Pheasant Water Talents | A generation of masters of Chinese private international law - Han Depei

Editor's note: This year marks the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Society of International Law. In the past 40 years, dating back to the founding of the People's Republic of China, generation after generation of Chinese international law experts and scholars have made indelible contributions to the prosperity and development of China's international law theory and practice. On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the founding of the China Society of International Law, in order not to forget the past, cherish the present, grasp the future, especially to thank those who have made contributions to the cause of international law in China, and to carry forward and inherit their excellent personality, academic products, wind bones and spirit, the secretariat of the Society has collected some correspondences, reportages, memoirs, biographies, essays, observations, self-statements and other essays that tell the stories of experts and scholars in international law, and has successively pushed them out on the social media of the Society to entertain readers and commemorate the 40th anniversary of the founding of the China Society of International Law.

First, the wind and rain life

Mr. Han Depei was born on February 6, 1911 in Rugao, a famous historical and cultural city in Jiangsu. At the age of six, he entered a private school and was familiar with the classics of Traditional Chinese Studies. At the age of ten, he transferred to Rugao Jingjiang Primary School and received a new education, in addition to basic courses such as Chinese and arithmetic, he also laid a good foundation in English. Despite his excellent academic performance, because of his family's difficulties, his family hoped that he would abandon his studies and engage in business and undertake the heavy responsibility of supporting his family, but he still hoped that he could continue to study after graduation and was unwilling to give up his ideals and pursuits. In order to reduce the burden on his family, he applied for the Rugao Second Generation Normal School, which was free of tuition and accommodation fees at that time. It was here that he came into contact with many talented mentors, extensively dabbled in various progressive publications, and was influenced by the ideas of democracy and progress, and established the pursuit of justice and the rule of law as his lifelong ideal and belief.

After graduating from Rugao Normal School in 1928, Mr. Li was admitted to the famous Nantong Middle School with the first place. At that time, Nantong Middle School had a deep academic background, a strong lineup of teachers, a generation of John Dewey, Zhu Dongrun, Jiang Liangfu has lectured in the school, Han Depei also learned French during the school, for future learning and research to provide useful assistance.

In 1930, Mr. Han was admitted to the Department of History and Politics of Zhejiang University, and in 1931, the Department of History and Politics of Zhejiang University was merged into the Central University, and he was able to continue his studies at the Central University. During this time, he met Mr. Xie Guansheng, a law professor who prompted him to change the direction of his life. The jurisprudence course taught by Xie Guansheng was full of scriptures and interesting, and Mr. Xie developed a strong interest in legal science since then. With the support of Xie Guansheng, He transferred from the Department of History and Politics to the Department of Law and embarked on the path of lifelong engaged in legal research and education. In addition to famous teachers, the rich library resources of Chuo University also made him a good student, because he had a good foundation in English and French, he read a large number of classics of foreign languages here, including "Oppenhai International Law", "The Essence of the British Constitution", "Introduction to the Philosophy of Law", etc., and also took Japanese and German, laying a legal and linguistic foundation for further study of international law in the future.

Shortly after his husband entered Chuo University, his uncle, who had been supporting his studies, died, and he completed his university studies by relying on work-study. In 1934, he graduated from the Faculty of Law of Chuo University and was employed by the editorial department of Chuo University, where he was the chief editor of journals and journals. In his spare time, he made full use of the resources of the Chuo University collection, continued to study and enrich himself, accumulated a large number of reading notes, and translated and wrote academic papers at the same time. His knowledge and literary style were appreciated by the president of Chuo University at the time, Luo Jialun, who promoted him to a lecturer at Chuo University and taught courses at the school.

In 1939, He decided to take the 7th Sino-British Gengfu Examination for Publicly-Funded Students, and after several months of hard preparation, he stood out in the examination and became the only candidate majoring in private international law among the 24 publicly-funded students admitted to the United Kingdom that year. Mr. Zhou Kunsheng, a titan of Chinese jurisprudence and later president of Wuhan University, was the evaluator of the international law examination papers that year, and Mr. Han's excellent answers left a deep impression on Zhou Kunsheng, and a few years later, Mr. Han's fate with Wuhan University spanned half a century.

