The Subdistricts(Fen-fang) Of Subordinate Officials And Grass-roots Social Control In Shanxi Province In The Qing Dynasty

The social control in traditional era is an important topic of academia, academia has always been more concerned about the role of social control, such as the clan, squire, ritual law etc, but in which the role of political power was not paying enough attention.So,this paper researches the subdistricts(fen-fang) of subordinate officials in Shanxi province in the Qing dynasty, by the specific study of its change, spatial layout and functioning, and thus examine its practical significance in the social control.About the change of the subdistricts(fen-fang) of subordinate officials in Shanxi province in the Qing dynasty, it shows the two major characteristics of "constant and change":the constant refers to the relative stability in the number,"change" refers to the complex set, abolishment and migration in the internal. They all meet the actual needs of the imperial dynasty to control the society of Shanxi province. Then, according to the43subdistricts (fen-fang) of subordinate officials in the thirty-eighth year of Qianlong, this article studies its spatial layout from the provincial scale and prefectural(zhou-xian) scale. From the provincial scale, the subdistricts (fen-fang) of subordinate officials show distinct regional differences in the number and the types of the resident. From the prefectural (zhou-xian) scale, there are two major considerations about its set:the distance between it and counties and its importance in the socio-economic.About the functions of the subdistricts (fen-fang) of subordinate officials in Shanxi province in the Qing dynasty, this article is divided normal functions and unconventional functions. The study found that the subdistricts (fen-fang) of subordinate officials have many examples of playing normal functions. On the other hand, there are some phenomenons of playing unconventional functions too. For example, some of them have a relatively well-defined region of responsibility; in addition to maintain the public order, they also bear rich functions, such as inventory accounts, measurement of land, collecting taxes, market management, public works, the development of cultural etc.About the officials of the subdistricts(fen-fang) of subordinate officials in Shanxi province in the Qing dynasty, they follow a certain system requirements in the native place, the scholarly honour or official rank and the transfer. Judging from the native place of them, officials strictly follow the avoidance of origin system. Judging from the scholarly honour or official rank of them, the officials of xunjiansi (巡检司) were generally inferior to the subordinate officials, this is actually fit with the grade of them. Judging from the transfer of them, the promotion about the officials of xunjiansi is rare, but the subordinate officials have many examples of promoted to a higher grade officials. This reveals whether or not have the imperial fame and the level of them has become the core paths about the promotion of the officials in the Qing dynasty.In summary, the formation and change of the subdistricts (fen-fang) of subordinate officials fundamentally depends on the specific geography, economy and social environment of Shanxi province in the Qing dynasty. It reflects the unique Shanxi personality. The research again confirms that the theory of "the imperial power stopping at the county level" is untenable, and further reveals this fact:the subdistricts (fen-fang) of subordinate officials played an important role on the social control in traditional era. They were essential.