Part of the Institute for Chinese Studies "Understanding China -- Its Roots and New Frontiers" Lecture Series and Center for Historical Research’s “State Formations: Histories and Cultures of Statehood” Program
“State Institutions and Everyday Politics in Ming China(1368-1644): Towards a social history of the Ming military"
Abstract:
The need to secure labor for military service is probably among the few universals of pre-modern states; states have devised a wide variety of mechanisms to address this need. Historians typically study these mechanisms by asking questions about the structure of military institutions, the policymaking process, and the effectiveness of these institutions and policies. But to better understand the human experience of statehood one should also ask about the ways in which institutions, policies and material practices are experienced by individuals, groups and populations; how they give rise to modes of calculation and strategizing; how they generate political resources that can be used in other political struggles not only with state agents but also with other subjects. As many others have shown, incentives created by the state may inadvertently lead to behaviors that undermine state goals. But that is not all they do. State policies may lead to compliance or provoke resistance. But they can also generate a wide range of behaviors that neither support nor oppose state interests, but are nonetheless highly significant. This project explores these questions through a study of the military system of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), in particular the institution of hereditary conscription. In response to the logics of the system, families developed strategies of remarkable complexity. They also found ways to take advantage of the differences between multiple overlapping regulatory systems through an early modern version of regulatory arbitrage. For example, soldiers and their families on the southeast coast took advantage of their position to participate actively in smuggling and even piracy. Were their strategies distinctive to the Ming state, to premodern Chinese states, or perhaps to early modern states in general? Are there links between premodern and contemporary everyday politics?
Bio-sketch:
Michael A. Szonyi (Chinese: 宋怡明; pinyin: Sòng Yímíng; born May 18, 1967) is Professor of Chinese History at Harvard University. His research focuses on the local history of southeast China, especially in the Ming dynasty, the history of Chinese popular religion, and Overseas Chinese history. He is currently studying the social history of the Ming Dynasty military. Szonyi has traced local cults from the Ming Dynasty and has found that some of these cults continue to exist. He hopes that his research on these traditions can help historians better understand the role of religion in establishing local social orders.
Comment: Julia Strauss, SOAS, University of London; Senior Center for Historical Research Faculty Fellow
Sponsor: Center for Historical Research at OSU
