The German-Chinese University in Qingdao as a Space of Circulation During the Late Qing and Early Republican Era The Case of the Reform of Chinese Penal Law

This paper reconstructs and analyses the dialogue between conservative German legal scholars and Chinese officials involved in the reform of Chinese penal law during the late Qing period. It shows that, to some extent, the colonial setting – and the German-Chinese University in Tsing-tao as a very special space of circulation – offered opportunities for a surprisingly multi-faceted Sino-German intellectual exchange. It also makes clear that not only progressive Chinese scholars could thrive by appropriating ‘Western’ ideas, but that this could be true for more conservative officials and scholars as well.