Join us for the Late Imperial China Lecture Series!
Ying Zhang, Leiden University, “The History of Imprisonment as Family History: Rethinking the ‘Patrimonial-Patriarchal-Bureaucratic'” Framework in Ming History (1368-1644)
Abstract: In my current book project on jailing officials in Ming China, by studying the history of imprisonment as family history, I argue that patriarchy played a critical role in sustaining the patrimonial bureaucracy. A bureaucrat’s professional life, such as his job in metropolitan or provincial appointments and the disciplinary measures he might be subjected to, required him to mobilize family resources and social networks. When in confinement for an administrative-legal investigation, his intertwining privilege and vulnerability crystalized how the patriarchal system helped sustain the operation of the empire-wide bureaucratic machine. This presentation will specifically focus on how jailed officials managed their households remotely as patriarchs. Did the circumstances of confinement change their self-understanding as patriarchs? What were their main domestic concerns, and how did they act on these concerns? How did the families and lineages organize to coordinate support? Did the gendered division of labor evolve to accommodate special needs? I show how the wife and concubines, adult sons, brothers, and other male relatives could all get involved in providing material and non-material assistance to ensure the bureaucrat’s wellbeing during this time. Meanwhile, the patriarch in confinement felt the urgency to implement greater control over gender and status boundaries within their households. These dynamics in turn reinforced the patriarchal values that integrated loyalty to the emperor, filial piety to parents, and fraternal and spousal dedications, core values of the Confucian ethical system.
This is co-sponsored event by the East Asia Center and Corcoran Department of History!