On Seeing Chinese Law from a Chinese Point of View: An Appreciative Look at the Scholarly Career of Professor William Jones

Janet Ainsworth

Abstract

In this appreciative review, Professor William Jones's work is used to demonstrate that sensitivity to issues of methodology are indispensable for comparative law scholars. Professor Jones's work is valuable because (1) it is marked both by an awareness of the methodological difficulties faced by the comparativist and a confidence that it is nonetheless possible to transcend these difficulties and (2) it makes a meaningful contribution to the development of an understanding of a foreign legal order. The article concludes by stating that Professor Jones's work will influence future generations of scholars trying to answer the why, what, and how of studying Chinese Law.