INTRODUCTION ideological control which forced the members of the gentry into a constant preoccupation with the tenets of the authoritarian aspects of Confucian beliefs The gentry's relationship to the state was thus of a dual nature,sustaining it and controlled by it The gentry's relationship to the offcialdom may need.however.some clarification.The educational degree which made one a member of the gentry was a necessary prerequisite for holding an official position.However,only a comparatively small section of the large gentry group actually became offi- cials.During their periods of office tenure they were absent from their home communities.In their official position they represented the government in contrast to all groups of society and were in this capacity not regarded as gentry.But they still remained gentry of their home areas,whether they were at home or were exerting their influence from their distant place of office. The gentry were therefore close to officialdom,and this gave their positior a special political importance.Whether functioning as members of a social group or serving as officials of the state,gentry members derived their author ity from their educational qualifications as shown in their degrees.Whether in or out of office,the gentry were thus an essential part of the bureaucratic system The gentry's control of Chinese society,including its economic aspects,was not dependent on landowning,as will be developed in the following studies A great number of the gentry can be assumed to have been private land owners an nost of these had their land worked by tenants.However,this fact should not lead one to confuse gentry and landlords.The two groups overlapped but did not coincide.A gentry member was not necessarily a landlord,nor was a landlord necessarily a member of the gentry.A gentry member could be very powerful even if he had no land,while landownership without gentry sta atus gave no such power It should also be stressed that the discussion here concerns the gentry of the later imperial time.We have derived our data in the main from the nine teenth century and in part from the whole Ch'ing period.The point has been made that some features of the last decades of this time resulted from a decay of the whole imperial system. But we believe that some of the basic features of our findings on the gentry,taken from two and a half centuries of a long historical development,reflect its earlier forms.Our consideration of the In bis vario which,though som contradictory, the Chin Ia ly latge,extend years.This center of the family usually lics somewhere in the province (the northeastern
INTRODUCTION xvii ideological control which forced the members of the gentry into a constant preoccupation with the tenets of the authoritarian aspects of Confucian beliefs. The gentry's relationship to the state was thus of a dual nature, sustaining it )A( <ou-^^ and controlled by it. The gentry's relationship to the officialdom may need, however, some clarification. The educational degree which made one a member of the gentry was a necessary prerequisite for holding an official position. However, only a comparatively small section of the large gentry group actually became offi- cials. During their periods of office tenure they were absent from their home communities. In their official position they represented the government in contrast to all groups of society and were in this capacity not regarded as gentry. But they still remained gentry of their home areas, whether they were at home or were exerting their influence from their distant place of office. The gentry were therefore close to officialdom, and this gave their position / a special political importance. Whether functioning as members of a social group or serving as officials of the state, gentry members derived their authority from their educational qualifications as shown in their degrees. Whether in or out of office, the gentry were thus an essential part of the bureaucratic system. The gentry's control of Chinese society, including its economic aspects, was not dependent on landowning,^as will be developed in the following studies. A great number of the gentry can be assumed to have been private land- owners, and most of these had their land worked by tenants. However, this fact should not lead one to confuse gentry and landlords. The two groups overlapped but did not coincide. A gentry member was not necessarily a landlord, nor was a landlord necessarily a member of the gentry. A gentry member could be very powerful even if he had no land, while landownership \\'ithout gentry status gave no such power. It should also be stressed that the discussion here concerns the gentry of the later imperial time. We have derived our data in the main from the nine- teenth century and in part from the whole Ch'ing period. The point has beenN made that some features of the last decades of this time resulted from a decay of the whole imperial system. But we believe that some of the basic features X of our findings on the gentry, taken from two and a half centuries of a long historical development, reflect its earlier forms.^ Our consideration of the ^ In his various writings Wolfram Eberhard has given descriptions of the Chinese gentry which, though sometimes contradictory, imply an interpretation of the gentry with which we do not agree. In his Conquerors and Rulers, Social Forces in Medieval China (E J. Brill, Leiden, 1952) pp. 122-23, he writes: "Any understanding of the 'gentry' is possible only when one conceives of the 'gentry' as families. Gentry families are usually large, extended families with at least one family center, which is often kept for more than a thousand years. This center of the family usually lies somewhere in the province (the northeastern
