The T'ang Code, Volume I

This is the first of two volumes of the annotated translation of a seminal Chinese legal text. The "T'ang Code", written in 653 AD, is China's earliest law code to survive in its entirety, influencing all subsequent Chinese law and serving as a model for codes of law in other Asian countries. This volume specifies the basic principles of T'ang law and explains the structural standards for applying these principles. The second volume describes acts that are punishable by law and enumerates their punishments.