Patronage Of Monasteries And Power Transition Of Wenzhou Town:A Jiangxin Island-centric Narrative(1535-1917)

As two vital ways of Patronage of Monasteries,compilations and repairing buildings can reflect the power structure of a specific area in a particular period.Jiangxin Island is rich in symbolic meaning in Wenzhou.Jiangxin Temple and the two pagodas are significant buildings on this island.A number of bureaucratic landlords moved to the Wenzhou Town which came from local large clans,including Yingqiao Wang,with economic and cultural competitiveness during the Late Ming Dynasty.The activities around this island and the Wenzhou Town are closely connected,by which they attained reputation and used family culture to reshape the image of this island.In the Qing Dynasty,the clans who owned business and the clustered lower gentry actively intervened in the local affairs.In the case of Wencheng Hui,they launched a power struggle.Finally,a local official and pawnbroker got involved in the compilation and publishing of Jiangxin Records in order to reshape their local image.The style of the Records was different from the one edited in the period of Emperor of Kangxi.During the early Republic of China,a foreign official took a series of cultural activities,including repairing the Jiangxin Temple and combing local Buddhist genealogy to ease the spiritual and practical difficulties.But this kind of intervening had been struck by the gentry merchants who had accumulated power during this time.There was no new Record during this time,but people still could express something by carrying out some related activities.Different groups of people during different periods have specific and realistic consideration,and this can be a reflex of the changes of the society.