"No country is strong or weak forever. When those who uphold the law are strong, the country is strong; when they are weak, the country is weak." A nation doesn't always stay strong or weak. It is strong when the law is practiced with firmness. It is weak when the law is practiced with fragility.
This 2,000-year-old proverb, which directly links the strength of a country to its effectiveness in upholding the law, has been quoted by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
According to the report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), a comprehensive framework for law-based governance has taken shape in China, and its system of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics is being persistently improved.
Among the improvements cited was the Civil Code that went into effect in 2021. Like a social encyclopedia, it covers all aspects of Chinese people's life.
"The Civil Code is about laws," a young boy explains. "It is about fraud prevention and marriage issues," a woman says. "The section on safeguarding legal rights can provide people with more help," a man adds.
The commenters all come from a place called Dashilar, a sprawling community that's home to Peking Opera and also some of the most bustling and distinctive hutongs in Beijing.
It has recently become a fascinating creative hub for helping residents better understand the law, employing the beauty of Peking Opera as a vehicle to spread the word about people's rights and obligations.
"The essence of Peking Opera features filial piety, fraternity, loyalty, honesty, courtesy, justice, integrity and shame, which are consistent with the core of law," Li Jingming, head of Dashilar Sub-district Judicial Office in Beijing, told CGTN.
Take the play "Chisang Town" as an example. It tells the story of Bao Zheng, an orphan who was raised by his sister-in-law and became a magistrate in central China's Henan.
As a man known to always uphold justice, Bao did not spare his sister-in-law's son when he got involved in corruption. After he sentenced the criminal to death, Bao cared for his sister-in-law until the last moment of her life.
"After staging a performance of the opera, the lawyers explained relevant laws to the audience, which arouse their interest to join such activities, listening and learning from them," Li said.
Using Peking Opera to popularize legal knowledge has been effective. The idea came about because of the demographic makeup of Dashilar, where the elderly make up 28 percent of residents.
"Given the unique characteristic of our area, we combined Peking Opera with the popularization of laws, making education about the laws more vivid. So the elderly can enjoy the operas and learn about some laws and regulations related to themselves," Li Xiaohui, Party Secretary of the Baishun Residential Community, told CGTN.