Harold Laski was one of the most important public intellectuals in the English-speaking world. His profound influence in China, however, has been under-researched for decades. This project examines Laski’s long-neglected but very significant impact on China. It focuses on Laski’s influence on the evolution of rights, one of the key concepts that have emerged in China’s search for modernity and democracy.

It uses biographical methods, drawing on published biographies of the Chinese intellectuals who were highly influenced by Laski, as well as official records and personal letters. Analysis of individuals and their networks is located in the cultural, political and social context in which those people lived.

Through public engagement, this project will also stimulate interest in, and engagement with, the study of Laski and the British Left’s influence on China and provide new sources and methods for studying the legal history of China-Britain relations and its contemporary implications.

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