The Grassroots Organizations Above The Villages In North China In The Late Qing Dynasty

Xiangcheng is located in the southeast of Henan,a small county at the junction of Henan and Anhui.Since at least the Xianfeng period,the grassroots organizations below the county have been called "Pai",and the whole county is divided into 88 "Pai".The Pai is not based on a fixed number of households and populations,but is based on different numbers of streets,villages,bazaars,and castles are combined with obvious regional characteristics.In the late Qing Dynasty,basic-level organizations with natural villages as the basic unit generally existed in counties in North China.There have been many studies on this in academic circles,but their evolution,organizational characteristics,and functions are mostly from the institutional level.There is a lack of case and detailed research.This article focuses on the Pai of Xiangcheng County,based on the local record,tries to explore the characteristics and nature of this type of organization and the relationship between the villages under its jurisdiction.The text is divided into four chapter:The first chapter introduces the basic composition and characteristics of Pai.The second chapter first compares Pai with grassroots organizations with similar names and characteristics.It is found that Pai is a sort of household organization that undertakes various functions such as sending out miscellaneous factions and defending public security.The third chapter focuses on the special villages in the Ji Zhuang of Pai.They can be divided into two categories.Within the boundaries of a Pai,this indicates that not all the villages under the jurisdiction of the Pai are complete and adjacent.The fourth chapter focuses on the Ji Zhuang of county,they are villages inserted into Xiangcheng from outside counties.However,its households and land often have both Xiangcheng and other counties.Due to the frequent flow of people and land,and the local power,the spatial form of Pai is complicated.Therefore,this article believes that Pai and grassroots organization as Pai are rural organizations formed under the influence of various social factors.