This chapter introduces the legal definition of ‘charitable trust governance’ and outlines the hypothesis, research questions, and research methods of this monograph. This monograph first defines the governance of charitable trusts as a set of mechanisms that ensure the trustee of a charitable trust complies with its duties. Based on this definition, Chapter 1 explains the hypothesis to be demonstrated in the rest of the monograph; that is, the governance framework for Chinese charitable trusts can only be fully understood in light of relevant laws, administrative practices, and private actions undertaken by trust parties. Three research questions are accordingly outlined to direct the study: (a) how has the charity law helped shape the governance structure of charitable trusts?; (b) how have regulators implemented the legal regulatory framework?; and (c) what private actions have trust parties taken when engaging with the law? Based on these questions, the chapter finally explains the methods adopted in the study: (a) textual analysis; (b) translation of Chinese sources; and (c) semi-structured qualitative interviews.