Research On Plaque Medium And Its Social Edification In Ming And Qing Dynasties

Plaque is a unique medium in China,which initially appeared as a sign of architecture.During the Ming and Qing Dynasties,the cultural and communication functions of plaque as a medium became increasingly prominent.At that time,the government used to issue plaque to honor loyal officials,righteous men,filial sons and wives,in order to spread the Confucian ethics and moral concepts advocated by the state,which made plaque become a social trend.This paper divides the plaque media into five types: building name plaque,shop name plaque,response to scenery Lyric plaque,exhortation and warning plaque,and commendation plaque.Commendation plaque has the most prominent function of social edification,and is more social than other types of plaque.Therefore,this paper takes the commendation plaque of Ming and Qing Dynasties as the main research object,and uses the methods of literature research and content analysis to analyze the material characteristics of plaque medium,the main content of communication,and the related behaviors and rituals.As a kind of medium,the commendation plaque first uses the striking material form as the mark to make the abstract Confucian ideology concrete.The physical characteristics of the plaque,such as space,material,style,size,ornamentation and craft,jointly determine the characteristics of the plaque as a medium.The position of the plaque in space makes it a natural way to attract attention.Although the wood-based feature enhances the continuity of the plaque in time,it also limits the depth of information that can be carried by the text of the plaque,as well as its spread in space.The style and size of the features reflect a distinct hierarchical order.While conveying good meaning and expanding the scope of audience,ornamentation implies some political metaphors.The production process of plaque is aimed at prolonging its service life,which not only consumes a lot of energy and wealth,but also raises the threshold for the use of this medium.Through the analysis of the contents of the plaque,we can see that the plaque mainly propagates the five moral concepts of loyalty,filial piety,fraternity,chastity and righteousness,Filial piety,fraternity and chastity are the moral norms to regulate the internal relations of the family and maintain the order of the family;"righteousness" is used to regulate interpersonal relations outside the family maintain the stability of social order.The values of filial piety,fraternity,chastity and righteousness ultimately serve "loyalty",which requires people to recognize the existing order,be content with their position in the power system,and consciously maintain national rule and social order.The behaviors and rituals related to write and present plaques also constitute an important part of the communication of plaque medium.In the official honor awarding activities,the emperors of Qing Dynasty took the plaque as an important means of political communication.Through the selection of the person and organization to present plaque,as well as a series of welcoming,hanging and viewing ceremonies such as welcoming in the suburbs,Incense and bath,kowtowing and celebration,they repeatedly established and displayed their authority,and consolidated the legitimacy of the political rule of the Dynasty and the Emperor himself.In the nongovernmental activities of giving plaques,the ceremonies of sending plaques,uncovering plaques,hanging plaques and thanking banquets also affected the relationship between the participants and made the people present share the meaning.In addition,the local gentry played an important intermediary role in connecting the government and the people in the use of plaques,helping the state power to penetrate into the local.