xviii The chinese gentrY nineteenth-century gentry must,however,not be confused by the loose way in which the term has been used during the republic to describe what was in the main a group of landlords when the gentry of the imperial time no longer existed We have used the English term "gentry"'to translate the Chinese terms shen-sbib and shen-cbin which were used during the last centuries of imperial The famil may lose operty eePe发 nily in the of os cillacion such man a二r7ham csBakfadoHecentraladminisrato embeoihifanieeBnRegfea seat in the capita r活c sessions at home or to accumulated of an iitheroembes of p con Wei and eneeic therod of T'o wer contr an d this may bethe that Eberhard haskdthempor of thede dby him. history sinc ofnteaat8omberh0tgea standing we find from now gentry of our sou al feld st Hsiao-tung es als of the of ther 邮空奇 blican per dom hts be used to sasl term was used the on fu nalects)X. 8片dEAo9 ther e.The Chi ese asked ard the end of his
xviii THE CHINESE GENTRY nineteenth-century gentry must, however, not be confused by the loose way in which the term has been used during the repubHc to describe what was in the main a group of landlords when the gentry of the imperial time no longer existed.' We have used the English term "gentry" to translate the Chinese terms shen-shih and shen-chin "^ which were used during the last centuries of imperial provinces of China at our period, being the most densely inhabited provinces, and therefore, also the home of the majority of gentry families). Here the family may have, and often has, large property holdings which are rented out to tenants. The family may also have economic interests in activities of temples, such as pawnshops, and in financial or commercial transaaions of monasteries. The family may lose its property through mismanagetment, bandits, war, etc., but the prestige of the gentry' family in its home is so great that any such losses can be restored fairly easily by an energetic member of the family in the same or another generation. Therefore, a process of oscillation . . . undoubtedly occurs but does not change the status of the family in the long run. If such a family stays in its home and takes an active part only in the local administration as city commander, district official or similar posts, we speak of 'local gentry' . . . "Often, however, the gentry families get interested in the central administration. In such cases, one or several members of the family create a new family seat ;n the capital of the empire. We find them as officials or officers. But as they are materially comparatively independent (due either to the family possessions at home or to accumulated wealth after official activities), one or several members of such a family may also retire of any social aaivity and engage in poetry, painting, or other arts. Philosophers usually combine political activity with writing. We can, therefore, say that the gentry consists of landlords, officials, scholars, all within the limits of the family and, seen over a period of time, consisting of more than one generation." This description is presumably derived from Eberhard's studies of the periods of the T'o-pa Wei and the Five Dynasties. These were periods of political chaos and weak central control, and this may be the reason that Eberhard has overlooked the important role of the imperial government, the difference between appointed officials and gentry, and the vulnerability of the gentry family property holdings so much stressed by him. His defini- tion of gentry remains vague, and even if it were acceptable for the period from which it was developed, it is decidedly inappropriate when applied by Eberhard to later imperial history since Sung times. For this later period Eberhard believes also in the emergence of a new group "which can roughly be called 'middle class.' " According to him, "instead of a number of gentry families of equal standing, we find from now on a much smaller number of very powerful gentry families, plus a quite large number of new families (middle-class families), clients of the large gentry families." The gentry of our sources cannot be divided or charaaerized in this way. ^ It is this republican "gentry" which has been the object of several field studies by Fei Hsiao-tung. Fei has, however, also attempted to use his republican studies for an inter- pretation of the gentry of imperial times. A number of his articles have, since the completion of the writing of the present book, been republished in book form with an introduction by Robert Redfield and six biographies of people of the republican period by Chow Yung-teh under the title of Chifza's Gentry (University of Chicago Press, 1953). These selective descriptions of republican times combined with some random thoughts taken from the Chinese classics do not represent a study of the gentry' of imperial times despite the claim made in this book and indicated by its title. " The term shen has the literal meaning of a girdle or a sash. It came to be used to indicate a holder of a higher academic degree or an official, that is, the wearer of a girdle or a sash. The term was used in the Lun-yii (Confucian Analeas) X, xiii: "When he was ill and the prince came to visit him, he had his head to the east, made his court robes be spread over him, and drew his girdle across them." (James Legge, The Chinese Classics, Vol. I, p. 235; William Edward Soothill, The Analects of Confucius, p. 495.) Lun-yii. XV, v, says, "Tse-chang asked how a man should condua himself, so as to be everywhere appreciated. The Master said . . . Tse-chang wrote these counsels on the end of his sash." (Legge, pp. 295-6; Soothill, pp. 723 -5.) The other meaning of the term is given in
