Divorce in China Institutional Constraints and Gendered Outcomes

"I hope this book will ignite more thoughts on Chinese family justice reform and resolutions to present problems and also bring about creative ideas for family justice reforms in other Jurisdictions." (International Journal of Law, Policy and The Family) "Xin He's book is a monumental achievement- drawing on close observation of courts in two very different regions of China as well as a deep engagement with a broad range of scholarly literature, both China specific and more general, about gender, judging, authoritarianism and much more. Divorce in China will be a classic, both as concerns its immediate subject, and state and society in China in general." - William P. Alford, Jerome A. and Joan L. Cohen Professor of East Asian Legal Studies, Harvard Law School "An excellent and absorbing examination, based in substantial part on fieldwork sources, of the handling of divorce cases in China today. Xin He builds on his earlier impressive analyses of divorce litigation and gender to offer very important insights into law and gender in the People's Republic. In this important book he concludes that, sadly, the divorce decision-making process in and around the courts has tended to buttress rather than relieve long-standing prejudices against women in contemporary Chinese society. This study is essential reading for all those concerned with social and legal developments in the PRC today." - Michael Palmer, University of London "As the first monograph in English on divorce trials in China, this book should be warmly welcomed. It is a valuable source for reference and further research." (Feminist Legal Studies)