Since the 1980s, China has undergone another wave of modernization characterized by rapid social change, fast paced economic growth and the proliferation of new legislation. Does this imply the triumph of a universal project of modernity in China? Or is China modernizing on its own terms? What is the relation between tradition and modernity, and between the state and society, given that modernization has been planned and pushed forward by the state from the beginning. This article examines cases that reflect incongruity and conflicts between formal and informal institutions in the process of modernization. It emphasizes the positive role tradition has played and might play in the formation of norms and orders, and suggests a way to rethink the relation between tradition and modernity and the implication of tradition for the ‘rule of law’ and modernity in China.
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