Since the introduction of the modern legal system into China, in the past hundred years, China is gradually moving towards a rule of law society, which is inseparable from the efforts of countless legal people. Since the end of the last century, Hong Kong has filmed a large number of film and television dramas on legal themes, many of which have a profound impact on the role of heroic female lawyers or judges. But in fact, in China, women have been able to practice law for less than 100 years, until 1927, after the Nanjing Nationalist government revised the Lawyers Law, women were able to break through gender restrictions, officially enter the legal profession, and start their legal life.
Women and the law
China has had legal provisions since the pre-Qin era and used them as an important means of governing the country, but in the history of more than two thousand years, a large number of "detective" stories that we know are male protagonists, such as Bao Zheng, Di Renjie, Hai Rui, etc., who are all impartial judges with iron faces. In contrast, women have been absent from more than two thousand years of Chinese legal history. Since the late Qing Dynasty, although China has introduced a modern Western legal system, it still excludes women. In 1912, the Republic of China promulgated the Interim Statute of Lawyers, which clearly stipulated that women were not allowed to serve as lawyers and judges, and it was not until the 1927 Lawyers' Charter changed this situation and women had the opportunity to write their own legal stories.
"Detective" Di Renjie
In 1869, the American woman Mansfield boldly broke through the shackles of secular prejudice and system, and through her own efforts, she broke into the all-male American lawyer community, which was the world's first female lawyer, and since then female lawyers have begun to appear around the world. In 1912, the Republic of China was established. Although the government still does not allow women to enter the legal profession, China at this time does not mean that there are no female lawyers, but they work in the Chinese legal profession as foreigners. In 1920, an American woman became a lawyer in Shanghai, the first female lawyer in China, and although she was an American, her appearance provided a good example for Chinese women who aspired to enter the legal profession.
After 1920, a number of foreign female lawyers appeared in Shanghai, who took a healthy step and wore straight suits and shirts, shining in the Shanghai legal circles as women. On the one hand, their emergence has created an atmosphere in which women can also work in the legal profession, setting an example for Chinese women, on the other hand, it has also highlighted the lag and imperfection of China's legal profession.
Former site of the Shanghai French Concession Court
Second, the emergence of female lawyers in China
Shortly after the appearance of foreign female lawyers in Shanghai, Zheng Yuxiu also appeared in Shanghai legal circles as China's first local female lawyer. Zheng Yuxiu was the first and only female lawyer in China at that time, and although the Chinese government at that time had not yet amended the lawyers' statutes, zheng Yuxiu's activities were mainly in the concessions, so they were not too restricted. Since Zheng Yuxiu, more and more male lawyers in society have also begun to call on women to participate in the legal profession, so as to help cases involving women be more fairly judged.
Zheng Yuxiu
Under the widespread appeal of all sectors of society, at the beginning of the establishment of the National Government in Nanjing in 1927, Minister of Justice Wang Pethui proposed to the National Government to amend the lawyers' charter and proposed to abolish the gender restrictions on lawyers. As newcomers to the legal profession, the newly emerged group of female lawyers has attracted much attention, but they are not female legal people who appeared out of thin air, but they received formal legal and political education as early as 1927, and some of them have also started legal work in the concession, but they are limited by the law and cannot officially obtain legal qualifications.
Graduating certificate from the School of Law and Politics
Although the law has loosened restrictions on women, female lawyers still suffer from great pressure and dilemma, and they have to deal with the "examination" of them from all walks of life. In other words, they will be cheered for doing well, but when they make a mistake, they will be criticized and blamed far more than the male lawyers who also make mistakes. For example, when Yang Zhihao first stepped into the courtroom, the newspaper did not mention her professional level, but instead kept emphasizing how she looked. People still focus on the "female" identity of female lawyers rather than the identity of "lawyers", so that in Chinese society nearly 20 years after the emergence of female lawyers, people still use "female streamers" to evaluate female lawyers.
Lawyer's certificate of the Republic of China
Third, the model of modern women
In the process of serving as lawyers, women are more difficult than men, and they have to face more criticism and criticism from society, but this criticism also makes the female lawyer group more tenacious, showing more powerful tenacity and independent qualities. According to records, when many female lawyers recall why they were engaged in the legal profession in their old age, they more or less mentioned that they were affected by the social reality of the low status of women in traditional society, and then hoped to help those women who were bullied by men at the legal level, and better protect women's legitimate rights and interests.
In fact, when female lawyers appear, women are more likely to seek out female lawyers to defend them when fighting lawsuits. Han Xuezhang, a famous female lawyer in Shanghai, once served as a lawyer for the famous female artist Han Jingjing. In the 1946 Miss Shanghai election contest, Han Jingjing was harassed by many hooligans because of her outstanding appearance. At this moment, Han Xuezhang resolutely decided to stand up and help Han Jingjing, regardless of personal danger, and she not only legally helped Han Jingjing to safeguard her legitimate rights and interests, but also publicly published a newspaper to accuse these hooligans.
Han Xuezhang
Cheng Xiuling, who is also a female lawyer, not only actively participates in the work of safeguarding women's legal rights and interests, but also actively participates in various social groups and organizations that safeguard women's rights and interests. She served as China's Ambassador to the United Nations, representing China in the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, where she held key positions. Cheng Xiuling has received a Western education since childhood, can speak fluent English, coupled with her years of experience in the domestic legal profession, so that she can represent Chinese women in the world organization to make her voice heard. These female lawyers not only dare to fight for women's rights, they are also new women who have received higher education and advocate independence and freedom, some of them refuse to bind their feet at an early age, and do many things that outsiders look "deviant", but this provides a good experience for them to dare to challenge the inherent patriarchal society in the future.
United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
Wen Shijun said:
Although female lawyers in the Republic of China era were a fledgling profession, most of these women were new women from well-known backgrounds and highly educated. They are not afraid of the guidance of others, have the courage to speak out for thousands of women, and try their best to help them safeguard their legitimate rights and interests. Compared with European and American countries, although the number of female lawyers in China is small, their ability is not inferior, and their hard work and dedication are worthy of our respect.
bibliography:
1. Wang Ruichao: "Research on Female Lawyers in Shanghai in the Republic of China Period", 2020 Doctoral Dissertation, East China University of Political Science and Law.
2. Sun Feifei, "Women in the Legal Profession", Modern Jurisprudence, No. 1, 2009.
(Author: Haoran Wenshi Little Sun)
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