INTRODUCTION xix China to describe the Chinese upper social group.In spite of the frequent vague use made of the"we prefer this translation to the Chinese original because "gentry"has already been in use and has more meaning for Western readers.This choice of term requires,however,a warning against colorings of the term"gentry"which do not apply to the Chinese group.In contrast to the English gentry,for instance,membership in the Chinese gentry was not hereditary;entrance had to be gained by each member,and there existed a considerable social mobility for ascending to and descending from this group.The Chinese gentry were also not functionally linked to their land in the way of the English squires,and they were not,in this sense,a"landed gentry."The hard-living,hard-riding style of life of the English gentry was altogether in contrast to the Chinese ideal of the scholarly life. Another term often applied to the leading Chinese social group is"literati" which has been used because of the emphasis on proved literary qualifications This term seems to carry.however.a one-sided and exclusive meaning of scholarly life and does not express the general social,economic,and political power of this group.To us the term "gentry"indicates better the totality of edthat the tem referred o hoe who held higher academic wu-chung,pp.15,29,et passim;Huang painstance IV.ix:"The h and who is ashamed 231 ad clothe se sai oThe scholar not be without breadth of mind and His burden is heavy and his course is long. (Legge,p.210 ct sta commone odieadnite a Ci.Tz'u-yian to designate the ere frequently Ta-Ch'ing -lan, -ta-fa as men in office. 、 ouglas pper group
INTRODUCTION xix China to describe the Chinese upper social group. In spite of the frequent vague use made of the term "gentry," we prefer this translation to the Chinese original because "gentry" has already been in use and has more meaning for Western readers. This choice of term requires, however, a warning against colorings of the term "gentry" which do not apply to the Chinese group. In contrast to the English gentry, for instance, membership in the Chinese gentry . was not hereditary; entrance had to be gained by each member, and there existed a considerable social mobility for ascending to and descending from this group. The Chinese gentry were also not functionally linked to their land in the way of the English squires, and they were not, in this sense, a "landed gentry." The hard-living, hard-riding style of life of the English gentry was altogether in contrast to the Chinese ideal of the scholarly life. Another term often applied to the leading Chinese social group is "literati" ' which has been used because of the emphasis on proved literary qualifications. This term seems to carry, however, a one-sided and exclusive meaning of scholarly life and does not express the general social, economic, and political power of this group. To us the term "gentry" indicates better the totality of Tz'u-yilan, s. v., where it is stated that the term referred to those who held higher academic degrees or were officials. For some examples of the frequent use of this term in the nineteenth century, see T'ien Wen-ching, "Ch'in-pan chou-hsien shih-i" ("Imperial Publication on Matters Relating to Magistrates") in Huan-hai chih-nan wu-chung, pp. 15, 29, et passim; Huang Liu-hung, Fu-hui ch'iian-shu, chiian 4, pp. 12 a, 21 a, et passim. The term shih indicates a student or a scholar. See for instance Lun-yii, IV, ix: "The Master said, 'A scholar, whose mind is set on truth and who is ashamed of bad clothes and bad food is not fit to be discoursed with.' " (Legge, p. 168; Soothill, p. 231.) Lun-yu, VIII, vii, reads, "Tseng-tse said, 'The scholar may not be without breadth of mind and vigorous endurance. His burden is heavy and his course is long.' " (Legge, p. 210; Soothill, pp. 391-2.) For some nineteenth-century examples, see for instance Ch'in-ting hsueh-cheng ch'iian-shu (hereafter abbreviated HsUeh-cheng), 7/3 a, where an imperial edia states "Shih are at the head of the 'four people' and are the respeaed ones of the area. All commoners have respeaed and honored them because they read the sages' books and have been admitted to the government schools and because their words and actions can all be models to the villagers . . .", et passim. The term chifi literally means the collar of a robe. During the last dynasties it was used in the same way as shih to distinguish the literati. See for instance Hsueh-cheng, 7/13 a, an edict stating that some shih have relied on their blue chin (collar) to refuse payment of taxes. Ibid, 7/19 a, another edict uses chin instead of shih to designate the same group. Cf. Tz'u-yiian, wei p. 58, shen p. 165. The terms were frequently combined as shen-shih or shen-chin to distinguish the educated upper group as a whole. See for instance Huang Liu-hung, op. cit., 419 a-b; T'ien Wen-ching, op. cit., p. 29; Ta-Ch'ing lii-li hui-chi pien-lan, 8/40 b. Officials were sometimes known as shih-ta-fu. For the relationship of the terms shih-ta-fu and shen-chin, see Tz'u-hai, wei p. 71, which states that shen-chin were shih-ta-fu living in their native places. Tz'u-yiian also defines shih-ta-fu as men in office. " For the use of "literati" by Western writers to describe the Chinese educated group, see for instance Chester Holcombe, The Real Chinaman, pp. 225-233; Robert K. Douglas, Society in China, pp. 116 flF. See especially Max Weber, The Religion of China, chap, v on "The Literati," pp. 107-141. Weber, who recognizes the importance of the connection between education and political power in China, uses the term "literati" to describe the whole Chinese privileged upper group
