In the first decade of the 21st century, the author of the book entitled “Wither Chinese Jurisprudence“ stepped forward to offer a critique of the unquestioned and undertheorized orientation of the Chinese legal science towards modernity. Widely and critically discussed, Deng Zhenglai's appeal for a new ideal picture of Chinese law based on a reinterpretation and new understanding of China herself can be seen both as a seizure in and outcome of the many discussions on law and culture that had started off in the first decade of reform and opening and were continued in the times of a “Socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics”. The following text shows that the issue of identity of Chinese legal scholars was an inherent part of the discourse on Chinese legal culture, and that Dengs book has to be understood in this context.
