Fornication and the public sphere
Category: Lifestyle
I use a Qing-era “fornication song” and scandalous court cases to think through how legal knowledge moved into the public sphere. From cheap print culture in late imperial China to French causes célèbres, I’m interested in how ordinary people learned the law, gossiped about it, and started judging the state for themselves world history teaching, print culture, and public opinion in motion.
Rolly's Take
For those who find solace in the tangled threads of history, where scandal and law entwine in unexpected ways. This blog speaks to the curious mind that relishes the whispers of bygone eras, revealing how the public once molded its understanding of justice through gossip and print. It’s a reflective space for those who ponder how the echoes of the past shape our present conversations about authority and morality.