This book examines the contentious subject of human rights in China. However, in contrast to the majority of the literature which focuses on alleged Chinese abuses of human rights, the author examines the emergence and evolution of a Chinese conception of rights, paying attention to the impact of Confucianism, Republicanism, and Marxism on this conception. It is suggested that the joint influence of these doctrines helps to explain, among other things, the contemporary emphasis attached to socio-economic and collective rights in China, and the importance accorded to citizens duties in relation to the exercise of their rights.