After being admitted as a publicly funded student in the UK, according to the original plan, Mr. Han was supposed to be sent to Cambridge University to study private international law, and had already booked a ticket for the ferry ticket to leave. Before leaving, he suddenly received news that the Second World War had broken out, and he had to pause his departure and return to The Central University while working and waiting. In the second year, the board of directors of The Chinese Ying Geng Section decided that the seventh batch of publicly funded students in the Uk would be sent to Study in Canada, and Mr. Li was arranged to study private international law at the University of Toronto, Canada. So in July 1940, together with 23 other british students, he took the "Russian Empress" ship to North America and began his overseas study career. Among these students, who went to the University of Toronto with him to study, were also China's famous scholars Qian Weichang, Zhang Longxiang, Duan Xuefu, Li Chunfen, Shen Zhaowen, Jin Wenhan and others, including Mr. Jin, who have created the glory of the times in their own fields.

Second, have a lofty heart

During his studies at the University of Toronto, Mr. Han studied under Professor Moffat Hancock, a renowned scholar of private international law. Professor Hancock has an active mind and unique insights, dares to break through the tradition on the application of law in foreign-related cases, does not limit the "vested rights theory" that monopolizes the Anglo-American legal circles for decades, and pioneers legal choices based on national and social policies from an empirical point of view. Professor Hancock's innovative and unyielding academic attitude had a profound impact on Mr. Han. After that, the reason why the Law School of Wuhan University was able to develop academically under the leadership of Mr. Wuhan University also benefited from this.

Under the guidance of Professor Hancock, Mr. Han chose the basic issue of the substance and procedure of private international law as the topic of his thesis, cited a large number of judicial cases in the United States and Canada in the process of writing the thesis, put forward unique insights, successfully passed the thesis defense, and obtained a master's degree in law.

In 1942, World War II escalated further, the Pacific War broke out, civil shipping between North America and Asia was interrupted, and the road back home was cut off. After completing his studies at the University of Toronto, he decided to go to Harvard University to continue his studies and research. He believes that academic research should not be just for the pursuit of degrees, and in order not to be limited by his profession, he decided not to pursue degrees and to engage in research of interest to him at Harvard Law School as a special graduate student. In the past three years, he has focused on the three research directions of private international law, public international law and jurisprudence, making full use of the academic resources of Harvard University, reading and collecting a large number of literature, writing and publishing a series of papers and book reviews, and introducing the cutting-edge achievements of Western legal research to domestic scholars. At the same time, he also took courses taught by distinguished professors at Harvard University, including Grieswold's private international law, Hudson's public international law, and Pound's jurisprudence, and the academic ideas of several jurists had a profound impact on his future legal research and teaching.

As a scholar of social sciences, He also paid close attention to the social development dynamics at that time, and during his studies at Harvard, he met many Chinese students with democratic and progressive ideas, who regularly gathered to discuss major issues in China and the international situation, and thought deeply about China's future development. In 1945, Dong Biwu participated in the United Nations preparatory meeting held in San Francisco as a representative of the Communist Party of China and the Liberated Areas, during which he was invited by the Progressive Society of New York to give a speech, during which some Chinese students interfered with the venue. After learning of this, Mr. Han wrote a letter to Elder Dong, saying that these students could not represent the majority of Chinese students studying in the United States, and also asked Elder Dong about the relevant questions about China's future legal research. Since then, the two have maintained correspondence.

His extensive knowledge, diligent and rigorous study attitude, strong sense of initiative and social responsibility make Mr. Han quite influential among Chinese students studying in the United States, and everyone admires him and calls him "The Three Musketeers of Harvard" together with Wu Yuliu and Zhang Peigang.

As Mr. Han's studies approached the end, many well-known personalities and institutions at home and abroad were very fond of him and sent invitations for positions. By chance, Mr. Zhou Kunsheng, as the legal adviser of the Chinese delegation, attended the United Nations preparatory meeting with Dong Biwu, and was impressed by the examination papers of the Chinese-British Gengfu Publicly-funded Students Examination that year, during which he made a special trip to Harvard University to meet with him and invited him to wuhan university, where he was the incoming president, to serve as a professor. Out of admiration for Mr. Zhou's talent and character, Mr. Han gladly accepted the invitation and decided to teach at Wuhan University after returning to China.

