It has taken more than 50 years for China to terminate its old-style legislation that had lasted for thousands of years and gradually transfer to a new system of legislation. In retrospect, the trace of the past, of more than 50 years, was full of change and was a process of affirmation to negation, and then to the negation of that negation. Over half a century ago, marked with the founding of the People’s Republic, a new type of legislation based on the people’s interest appeared in China for the first time in history. The activities of the National People’s Congress were abnormal too. Referring to the theory, system and technique of legislation, compared with that of the previous period, there was no progress but simply retrogression instead.

It has taken more than 50 years for China to terminate its old-style legislation that had lasted for thousands of years and gradually transfer to a new system of legislation.

In retrospect, the trace of the past, of more than 50 years, was full of change and was a process of affirmation to negation, and then to the negation of that negation. During some periods, there were ups and downs in making and removing laws. It was not until the last 20 years that there has been a new period of stable development. And, in this new period, along with stable and fast development, almost in every link and aspect of progress, there has emerged the motility and necessity for the completion of reform.

Over half a century ago, marked with the founding of the People’s Republic, a new type of legislation based on the people’s interest appeared in China for the first time in history. This new type of legislation, obtaining great achievements in fulfilling the unfinished tasks of the democratic revolution, stabilizing the new administrative power, building a new society, guaranteeing people’s interest, and in particular, in ensuring and promoting the structural reforms of the country’s economic system and pushing forward economic and social developments in the latter period.

Nevertheless, China’s legislation suffered repeated setbacks during more than 50 years. The road it took for a long time could not be called a successful one. In the early years following the founding of New China in 1949, the legislation was active, but it carried the marks of a special historical period. Though it gave birth to the rarely advanced Constitution in 1954, in general, it left little positive influence for the legislation in later periods. After 1956, when China’s legislation could have obtained a chance for stable development, it not only missed this chance but began to suffer a fate of being sluggish, twisted, and stagnated, to the point of almost being abandoned. This tragedy lasted for 22 years until around 1979, when Chinese legislation reached a favorable turn leading to flourishing. Since then, while making consistent efforts in improving itself, the legislation has eventually become a better and more efficient link in the whole legal system of China. Today, it is an important precondition and foundation in building a country of the rule of law.

In retrospect of the past 50 years of China’s legislation, greater significance and higher value of the experience is not that it is useful in many respects but that it exposed almost all the problems that could have been encountered during the legislation’s striving for development under the specific national conditions of China. So, the legislation of this period is very valuable in the legislative history of the People’s Republic and the evolution of legislation as a whole.