促膝研问三十年

20世纪50年代中期，建立律师制度是新中国民主法制建设的一个亮点，人们看到在共产党领导的国家中，也会有律师制度。50年代中期以後，尤其是1957年以後，由于种种历史原因，律师制度逐渐消失了。在文革浩劫中，民主法制的基本功都没有了，律师制度更别提了．

Thirty Years of Development of Legal Profession in China

The history of the legal profession in China has been a history of fugacious separation. In the imperial age of more than 2,000 years, there virtually existed no formal legal profession recognized by the State. Instead, the ＂omnipotent yamen＂ （government offices in feudal China） assumed a majority of functions of social governance including justice, and the only legal professionals recorded in historical materials were assistants to ranking officials called pettifoggers and legal gentlemen who drew up appeals, indictments, etc for people.