How did ordinary people in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) deal with the demands of the state? In The Art of Being Governed, Michael Szonyi explores the myriad ways that families fulfilled their obligations to provide a soldier to the army. The complex strategies they developed to manage their responsibilities suggest a new interpretation of an important period in China's history as well as a broader theory of politics.
Using previously untapped sources, including lineage genealogies and internal family documents, Szonyi examines how soldiers and their families living on China's southeast coast minimized the costs and maximized the benefits of meeting government demands for manpower. Families that had to provide a soldier for the army set up elaborate rules to ensure their obligation was fulfilled, and to provide incentives for the soldier not to desert his post. People in the system found ways to gain advantages for themselves and their families. For example, naval officers used the military's protection to engage in the very piracy and smuggling they were supposed to suppress. Szonyi demonstrates through firsthand accounts how subjects of the Ming state operated in a space between defiance and compliance, and how paying attention to this middle ground can help us better understand not only Ming China but also other periods and places.
Michael Szonyi is professor of Chinese history and director of the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies at Harvard University. His books include Practicing Kinship: Lineage and Descent in Late Imperial China and Cold War Island: Quemoy on the Front Line.
平素读书,喜好读史,以明心智。年轻时候,眼高气盛,喜欢读“大历史”:史记汉书、资治通鉴、人物传记、诸子原典……沉浸于上下五千年的滔滔长河,纵揽风云际会的胸胆开张,读得久了,也会做青史留名的梦,幻想自己也能像历史上的贤才名将似的建一番功业。然而,我们中的绝大...
评分 评分 评分为了确保军队维持在一定的规模,明朝实行了一项军户制度。简略地说,军户制度就是从民户中选出一部分定为军户,要求每个军户必须保证任何时候始终提供一名士兵在军队服役。如果在服役的士兵病死、战死或出现其他意外状况,对应的军户必须再提供一个新的男丁补充。这名正在服役...
评分从如此小且冷门的角度切入明史,所探讨的问题却是明朝根本的军事制度问题,且讨论了平民与国家之间互动,并利用这种互动,让自己的利益最大化。老百姓虽是被统治的对象,却在互动中并非被动的一方,其中可操作可主导的空间很大。作者还进一步论证了民间应对策略的问题,这些策略直至今天仍在中国民间与国家的关系中起着作用。
评分The conversation with James Scott is interesting. Not sure if I like the engagement with Foucault.
评分从如此小且冷门的角度切入明史,所探讨的问题却是明朝根本的军事制度问题,且讨论了平民与国家之间互动,并利用这种互动,让自己的利益最大化。老百姓虽是被统治的对象,却在互动中并非被动的一方,其中可操作可主导的空间很大。作者还进一步论证了民间应对策略的问题,这些策略直至今天仍在中国民间与国家的关系中起着作用。
评分简直就是历史写作的典范! 越来越觉得历史呀,就是关于时间的民族志。
评分小切口历史人类学。从家谱民间叙述和documents中重建明代军户制度的原貌。细致有趣。作者从none-structural perspective挖掘被统治者如何maximize family interest和整体解构进行互动,顺带讲了明代海上贸易与军户“倭寇”间的复杂关系,以及屯戍制度与土地流转的张力。Impressive story telling!
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