Sir Henry S. Maine, a renowned British historian, concluded from his observation of the developmental history of ancient private law that the progression of all advanced societies was from status to contract. This exciting conclusion characterizes the evolution of modern legal relations. It also faithfully reflects the Contract Law’s route of development in China during the past fifty years or so. As the soul of civil laws, the Contract Law in China has played various roles as the Chinese regime evolved in the past half a century. The contents of the Contract Law have also changed together with the regime. It is a process in which the spirits of Contract Law has moved from “the-plan-is-the-law” to the constant enlargement of applicable subjects. Today, as China moves toward the market economy, the application of the Contract Law has gradually gained the “spirits of civil laws” that it deserves. The Contract Law, gradually disconnected from the planned economy and receiving the norms of contract laws from other countries, has become the foundation that leads toward the rule of the market.