From Leninist Discipline to Socialist Legalism

"This is the first full-length study in English of Peng Zhen (1902-1997), a revolutionary comrade of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, and a prominent and influential legal policymaker in China during both men's regimes. As one of the chief architects of PRC law and legal institutions during the 1950s and again in the 1980s. Peng left an indelible mark on the legal system of China as we know it today." "Though the evolution of Peng's views resulted largely from the changing political circumstances of his career, his ideas on political authority and law set the parameters of possibility for future legal reform in China. His off-repeated statement "the Party leads the people in enacting the law and leads the people in observing the law" has become a familiar slogan used by Jiang Zemin and other top leaders. Peng's edict on the role of law as an instrument for implementing Party policy has been incorporated into the legal education curriculum of China's Central Party School. The 1982 Constitution, of which Peng was the chief architect, continues to serve as the fundamental articulation of the basic policies of the state and the Party."--BOOK JACKET.