3. Keep the path of good will

After the end of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Wuhan University was moved from Leshan in Sichuan to Luojiashan in Wuchang, and Mr. Zhou Kunsheng took on the important task of rebuilding Wuhan University at a time when everything was in ruins and waiting to be rebuilt. As a titan in the field of international law, Mr. Zhou Kunsheng's achievements and influence in the field of international law deeply attracted Mr. Han, so in 1946, together with Wu Yuyu and Zhang Peigang, who were also known as the "Three Musketeers of Harvard", he chose to teach at Wuhan University, becoming the "youngest professor" on Luojia Mountain.

Mr. Han, who had just started teaching whipping, was hired by President Zhou Kunsheng as a professor of law, and in 1947 he succeeded Yan Shutang as the head of the law department. Mr. mainly teaches courses such as private international law, public international law and the history of foreign legal thought, and teaches courses with novel, clear and fascinating courses, coupled with Mr. Young Talents, who has always paid attention to grooming, likes to wear a neat and decent suit, solemn and personable, so it is popular among students, becoming a "star" professor in the minds of students, and there is no shortage of followers in the classroom, sometimes even the windowsill is full of people.

The early days of returning to China to teach were also the peak of his academic creation, and he made great achievements in academics. During this period, he published a number of important academic papers, including the article "Anti-Cause Problems in Private International Law" which systematically and comprehensively discussed the anti-cause and transposition in the application of law; the article "The "Rule of Law" We Need" explained the connotation of the rule of law and the accompanying relationship between "democracy" and "rule of law".

On the eve of the founding of New China, the Kuomintang authorities brutally suppressed the student movement internally, and the "June 1 Massacre" that shocked the whole country occurred, during which Mr. Li traveled around to uphold justice for the students and protect the progressive students to the greatest extent. In 1949, he also joined the "New Democracy Education Association" led by the underground party organization in Wuhan of the Communist Party of China, and secretly carried out school protection activities at Wuhan University.

After the liberation of Wuhan in 1949, in addition to continuing to serve as a professor and head of the law department, he also served as the secretary general of the Wuhan University Council at that time, responsible for managing the school affairs. In 1952, he became the vice provost, fully presided over the academic affairs of Wuhan University, and every year when a new student opened, he would personally give a report to the students, and teach the students how to become a qualified college student with infectious words.

In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Law Department of Wuhan University urgently needed to adapt to the requirements of the new situation and make changes, and Mr. Han devoted a lot of effort to this end. In order to expand the teaching team, He recruited a large number of well-known law teachers from Hunan University, Sun Yat-sen University and Xiamen University, as well as newly graduated law graduate students, including the famous criminal law scholar Professor Ma Chang. He believes that the key to teaching and educating people lies in teachers, and he should be a model for students in both knowledge and character. In order to improve the quality of teaching, He also tried his best to organize teaching work. Every month, Mr. Li will listen to the teaching work report of the Law Department; for young teachers, he organizes and arranges experienced teachers to give guidance, and young teachers must conduct trial lectures before taking the stage to teach, and only through assessment can they arrange teaching tasks. Under his leadership, the law department of Wuhan University performed well among the national universities and colleges, and later became one of the few comprehensive university law departments that was retained by exception.

In addition to his teaching work, he also attaches great importance to the scientific research work of the Law Department. He believed that universities should impart cutting-edge scientific knowledge to students, and that the level of scientific research also represented the academic status of a department or school, so he formulated various policy measures to encourage teachers to engage in scientific research. During this period, he completed the Chinese translation of the Russian edition of the book "Courts of the USSR and courts of the Capitalist Countries", which was published in 1956. He also published articles such as "Creating Conditions for "Controversy" in Legal Science", calling for attention to legal research work.

