to promote China’s rule-of-law concepts internationally and a concrete move to deepen international exchanges on the rule of law and support the country’s high-level opening-up.