The Art of Law — and Other Essays Juridical and Literary

John C.H. Wu. The Art of Law. The Commercial Press, Shanghai, 1936.

John C.H. Wu's The Art of Law and Other Essays Juridical and Literary reframes jurisprudence by asserting that law is fundamentally an art, not a science. Drawing on Celsus's definition of law as "the art of what is right and equitable," Wu posits that legal problems resolve to a Balancing of Interests. He argues that whilst there are no objective, equi-arm balances for human interests, the recognition of this subjectivity is, paradoxically, the highest form of objectivity attainable. Thus, law, like music or poetry, operates without external standards yet is capable of beauty. Wu states that "Justice is beauty as applied to human relation; beauty is justice as applied to the phenomenal world," positioning justice as a compound of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty.

For Wu, the Balancing of Interests is the core of every legal problem, with society acting as a "third silent party." He demonstrates how legal methods serve this balancing process. The logic of "would be," reasoning from undesirable consequences, is a half-conscious balancing. The philosophy of "as if," or legal fictions, is valuable only when harnessed to this balancing. Methods of analogy and distinction, which restrict or extend legal application, ultimately refer to a Judgement of the relative worth of competing interests, built upon meanings rather than mere facts. This perspective leads to an anti-formalist conclusion: no legal methodology can replace an innate sense of the fitness of things, and the methods of great judges, such as Mansfield's fictions or Holmes's articulation of the inarticulate, offer the true lessons, whilst "mechanical jurisprudence" remains a standing danger.

Wu also offers a comparative dimension, contrasting Old China's law, which was a "maidservant of morality" and lacked a criminal/civil distinction, with New China's adoption of continental codes. These new codes, congenial to the Confucian "doctrine of the mean," recognise statute, custom, and "legal reason" (a blend of comparative jurisprudence, legal philosophy, and the judge's practical sense of justice) as sources, allowing for the gradual development of law through judicial reasoning.

Central to the collection are two essays on `Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr`. Wu interprets Holmes's realist analysis of legal concepts, defining them by their operational recognition and shifting juristic logic from a subject-predicate to an antecedent-consequent form, thereby creating an inductive science of law. Holmes's theory of right is presented as a "being-allowed-by-the-law," a result of balancing interests, and thus relative. Wu explicitly traces the lineage from Holmes to the American realists. He portrays Holmes as a union of idealism and scepticism, an empiricist who philosophised law without legalising any philosophical system, comparing him to Shakespeare and Spinoza. Wu's personal account of his fourteen-year friendship with Holmes underscores the profound influence of their correspondence.

The collection concludes with literary pieces, including a review of Merriam, a Taoist fantasia, and aphorisms, which demonstrate the "Literary" aspect of the title and Wu's lifelong endeavour to "act like a Confucian and yet to feel like a man of the Tao."

The Art of Law contributes significantly to the wiki's `Domain V — Philosophy`, particularly in its exploration of Judgement and `Selection` within legal reasoning. Wu's central thesis, that Law as an Art is concerned with the harmonious arrangement of competing interests, resonates with the wiki's broader interest in the aesthetic dimensions of various disciplines. His emphasis on the trained sense of fitness in legal Judgement aligns with discussions on `The Education of Taste` and the cultivation of discernment. The concept of the Balancing of Interests as the engine of law, with logical methods serving this process, offers a unique perspective on the practical application of philosophical principles.

Wu's work provides a primary interpretation of `Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr`, particularly his prediction theory and operational analysis of legal concepts, enriching the understanding of legal realism. His East–West synthesis, weaving Confucian and Taoist sensibilities into a sociological-jurisprudence framework, highlights how "civilisation is the capacity of appreciating other people's ways of thinking." The aesthetic theory of justice, where "Justice is beauty as applied to human relation," positions law as a meeting point of ideals and realities, akin to the lotus, offering a profound connection to the wiki's exploration of `Beauty as Judgement` and `Proportion`.