Fourth, unswerving

In the 1950s, political movements began to sweep across the country, and Wuhan University was no exception. In the "three antis" and "five antis" movement, Mr. Li insisted on inner fairness and justice, opposed the expansion of the scope of the crackdown, and served as the president of the "people's court" and did his best to get rid of untrue words that were created out of nothing. During this period, Professor Gui Xien's father, Mr. Gui Zhiting, a famous physicist in China, was falsely accused of embezzling the funds funded by the United States to the Space Physics Observatory of Wuhan University before liberation, and Mr. Zhou Kunsheng was also involved. After Mr. Han received the news, he promptly informed Zhou Kunsheng and Gui Qingting to take countermeasures, and in the name of inviting Zhou Kunsheng to return to the school to give a lecture, Zhou Kunsheng and Gui Zhiting had the opportunity to explain the origin of the space station and the use of funds to the Wuhan University School Council to avoid further expansion.

However, in 1957, the storm suddenly changed, and the "anti-rightist" and "Cultural Revolution" followed. He was first characterized as a "rightist" element, dismissed from all posts on the campus, and assigned to Shayang Farm for re-education through labor. During the period of re-education through labor, the four wives and children in the family did not have any economic income, and their lives were only maintained by relying on the help of their close friends Professor Gui Zhiting, Mr. Zhou Kunsheng and other relatives and friends. Shayang Farm has poor conditions, the re-education through labor personnel have been malnourished for a long time, and the labor intensity is high, and many people have fallen in the fields. He relied on his tenacity of willpower to survive this period and was released to return home in 1960.

After his release, Mr. Han was successfully transferred back to Wuhan University after several twists and turns, but the law department of Wuhan University was abolished in 1958, and the original law department members were merged into Hubei University, and Mr. Han who returned to Wuhan University could not return to his favorite legal education position. Due to his early experience in studying in the United States and Canada, the school arranged for him to work in the reference room of the Department of Foreign Languages. Not long after, because of the serious shortage of English teachers at that time, under the recommendation of Professor Gui Zhiting's wife and Professor Xu Hailan, an expert in English phonetics, the Department of Foreign Languages of Wuhan University arranged for Mr. To start teaching English. He was very satisfied to be able to return to his teaching position, so he also devoted all his efforts to teaching. Mr. Li has been very interested in English literature as early as high school, so he has read a lot of books and has a broad knowledge, and the accumulated knowledge has been fully exerted in English teaching, and the teaching effect is also well known among students. He also often gives lectures to students about knowledge that is not in the textbook, and students have said that Mr. Wang's classes can broaden people's horizons and benefit a lot. At that time, there were several famous people who taught English at Wuhan University with him, including Tang Bingliang, Zhang Yuechao, Sheng Lisheng and others, who were meticulous in their undergraduate English teaching and often gathered in mr. Li's home to discuss teaching content.

The good times did not last long, and in the subsequent Cultural Revolution, Mr. Li once again put on the hat of "rightist". In 1970, Wuhan University responded to the call to set up the "Shayang Branch" of Wuhan University in the countryside of Shayang, Hubei Province, and as one of the first rightists sent to the "Shayang Branch" of Wuhan University, mr. Huang went to Shayang. At that time, many central organs also set up cadre schools in Shayang Farm, and there were many political dignitaries, academics, and celebrities who had worked in shayang. When they first arrived in Shayang, Mr. and Mrs. could only live in a makeshift ash shed, and it was very difficult to eat and live. After moving to Shayang, Mr. did all kinds of farm work, herding cattle, beating tofu, looking at watermelon fields, many years later, whenever Mr. recalled the experience at this time, he always laughed openly, never complained about the difficulties of life, always had the courage to face the future, and the tenacious attitude of life shown in his hearty laughter was unforgettable.

After 1971, the situation eased, and the gentleman finally took off the hat of the "rightist" again and had the opportunity to re-enter the podium. At that time, Wuhan University Shayang Branch Organized English Tuition Classes for Local Secondary School Teachers, mr. Once again undertook the work of English teaching, although the teaching content was mainly based on the middle school curriculum, mr. Wuda was still meticulous as always, and took every class seriously.

In 1971, the 26th session of the United Nations General Assembly restored the legitimate seat of New China in the United Nations, and accordingly a large number of United Nations working documents needed to be translated into Chinese, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs assigned this work to major universities, including Wuhan University. In 1976, as an expert in the field of international law and fluent in English, he undertook this important task without any doubt. After the completion of the work, he was praised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and he was able to return to the field of international law, continue to shine with his lifelong learning, continue to realize his ideals and values in life, and contribute to the restoration of the international status of new China.

