University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of Portuguese

The thesis concerns with the development of the Chinese family law during the 20th century, presents legal sources in relation to the historical development and describes the basic aspects of the Chinese family law with regard to similar aspects of the ancient Roman law. Explains the significance of the social stability in legal context from the end of the Qing dynasty up to the present, describes the importance of the neoconfucian ideology to the family law and the role of the law in the Chinese society in general. The thesis is divided into several parts, the first one begins with the period of the end of the Qing dynasty at the turn of the 20th century, describes the historical circumstances of the founding of the first Chinese Republic, explains the principles of the then family and social relations in detail, especially the structure of the traditional family, the significance of the ancestor worship, the scope of the agnatic relationship and its relation to the property rights, the importance of the marriage and the system of mutual dependency of the family members. The thesis further expounds the attempt to reform the traditional family after the 1911 revolution, the circumstances of the creation of the Civil Code, the contents of the Chapter IV of the Code and their significance to the...