THE CHINESE GENTRY the ideological,political,social,and economic position of dominance which this group held The study of the gentry of the nineteenth century is also complicated by the fact that the last dynasty,the Ch'ing,was not Chinese but Manchu. The Manchus had come into China with their own people organized in military formation,the so-called banners.They had reserved for themselves a special position in China and held about half the high official posts.But,aside from holding some provincial positions,they remained on the whole in the capital and in the more or less isolated garrisons in a few key strategic locations. They did not affect Chinese social life as a whole.They did not live in the Chinese communities and were,therefore,not gentry,even though some of them held grades,degrees,ranks,or titles.Therefore,they are not dealt with in these studies Each of the studies in the takes a differen approach and deals with a different set of problems. The first study,entitled "An Inquiry into the Constitution and Character of the gentry of nineteenth-Century China,"endeavors to describe and define the Chinese gentry.The gentry is seen as a social group with a well-defined institutional basis.Its membership was determined by a state-controlled,formal system of admission with an elaborate hierarchy of ranks and titles.Its privileges were legally provided and socially accepted.In this study,the gentry's social functions,its place in society,and its relationship to the government are examined and evaluated The second study,"A Numerical Analysis of the Gentry of Nineteenth- Century China,"presents figures on the size of the gentry as a whole as well as on the comparative size of the different groups within the gentry.Such estimates are helpful in evaluating the gentry's position in society,the gentry's relationship to the government,and the government's control over the gentry. The middle of the nineteenth century brought to China the Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864)and the impact of the West starting with the Opium War (1839-1842).The subsequent political and social transformation is reflected in the increase of the total number of gentry and in the change in relative strength of the various gentry strata occurring in the second half of the century. The third study.The examination life of the gentry of nineteenth- Century China,A Critical Analysis of the Ch'ing Examination System, shows that the examination system had remained the basis of the institutional frame- work of the nineteenth-century Chinese gentry It was not only the most important gate of entrance to gentry status but also an instrument of govern- ment control.The constant preoccupation of the gentry with the never-ending preparation for ever-recurring examinations forced them intoanexamination life in which their thoughts were channelled into the stream of official ideo-
XX (Ycir THE CHINESE GENTRY ^ the ideological, political, social, and economic position of dominance which this group held. The study of the gentry of the nineteenth century is also complicated by the fact that the last dynasty, the Ch'ing, was not Chinese but Manchu. The . Manchus had come into China with their own people organized in military formation, the so-called banners. They had reserved for themselves a special position in China and held about half the high official posts. But, aside from holding some provincial positions, they remained on the whole in the capital and in the more or less isolated garrisons in a few key strategic locations. rHiey did not affect Chinese social life as a whole. They did not live in the ' -Chinese communities and were, therefore, not gentry, even though some of them held grades, degrees, ranks, or titles. Therefore, they are not dealt with in these studies. Each of the studies in the present volume takes a different approach and deals with a different set of problems. The first study, entitled "An Inquiry into the Constitution and Character of the Gentry of Nineteenth-Century China," endeavors to describe and define the Chinese gentry. The gentry is seen as a social group with a well-defined institutional basis. Its membership was determined by a state-controlled, formal system of admission with an elaborate hierarchy of ranks and titles. Its privileges were legally provided and socially accepted. In this study, the gentry's social functions, its place in society, and its relationship to the government are examined and evaluated. The second study, "A Numerical Analysis of the Gentry of NineteenthCentury China," presents figures on the size of the gentry as a whole as well as on the comparative size of the different groups within the gentry. Such estimates are