Fifth, rain and moisturize all things

In the spring of 1976, the social order was gradually restored, and the most difficult years of Mr. Wang's life had passed. In 1978, he returned to Wuhan University from Shayang Branch, and Wuhan University resumed his professorship and salary. He was nearly seventy years old at that time, but he still had great ambitions, and under the new situation of reform and opening up, he only raced against the clock and bravely threw himself into the work, creating a new peak in his career.

Liu Daoyu, vice president of Wuhan University at the time, keenly recognized the urgency and necessity of governing the country according to law, and proposed to seize the opportunity to restore the law department of Wuhan University, which had been abolished for many years. Fortunately, many well-known jurists, including Mr. Yao Meizhen, Ma Chang, He Huahui, Zhang Quanlin, and others, because they were "rightists" and no one was willing to accept them at the time of the merger, stayed at Wuhan University, providing an opportunity and favorable conditions for Wuhan University to resume its law department. At the 1979 wuhan university party committee meeting on whether to restore the law department, the debate was fierce, and given the sensitive status of the law department, the opposition was the majority. At the meeting, President Liu Daoyu strongly advocated the reconstruction of the law department, pointing out that this is "not only the need to send legal talents for the construction of the 'four modernizations', but also the need to run Wuhan University well and recast the golden signboard." In the end, the meeting decided to rebuild the law department of Wuhan University, and Wuhan University became the first batch of institutions of higher learning to rebuild the law department after the reform and opening up.

After the meeting, the Party Committee of Wuhan University decided that Mr. Han would be the head of the rebuilt law department and Mak Chang would be the deputy director. In order not to shoulder the heavy responsibility, the gentleman took the verse "The old cow knows that the sunset is late, and does not need to whip himself to fight". The first task of rebuilding the Law Department was to ensure first-class teachers, and Mr. Li tried his best to bring in talents everywhere. He has successively invited back famous teachers Huang Bingkun, Li Mousheng, Yang Hongnian, Liu Jingwang and other old gentlemen, and at the same time paid attention to the construction of a contingent of young teachers, and transferred and trained a large number of leading talents in law, including Li Shuangyuan, Liang Xi, Yu Nengbin, Lan Haichang, Xiang Kehan, Ling Xiangquan, Zhang Xianglan, Cai Shouqiu, Ma Junju and others. In order to let the teachers have no worries, Mr. Li traveled around to solve problems such as family registration and title evaluation for the teachers, and did not blame the teachers who had conflicts with him in the previous political movement, and did not treat them equally. Under the inspiration of Mr. Wang's broad-mindedness, all the law teachers united as one and forged ahead.

In 1980, the Law Department of Wuhan University began to recruit the first batch of undergraduate students and postgraduate students in international law, and in the same year, the Institute of International Law was established, covering three majors of private international law, public international law and international economic law. In 1992, the three majors set up a postdoctoral mobile station, in 1998 it became a national key discipline, in 2000 it was rated as a key research base for humanities and social sciences in international law, and in 2015 it was approved by the central government as the first batch of pilot units for the construction of national high-end think tanks.

In addition to the field of international law, he is extremely far-sighted in the development of the legal discipline. In order to seize the frontier field of legal science and shape the dominant position of the law department of Wuhan University, Mr. Li also focused on environmental law, an emerging discipline of legal science. He resolutely introduced interdisciplinary talents, and established the Environmental Law Research Office in 1980, the Institute of Environmental Law jointly established with the Chinese Academy of Environmental Sciences in 1981, the Doctoral Degree In Environmental Resources Law Authorization Point in 1998, and the National Humanities and Social Sciences Key Research Base in 1999, which was the first institution specializing in the teaching and research of environmental and resource protection law in China and even in the Asia-Pacific region.

