Gentry And Local Society In Zhangqiu County Of Shandong Province In The Middle Ming Dynasty

The object of the study is the gentry group in Zhangqiu county in the middle of Ming Dynasty.The middle of Ming Dynasty is from the Tianshun to the Longqing(1457-1572).The "gentry" in this article specifically includes officials of proper origin,Jinshi,juren,Jiansheng and local Confucian students.The local Confucian students are the lower class gentry and the others are the upper class gentry.the main purpose of this paper is to discuss the role and function of Zhangqiu gentry in local society,and try to analyze the reason why the Zhangqiu gentry is weak from many angles.The war in the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty and the battle of Jingnan in the early Ming Dynasty caused great damage to North China,resulting in a sharp drop in population.Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di issued immigration policies many times,so the number of immigrants in Jinan prefecture of Shandong Province is very large.Zhangqiu county belongs to the Jinan prefecture of the six prefectures.It is a large county of Jinan prefecture with a large population and rich products.Most of Zhangqiu’s immigrants migrated from the Zaoqiang,Hebei Province.Zhangqiu in the early Ming Dynasty was an immigrant society.The restoration of social order and the reconstruction of new interpersonal relationships require a period of accumulation.By the middle of the Ming Dynasty,society was gradually stable,production was restored,and culture was gradually flourishing.Zhangqiu shizi’s complex of studying and becoming an official gradually took shape,and the imperial examination became prosperous.The gentry group in Zhangqiu gradually increased,forming a gentry circle in Zhangqiu’s society.They are moving in Zhangqiu individually or in groups,affecting Zhangqiu society.They were linked through imperial examinations,schools,marriage and other means and became an important force group in Zhangqiu society.This article analyzes the existence form of the majority of the gentry in Zhangqiu from the three aspects of the gentry’s marriage flow and the gentry’s clans and families in Zhangqiu.In other words,whether the gentry in Zhangqiu can rely on blood relatives and in-laws to play a role.The marriage flow of gentry families is a downward trend,that is to say,gentry cannot rely on marriage to strengthen their own strength.The organization construction of Zhangqiu clan at this time is not perfect.The clan is weak and in a period of construction.According to the information of Li Zhonglu xianjuji(hereinafter referred to as "xianjuji ")and local chronicles,the author looks at the social mobility of Zhangqiu gentry,and obtains that about two thirds of Zhangqiu gentry are born in non-superior family and have greater social mobility.Therefore,most of the gentry in Zhangqiu could not rely on clan strength.Zhangqiu has a greater social mobility,and most Zhangqiu gentry cannot rely on family of origin to play their role.Through collecting and sorting out the activities of the gentry in Zhangqiu in the middle of Ming Dynasty,the author tries to construct the overall appearance of the gentry in Zhangqiu.The author combs out the filial piety and public interest of the gentry in Zhangqiu and pays special attention to the education of local gentry.The gentry of Zhangqiu play an important role in maintaining local order.This reflects that Zhangqiu’s gentry guided their actions with Confucian scholar-officials and played some roles in maintaining local order.Zhangqiu’s economy developed in the middle of the Ming Dynasty,but the gentry did not play much role in large-scale economic relief,but there were still small-scale supports.It can be said that the gentry of Zhangqiu played a role in local education and weak economic support.According to the articles by Li Kaixian,a local gentry in Zhangqiu,which are included in the " xianjuji".These articles puts forward more reasonable opinions on the water conservancy management of Luohe,Xiaoqing River and Baiyun Lake,analyzes the problem of taxes and corvee,and reveals the social depression in Zhangqiu and the urgent need to improve.,which show Zhangqiu local gentry’s concern and helplessness for social problems.They have no way to control the decision and implementation of policies,even if the ideas put forward are scientific.It can be seen that the gentry of Zhangqiu did not play a significant role in local political affairs.In short,the gentry in Zhangqiu was different from those in Jiangnan and South China in the middle of Ming Dynasty.The differences in economic development between the north and the south,the differences in culture and education,and the differences in the number of gentry make the gentry different in strength and role.North China gentry represented by Zhangqiu gentry are relatively isolated gentry.Many gentry could not improve their social status with the help of origin family powers,clans and marriages.They made their fortune by studying hard and then built their families and clans.