Focusing on birthright citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment, this episode starts from the Supreme Court's then-recent procedural ruling, Wong Kim Ark, and the doctrine's history. It traces how the Trump administration challenged the principle through an executive order and litigation, and examines the contest between jus soli and jus sanguinis.
Under Wu Zetian, an act of filial revenge brought Confucian duty into direct conflict with state law. Through the case of Xu Yuanqing, this episode introduces the Tang Code and judicial system, revisits the century-spanning debate between Chen Zi'ang and Liu Zongyuan, and asks whether state power and moral justice can coexist.
Drawing on Francis Fukuyama's The Origins of Political Order, this episode moves from Qin unification and the Qin legal system to the revival of Roman law, Bologna, and natural law. It compares China's early centralized state with Europe's later development of law and accountable government, asking how state power, the rule of law, and accountability together make modern political order.
'Governing China' Reading Notes
Reading notes on Animal Farm.