In "The Limits of the Rule of Law in China" 12 authors from different academic disciplines reflect on questions that have troubled Chinese and Western scholars of jurisprudence since classical times. Using data from the early 19th century through the contemporary period, they analyze how tension between formal laws and discretionary judgment is discussed and manifested in the Chinese context. The contributions cover a wide range of topics, from interpreting the rationale for and legacy of Qing practices of collective punishment, confession at trial, and bureaucratic supervision to assessing the political and cultural forces that continue to limit the authority of formal legal institutions in the People's Republic of China.Karen Turner is associate professor of history at Holy Cross College, James V. Feinerman is president of the Committee on Scholarly Communication with China, and R. Kent Guy is associate professor of history at the University of Washington. Other contributors are William P. Alford, Alison W. Conner, Jack L. Dull, Tahirah V. Lee, Jonathan K. Ocko, Pitman B. Potter, Claudia Ross, Lester Ross, Yuanyuan Shen, Joanna Waley-Cohen, and Margaret Y. K. Woo.