Kun Fan (UNSW Law Faculty) has posted Mediation in China: Bridging Tradition and Modernization on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
Mediation provides a distinctive lens on the continuity of legal thought from traditional to contemporary China. Rooted in Confucian, Legalist, and Daoist traditions, mediation in China has long served as a state-led mechanism for social governance, with the aim of preserving harmony, preventing conflicts and reinforcing social order. This conception of mediation offers a compelling contrast to the mediation frameworks in the West, which was developed as part of the “alternative dispute resolution” (ADR) movement to decentralize legal authority and empower private parties. In China, by contrast, mediation has consistently been viewed in China as an essential part of dispute resolution, rather than a mere ‘alternative’ method.
This chapter traces the evolution of mediation in China across Imperial, Maoist, and contemporary periods, highlighting both continuity and adaptation. In Imperial times, mediation embodied the societal value of achieving a harmonious and wusong (litigation-free) society. Mediation functioned not only as a mechanism for conflict management but also as a means of ethical restoration and moral instruction. During the Maoist Era, mediation was reconfigured as a political tool for advancing Party ideology, maintaining social stability, and reinforcing state control. Mediators were integrated into government apparatuses to promote Maoist ideology. In contemporary China, mediation has been revitalized within the judicial reform, because it alleviates court caseloads, produces higher voluntary compliance and a holistic resolution of conflicts, and contributes to social values such as social harmony and order.
This chapter argues that across Dynastic, Maoist, and Contemporary Periods, mediation in China has served not only as a method of dispute resolution but also a means to achieve societal values. It embodies a dynamic expression of Chinese legal thought, continually negotiating between tradition and modernity, morality and legality, and individual interests and collective stability.
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