自20世纪50年代以来,美国的宋史研究经过几代学者的努力,在政治史、社会史、经济史、思想史等诸多领域,都取得了显著的成就。相对而言,宋代法律史研究则一直处于边缘地位,略显沉寂。造成这种情况的原因是多方面的,而西方学者普遍持有的对中国传统法律的偏见,显然是其中之一。在为数不多的从事宋代法律史研究的学者中,马伯良(Brian E.McKnight)无疑是其中的佼佼者,被称为美国"最重要的 Since the 1950s, after several generations of scholars’ efforts, the research on Song history in the United States has made remarkable achievements in many fields, such as political history, social history, economic history and ideological history. In contrast, the study of legal history in the Song Dynasty has been on the margins, slightly quiet. There are many reasons for this situation, and the prejudices on traditional Chinese law that are widely held by Western scholars are obviously one of them. Of the few scholars engaged in the study of the legal history of the Song Dynasty, Brian E. McKnight is undoubtedly one of the best, known as the United States