Prof. Zhang Jinfan
Resume
1950-1952, L.L.M in Jurisprudence, Renmin University of China.
1952-1983, Lecturer, Associate Professor, Professor and Doctoral Advisor, Renmin University of China.
1983-1994, Vice President of China University of Political Science and Law, Director of postgraduate school and Dean of Institute of Chinese Legal History.
2001-present, Lifetime Professor of China University of Political Science and Law, and Honorary Dean of Research Centre of Legal History (Institute of Legal History).
1983, nominated as Doctoral Advisor on Chinese Legal History.
1988, nominated as Academic Leader of National Key Discipline on Legal History.
1991, awarded State Council Special Contribution Allowance.
2021, selected as National Outstanding Senior Jurist.
Academic Awards
1988, Legal History of China awarded the Excellent Textbook Prize by Ministry of Justice.
1992, History of Chinese Political System awarded the Prize on Excellent Academic Literature by State Education Commission College Press.
1994, Ancient Chinese Legal System awarded the First Prize of Xian Zi Excellent Research Achievements.
1994, Ancient Chinese Legal System awarded the Second Prize of 3rd Beijing Excellent Research Achievements on Philosophy and Social Sciences.
1998, The Tradition and Modern Transformation of Chinese Law awarded the First Prize of the Excellent Research Achievements of 9th Five-Year Plan by Ministry of Justice.
2000, The Evolution of Chinese Legal Civilization awarded the 12th China Book Prize.
2000, General Legal History of China (10 volumes) awarded the Second Prize of National Excellent College Textbook Prize.
2003, General Legal History of China (10 volumes) awarded the First Prize of 3rd Excellent Research Achievements of Research on Humanities and Social Sciences in Chinese Universities by Ministry of Education.
2008, The Tradition and Modern Transformation of Chinese Law awarded the Second Prize of 1st Excellent Research Achievements of China Legal Science by China Law Society.
2009, Curriculum reform and construction on ‘Legal History of China’ awarded the Second Prize of Beijing Excellent Education and Teaching Achievements (Higher Education).
2013, The Evolution of Chinese Legal Civilization (Revised) awarded the Second Prize of 6th Higher Education Excellent Achievements on Scientific Research (Humanities and Social Sciences).
2015, History of Chinese Legal Civilization (ancient volumes) awarded the Second Prize of 7th Higher Education Excellent Achievements on Scientific Research (Humanities and Social Sciences).
2019, Identify History to Clarify Present---The realistic significance of traditional legal culture awarded the Second Prize of 15th Beijing Excellent Research Achievements on Philosophy and Social Sciences.
2020, the Legal View on Legal Systems of Chinese Ethnic Nationalities (10 volumes) awarded the First Prize of 7th Higher Education Excellent Achievements on Scientific Research (Humanities and Social Sciences).
2020, Legal History of Supervision in China awarded First Prize of 16th Beijing Excellent Research Achievements on Philosophy and Social Sciences.
Main Achievements
Professor Zhang Jinfan is the pioneer and founder of the subject on legal history in the period new China and established a discipline system guided by Marxism and in line with China's historical reality. Prof. Zhang was invited to give legal lectures to state leaders for three times and provided historical and theoretical references for comprehensively promoting law-based governance. Although aging 90, he remains active in teaching and research. On May 3, 2017, at the time when General Secretary Xi Jinping visited China University of Political Science and Law, as scholar representative, he made a speech on the significance of historical reference on law-based governance of the country. He also led the team to complete major national commissioned projects—— ‘Innovating and Developing the Theoretical System of Study on the Theoretical System of Socialist Rule of Law with Chinese Characteristics’.
Professor Zhang Jinfan created many ‘firsts’ in the history of education of New China. He enrolled the first doctoral student, the first paper doctoral student and the first foreign doctoral student on legal history and founded the first National Key Discipline Research Center of Legal History. He supervised more than one hundred doctoral students, among which some become new academic leaders in the field of legal history and some hold leading posts in government agency. He is an author who is prolific and insistent on writing and researching. During over 60 years, he published more than 40 academic literatures, 20 textbooks and 300 professional papers, many of which are translated into foreign languages. He is the truly first scholar who introduces Chinese legal history to the world.
