Pan Handian was born in 1920 in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, and is a well-known master of comparative law and the pioneer of foreign legal translation.

Pan graduated from the Institute of Comparative Law, Soochow University, and received a Master's Degree in Law. Pan then taught at Peking University, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the China University of Political Science and Law.

Pan also served as Editor-in-Chief for Translation of Law (published by Chinese Academy of Social Sciences) and the Journal of Comparative Law (published by China University of Political Science and Law).

Pan Handian, who is fluent in English and understands French, Japanese, German and Russian, devoted himself to translating foreign laws and legal theories, and spared no efforts at introducing the best foreign legal practices and theories into China.

He translated a great number of legal works, such as The Prince, An Introduction to Comparative Law (written by Konrad Zweigert), and English Law. English-Chinese Dictionary of Anglo-American Law, which was reviewed by Pan, has become a very important book for Chinese students of law.

In 2002, the title of "Senior Translator" was conferred on Pan Handian by the Translators Association of China.

He received the Lifetime Achievement Award in Translation at the Second National Translation Conference in Beijing on Dec. 6, 2012.

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