helpful in evaluating the gentry's position in society, the gentry's relationship to the government, and the government's control over the gentry. The middle of the nineteenth century brought to China the Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864) and the impact of the West starting with the Opium War (1839-1842). The subsequent political and social transformation is reflected in the increase of the total number of gentry and in the change in relative strength of the various gentry strata occurring in the second half of the century. The third study, "The Examination Life of the Gentry of NineteenthCentiuy China, A Critical Analysis of the Ch'ing Examination System," shows that the examination system had remained the basis of the institutional frame- ^ work of the nineteenth-century Chinese gentry. It was not only the most \ important gate of entrance to gentry status but also an instrument of govern- ^ment control. The constant preoccupation of the gentry with the never-ending preparation for ever-recurring examinations forced them into an examination life in which their thoughts were channelled into the stream of official ideo-
INTRODUCTION xxi logy.It is significant that it was the scholarly ability of the gentry which the government saw as essential,which it both encouraged and controlled,and shaped in an official mold through the examination system.The decline of the examination system during the nineteenth century was an indication of the ofthe soca structure of imperial China. The fourth study is entitled "A Quantitative Analysis of Biographies of Nineteenth-Century Chinese Gentry."Over five thousand biographies of gentry from all provinces have been examined,and the information contained in them has been tabulated according to certain categories.One set of tables shows participation in the various gentry functions.Another analyzes the family background of gentry members and investigates the changing propor- tions between those who came from gentry families and those who did not. A third set of tables presents data on the economic situation of gentry mem- bers.Of especial interest is the large number of gentry who are listed as having large amounts of cash the source of which remains unexplained.The fourth section thus supplements the preceding three studies but also raises new questions. No claim is made that these four studies provide an exhaustive description of all the aspects and problems of the gentry,but together they are meant to draw the main outlines of the gentry's position in the society of nineteenth- century China.A special study of gentry income in the nineteenth century is now ready for publication. The instition of the gentry perished with the imperial Chinesestate,but the trends of the past persisted in the social transformations that took place. The tradition of an intellectual status group dominating society limited the possibility of a democratic revolution and facilitated the success of Communist bureaucracy which differs from the tradition mainly in its lack of the humanist values of the past.But whether in,the Chinese develop- ment indicates,as Max Weber said,that"once it is fully established,bureauc- racy is among those social structures which are hardest to destroy." FRANZ MICHAEL Seattle December,1953
INTRODUCTION xxi logy. It is significant that it was the scholarly ability of the gentry which the - government saw as essential, which it both encouraged and controlled, and shaped in an official mold through the examination system. The decline of ^ the examination system during the nineteenth century was an indication of the deterioration of the social structure of imperial China. The fourth study is entitled "A Quantitative Analysis of Biographies of Nineteenth-Century Chinese Gentry." Over five thousand biographies of gentry from all provinces have been examined, and the information contained in them has been tabulated according to certain categories. One set of tables shows participation in the various gentry functions. Another analyzes the family background of gentry members and investigates the changing proportions between those who came from gentry families and those who did not. A third set of tables presents data on the economic situation of gentry members. Of especial interest is the large number of gentry who are listed as having large amounts of cash the source of which remains unexplained. The fourth section thus supplements the preceding three studies but also raises new questions. No claim is made that these four studies provide an exhaustive description of all the aspects and problems of the gentry, but together they are meant to draw the main outlines of the gentry's position in the society of nineteenthcentury China. A special study of gentry income in the nineteenth century is now ready for publication. The institution of the gentry perished with the imperial Chinese state, but the trends of the past persisted in the social transformations that took place. The tradition of an intellectual status group dominating society limited the / possibility of a democratic revolution and facilitated the success of Communist bureaucracy which differs from the tradition mainly in its lack of the humanist values of the past. But whether in its old or new form, the Chinese development indicates, as Max Weber said, that "once it is fully established, bureaucracy is among those social structures which are hardest to destroy." Franz Michael Seattle December, 1933