[Translation Achievement] The English Version of "A Comparative Study of Representative Systems" Published by Springer

Recently, Springer Publishing House published the English version of "A Comparative Study of Representative Systems," an academic work by Professor Zhou Yezhong, a senior professor of humanities and social sciences at Wuhan University. The book was translated by Professor Ma Xiao from the School of Foreign Languages and Literature, who hosted the "Chinese Academic Translation Project" of National Social Science Fund.

The book consists of ten chapters focusing on four main theoretical issues. The first part, "Fundamental Theoretical Principles," consists of the first chapter, which explains the fundamental positioning of the representative system within democracy and democratic forms. The second part, "Democratic Origins," consists of the second and third chapters, which examine the relationship between the representative system and democracy from historical and contemporary perspectives. The third part, "Operational Relationships," spans chapters four to seven and analyzes the interactions between the representative system and election systems, state institutions, party systems, and interest groups, along with their mutual influences. The fourth part, "Formal Representations," comprises chapters eight to ten, focusing on the structure, functions, and different expressions of the representative system across various countries.

Due to differences in national conditions and culture, Western countries have long held misunderstandings and biases against China's People’s Congress system. The publication of the English version of this work helps Western audiences better understand the unique democratic forms of China and the rationale behind the socialist People's Congress system, grasping the core significance of China’s constitution and democracy. Professor Zhou Yezhong developed a theoretical framework for studying representative systems, which solidifies the foundation for the development of research on representative systems and provides beneficial exploration for the development and improvement of democratic theory and comparative constitutional studies.

The Chinese version of "A Comparative Study of Representative Systems" was first published by Wuhan University Press in 1995, subsequently revised and reprinted multiple times, and was published as a revised edition by the Commercial Press in 2018. It was included in the "Collection of Contemporary Chinese Academic Works." This collection is a publishing project launched by the Commercial Press in 2016, aiming to showcase the remarkable achievements of Chinese academia since the reform and opening up, while also presenting the independent thoughts and academic wisdom of Chinese scholars to the world.

The English version of "A Comparative Study of Representative Systems" has attracted attention from the international academic community since its publication, with universities such as Stanford University and Yale University in the U.S. and the University of Manchester in the U.K. adding the book to their collections.

(Correspondent: Song Shilei)