In Law and Society in China, Vai Io Lo sets out to provide those new to Chinese law with an “easy-to-read monograph” that will enable them to “obtain a basic understanding of the role of law in China” (p. vi). Regrettably, this goal is immediately undermined by the book's first and weakest chapter, which offers a dense slog through Western definitions of law and society, studded with references to Grotius, Aquinas, and Aristotle. Given that Lo is summarizing almost 5,000 years of legal history in just over 200 pages, I wish that these 22 pages had been cut in favor of additional discussion of Chinese law. Readers should not be deterred by this chapter, as it has little in common with later chapters’ straightforward, concise overview of China's legal history and legal systems. Lo devotes one chapter each to China from 2070 BC to the late 1800s, turn of the century China, China under Mao, and modern China. Each chapter follows the same basic structure: a brief overview of the era's history, a brief overview of the era's legal system, and, finally, Lo's own brief commentary and analysis. A final chapter looks to the future, summarizing Xi Jinping's plans to develop socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics and the Chinese judiciary's plans for its own reform and modernization.

Throughout, Lo emphasizes the rich and complex sources of Chinese law. Traditional Chinese law drew its philosophical underpinnings from Confucianism, which emphasized “differentiated behavioral norms” based on one's social status, and from legalism, which emphasized “impartial legal rules” (p. 43). Over time, these seemingly disparate philosophies were fused into a cohesive legal system, in which law was enforced according to the circumstances of human feeling and social status (p. 50). This legal system was developed through an eclectic set of sources, including decrees, injunctions, elaborately annotated codes, and case precedent.

Lo particularly emphasizes Chinese law's conflicted efforts to incorporate foreign legal influences—sometimes thoughtfully and gradually, but often through ill-considered, wholesale transplantation. As imperial China became increasingly subject to outside influences in the late 1800s, competing reform groups within China promoted the study of foreign law, the recruitment of foreign legal scholars, and varying degrees of integration of compatible foreign legal norms. Like many European governments of the same era, the Chinese government carefully studied whether and how the French and German legal codes could be adapted to its own legal system. However, the imperial government's gradual and reluctant move towards democracy was insufficient to placate growing opposition. When the Kuomintang took power, it replaced the government wholesale with a transplanted Western legal system that included an elected, bicameral legislature, three branches of government, and jury trials. In turn, Mao abolished the Kuomintang legal system and, after briefly experimenting with translating Soviet legal texts and importing Soviet legal scholars, embraced a philosophy of legal nihilism that included the virtual dismantlement of the legal profession. Impressively, Lo summarizes the competing Maoist and Stalinist interpretations of Marxist legal theory in a few concise, easy to follow pages.

Consistent with the book's title, Lo also emphasizes how law is intertwined with and supports the social order. Lo notes early on that, in contrast to European countries’ emphasis on civil codes, Chinese law historically focused on criminal codes and administrative law. A persistent theme throughout the book is the Chinese legal system's longstanding preference for resolving civil disputes through mediation, rather than litigation. According to Lo, lawsuits were distrusted as a threat to social stability, putting them at odds with the fundamental goal of law in imperial China: maintaining social order and control (pp. 65, 70–71). Lo argues that law served the same basic purpose in the communist era, with the key differences being that the preferred social class became the proletariat rather than the elites and the desired social order became egalitarian rather than hierarchal (p. 122). Similarly, Lo notes that modern China's newly revived legal profession and unprecedented profusion of tax laws, banking law, securities laws, and free trade agreements serve to facilitate its gradual embrace of private enterprise and foreign investment.

Although Lo acknowledges continuing problems with protectionism, bribery, and abuse of power, she is optimistic about the Chinese government's move towards the rule of law (p. 162). In particular, she supports its pragmatic, incremental testing of legal reforms over the blind transplantation of foreign legal systems (pp. 165–167, 173, 189). She suggests that China can serve as a model, inspiring developing countries to generate innovative approaches to the rule of law that reflect their own circumstances and histories (p. 193). Lo's central point is indisputable: each country has its own richly unique legal history and law is pushed forward when countries thoughtfully combine the best of their own and other legal systems, not when they formulaically transplant an outside legal system. Of significant concern, however, is Lo's specifics, such as her questioning of the need for multiparty democracy with direct elections (p. 190) and dismissal of judicial independence as an attainable goal (p. 192).

In general, the book suffers from a limited number of viewpoints. Lo's final chapter on the future of the Chinese legal system exclusively presents the government's perspective, summarizing various reports by the Supreme People's Court and Xi Jinping's plans as outlined by Wenxian Zhang, “Study on Xi Jinping's Thoughts - The Salient Features of Xi Jinping's Thoughts on the Rule of Law,” Legal System and Social Development 128 No. 2 (2016): 5–21. The extensive footnotes in earlier chapters indicate that they are summarized from a handful of Chinese-language histories, such as Jinfan Zhang, The Tradition and Modern Transition of Chinese Law (2009). Given that Lo's book is an introduction to Chinese law for English-speaking readers, it is reasonable for her to summarize existing Chinese-language books and articles. However, I would have appreciated a wider variety of sources and viewpoints. Still, despite its specific viewpoint, I enjoyed the final chapter's concise, readable overview of the Chinese government's planned legal reforms. The chapter on modern China is also a highlight, with its equally concise and readable overview of the modern Chinese legal system and profession.

Ultimately, Lo delivers exactly what she promises: an easy-to-read introduction to Chinese law. Readers unfamiliar with Chinese law will be able to get up to speed quickly with Lo's clear and straightforward overview of Chinese legal history and the Chinese legal system.