In 1987, he organized the establishment of a national academic organization, the "China Private International Law Research Society", which was later renamed the "China Private International Law Society". In terms of international academic exchanges, in 1980, he led the Chinese delegation to participate in the Second "International Congress of Legal Science" held in the Netherlands for the first time in the name of the People's Republic of China, at which he read out the conference report of "The Strengthening Socialist Legal System of the People's Republic of China" and briefed the representatives of 59 countries attending the congress on the achievements in the development of the socialist legal system since the founding of the People's Republic of China. In 1982, he was invited to the University of Missouri in the United States to give a visiting lecture, and successively visited 19 universities in 11 states in the United States, introducing the construction of the new Chinese legal system and the development of legal education along the way, and promoting mutual understanding between China and the United States. In recognition of his contributions to cultural exchanges between The United States and China, the Mayor of Kansas City awarded him the title of "Honorary Citizen."

He has always stressed that legal research and legal education cannot be separated from China's practice, so he has also been actively involved in legal practice, on the one hand, he has participated in relevant domestic legislative activities, and on the eve of the promulgation of the General Principles of Civil Law, with his efforts, he has ensured the smooth passage of the rules for the application of law in foreign-related civil relations. He then organized a panel of experts to draft the Model Law on Private International Law in China, which provided reference for legislative, judicial and scientific research work. The Model Law has been published and distributed in many countries in Chinese, English, Japanese and other texts, and has an important influence in the field of private international law research in the world. In 2010, the Law on the Application of Law in Foreign-Related Civil Relations was officially promulgated, which was the first time that China had promulgated special legislation on private international law, which contained many references to the provisions of the Model Law. In addition, he has also participated in legal practice, assisted relevant institutions in resolving major foreign-related economic contract disputes, and repeatedly recovered major economic losses for the country.

He is highly respected in Wuhan University, but has always attached great importance to the sustainable development of international law talents, rewarded after studying, never monopolized academic resources, he broke the school portal, created a good academic environment, encouraged young researchers to boldly innovate, created more opportunities for them, a broader stage, and injected a steady stream of fresh power into international law research. Under the initiative of Mr. Wuhan University, there are dozens of leading cadres of state organs, presidents of colleges and universities, and deans of law schools who have come out of the law department of Wuhan University, and there are countless professors, doctoral supervisors, and legal workers, which is inseparable from Mr. Wang's spirit of educating people by word and deed and "bowing down to the cattle of the people".

In his later years, Mr. Han was hired as a "senior professor" at Wuhan University, enjoying tenured professor qualifications and academician treatment, so Mr. Han never really retired and never left the job of legal education. Even though he no longer teaches courses, he still often gives speeches to all the students at the opening ceremony, the celebration of the academy, etc., and places ardent hopes on the younger generations through earnest teachings, and many of the fa students who studied in Luojia Mountain still remember his voice and smile deeply. Until he was in his nineties, He still insisted on supervising doctoral students, just so that more students could have the opportunity to embark on the road of engaging in international law research, and at the same time, every graduate admissions interview and graduation defense Mr. insisted on personally participating, until the eve of his death at the age of ninety-nine, Mr. Han still remembered several "Hanmen" doctoral students who would participate in the defense the next day.

In May 2009, Mr. Li's courageous and hard-working life came to an end, until the last moment of his life, he never gave up his desire and pursuit of life. In an interview, He once said that he had aspired to become a great jurist since his university days, and he had not been able to meet the expectations of him in his youth, but he hoped that among his students, there would be such great jurists as Oppen hai and Pound of China, who would make historic and great contributions to the development of the Chinese nation to the development of world jurisprudence. Such a lofty ideal is mr. Wang's unfinished business, and it is also a ardent hope for future generations. Although he is gone, the ideal goal he hopes for has always inspired the spiritual motivation of our unremitting efforts and generations.

A poem "Untitled and Feeling" made by Mr. Li is exactly the portrayal of his life: "Forty years on Luojia Mountain, the human world has seen several vicissitudes. Only the mountain flowers bloom year after year, and they spit out the fragrance in spite of the wind and rain. ”

* Author: Xiao Yongping, Doctor of Law, Native of Macheng, Hubei Province, Director of the Institute of International Law of Wuhan University, Doctoral Supervisor; Shuai Ying, Doctor of Law, Huang Meiren, Hubei, Associate Professor of Wuhan Polytechnic University.

Source| Chinese Society of International Law