The Crisis And The Control:The Governance Of Epidemic In Shanxi Province In The Middle And Late Ming Dynasty

Shanxi province witnessed a great plague for a long time in Middle and Late Ming Dynasty, and the plague had became the worst after Emperor Jiajing’ death. It burst.out in Emperor Jiajing, lasted in Emperor Wanli, and lost control in Emperor Chongzhen in general. Investigating the natural and human environment of occurrence of plague, characteristics of plague dissemination and governance in Shanxi is a key to interpret politics and society in Middle and late Ming Dynasty.The occurrence, spread and control of the plague in Shanxi, on the one hand, reflected the shortcomings in official medical system, on the other hand, reflected the game between grass-root society and the state. Although the epidemic caused serious losses and casualties and it was ineffective for the court to govern the epidemic, the plague promoted the traditional official medicine and sorted out the folk medical knowledge objectively in Shanxi from long term. At the same time, the rural belief system also shaped a new content during the spread of the plague.In the Middle and Late Ming Dynasty, the control of the epidemic makes us to see the change and the stick in various social group, which is the fade in official politics, hard exploration for local leaders, people’s adherence to a simple complex in the neighborhood, the squire group’s being responsible for morality.