The Re-emergence of Family Law 117 promise contained in the Marriage Law 1980 that"the lawful rights and interests of women,children and old people shall be protected."4 The post-Mao Chinese family is also an important unit of economic production and consumption,especially in the countryside.Until very recently,most urban dwellers continued to work in the state and collec- tive sectors,but in the rural areas decollectivization proceeded so rapidly that"by the mid-1980s most rural families were operating in a political economy of family tenancy.2 The resumption of production responsibil- ities by the family has been reinforced by family law in a number of ways.For example,the Inheritance Law 1985 confirmed that the means of production may be inherited and added that"personal benefits accruing from a contract entered into by an individual are heritable."43 The provisions governing intestate succession assume,of course,that property will devolve on close family members.In addition,Article 29 discourages the break-up of a productive estate when property devolves through inheritance,and Section 58 of the Opinions of the Supreme People's Court on Some Questions Concerning the Rigorous Enforcement of the Inheritance Law 1985 also emphasizes the importance of protecting production imperatives.44 It will be clear from the above that in this article "family law"is conceived in fairly broad terms,certainly in terms somewhat wider than the approach normally adopted in PRC textbooks on "marriage law" (hunyin fa).45 However,given the central position that the family once more occupies in Chinese social life,it is submitted that this broad perspective is essential.Far too much of the existing literature looks at only the 1950 and 1980 Marriage Laws.Moreover,even a very narrow view of PRC family law cannot disguise the impressive pace and scope of change,especially if the relevant administrative and judicial develop- ments are taken into account.In particular,the Supreme People's Court has made highly significant interpretations of the Marriage Law and the Inheritance Law,and,as already indicated,has specifically addressed problems of marriage registration and grounds for divorce.Virtually no area of marriage and family has been left untouched by this "legal 41.Nevertheless,some idea of the likely framework of rules designed to ensure that the family functions effectively as a unit of care for the elderly may be gained from an examination of the recently promulgated provincial regulations protecting the rights of the aged.See,for example,Fujian sheng laonianren baohu tiaoli (Fujian Provincial Regulations for the Protection of the Elderly),in Zhongguo falui nianjian bianjibu,Zhongguo falii nianjian 1991 (Law Yearbook of China 1991)(Beijing:Falui chubanshe,1991),pp.491-93. 42.Deborah Davis and Stevan Harrell,"Introduction:the impact of post-Mao reforms on family life,"in Deborah Davis and Stevan Harrell (eds.),Chinese Families in the Post-Mao Era(Berkeley:University of California Press,1993),pp.1-22 at p.2. 43.Inheritance Law 1985 at Article 4.This extends Article 13 of the Constitution 1982 which stipulates that the"state protects,according to the law,the right of citizens to inherit pnvate property." 44.See Palmer,"China's new Inheritance Law." 45.Chinese textbooks on family law tend to restrict their scope to the principal areas of marriage and family dealt with in the Marriage Law and Marriage Registration Regulations. As a result,crucially relevant areas such as birth limitation are often given little or no treatment. Downloaded from http:/www.cambridge.org/core.Shanghai JiaoTong University,on 15 Oct 2016 at 08:21:12,subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use available at http:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms.http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/50305741000032938The Re-emergence of Family Law 117 promise contained in the Marriage Law 1980 that "the lawful rights and interests of women, children and old people shall be protected."41 The post-Mao Chinese family is also an important unit of economic production and consumption, especially in the countryside. Until very recently, most urban dwellers continued to work in the state and collec￾tive sectors, but in the rural areas decollectivization proceeded so rapidly that "by the mid-1980s most rural families were operating in a political economy of family tenancy."42 The resumption of production responsibil￾ities by the family has been reinforced by family law in a number of ways. For example, the Inheritance Law 1985 confirmed that the means of production may be inherited and added that "personal benefits accruing from a contract entered into by an individual are heritable."43 The provisions governing intestate succession assume, of course, that property will devolve on close family members. In addition, Article 29 discourages the break-up of a productive estate when property devolves through inheritance, and Section 58 of the Opinions of the Supreme People's Court on Some Questions Concerning the Rigorous Enforcement of the Inheritance Law 1985 also emphasizes the importance of protecting production imperatives.44 It will be clear from the above that in this article "family law" is conceived in fairly broad terms, certainly in terms somewhat wider than the approach normally adopted in PRC textbooks on "marriage law" (hunyin fa).45 However, given the central position that the family once more occupies in Chinese social life, it is submitted that this broad perspective is essential. Far too much of the existing literature looks at only the 1950 and 1980 Marriage Laws. Moreover, even a very narrow view of PRC family law cannot disguise the impressive pace and scope of change, especially if the relevant administrative and judicial develop￾ments are taken into account. In particular, the Supreme People's Court has made highly significant interpretations of the Marriage Law and the Inheritance Law, and, as already indicated, has specifically addressed problems of marriage registration and grounds for divorce. Virtually no area of marriage and family has been left untouched by this "legal 41. Nevertheless, some idea of the likely framework of rules designed to ensure that the family functions effectively as a unit of care for the elderly may be gained from an examination of the recently promulgated provincial regulations protecting the rights of the aged. See, for example, Fujian sheng laonianren baohu tiaoli (Fujian Provincial Regulations for the Protection of the Elderly), in Zhongguo falii nianjian bianjibu, Zhongguo falii nianjian 1991 (Law Yearbook of China 1991) (Beijing: Falu chubanshe, 1991), pp. 491-93. 42. Deborah Davis and Stevan Harrell, "Introduction: the impact of post-Mao reforms on family life," in Deborah Davis and Stevan Harrell (eds.), Chinese Families in the Post-Mao Era (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993), pp. 1-22 at p. 2. 43. Inheritance Law 1985 at Article 4. This extends Article 13 of the Constitution 1982 which stipulates that the "state protects, according to the law, the right of citizens to inherit private property." 44. See Palmer, "China's new Inheritance Law." 45. Chinese textbooks on family law tend to restrict their scope to the principal areas of marriage and family dealt with in the Marriage Law and Marriage Registration Regulations. As a result, crucially relevant areas such as birth limitation are often given little or no treatment. , available at http:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0305741000032938 Downloaded from http:/www.cambridge.org/core. Shanghai JiaoTong University, on 15 Oct 2016 at 08:21:12, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use