A Tale of Transplantation

Abstract This chapter embarks on a journey through time to examine the origins and historical evolution of unjust enrichment in China and aims to find answers from the history explaining the existing complexities of this area of law. It shows that the notion against enrichment without justification has been in Chinese law since the times of ancient China. However, instead of being an indigenous part of the law, the modern concept of unjust enrichment was transplanted into China for the first time when the Qing dynasty drafted the Chinese Civil Code in 1911 by referring to the German Civil Code. Compared to other branches of civil law, the Chinese law of unjust enrichment was out of the spotlight for many years. There were very few rules concerning unjust enrichment before the promulgation of the Chinese Civil Code in 2020 and the specifics of even the very fundamental aspects of the current Chinese law of unjust enrichment are not free from controversy.