近代在華美國法律職業群體形象的多重建構

如何對近代美國法律職業群體的在華活動作以性質界定或功能評判？是將其限定為法律帝國主義在華實踐載體，即美方藉以實現勢力擴張的工具？抑或，將之視作西方法世界播散中的因數，即以言傳身教傳播法治理念、宣揚法治文明？這是聚焦角度有別所致的不同推論，也是衡量標準殊異催生的別樣判定。不論前述結論的得出是基於客觀立場的自然鋪陳，抑或是基於道德高點的情感宣洩，均無法抹殺這一群體的客觀存在及其在中國近代法制化中的角色扮演。若意圖對其作以客觀評價，盡可能全面掌握其在華活動則成為必需。以遠東美國律師協會、美國駐華法院、北洋大學法律系及東吳大學法學院等為切入點，通過考察其在華法律執業、兼教法學院及就中國問題發表著述等，似能客觀地對其見證並參與中國法制近代化轉型作一注腳，為全面認識這一群體的司法、法制教育與法制宣傳提供一定參考。

How to evaluate the American legal professionals’ activies in natural or functional ways? The conclusions will be different depending on the diverse perspectives, and the definitions will be changed according to different standards. It can be regarded either as a sort of colonial expansion to make the legal imperialism practice into reality or as an element of the communication of modern law and civilization to transplant the Western law into China. The significance of this community’s activies in the process of China’s legal modernization could not be obliterated or neglected. Therefore, it is necessary for us to take a comprehensive investigation to achieve a more or less objective judgement. This article focuses on Far Eastern American Bar Association, United States Court for China, Beiyang University Law School and the Comparative Law School of China to better understand the activies including Americans lawyers’ legal practices, teaching in law schools and published works, aiming to rethink these judicial, legal education and legal publicity’s effect on modern legal tansformation in modern China.