Di Wang

Violence and Order on the Chengdu Plain

The Story of a Secret Brotherhood in Rural China, 1939-1949

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

Di Wang is Professor of History at the University of Macau. He is the author of The Teahouse: Small Business, Everyday Culture, and Public Politics in Chengdu, 1900¿1950 (Stanford, 2008).

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Stanford University Press
• Seitenzahl: 280
• Erscheinungstermin: 27. März 2018
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 229mm x 150mm x 23mm
• Gewicht: 431g
• ISBN-13: 9781503605305
• ISBN-10: 1503605302
• Artikelnr.: 48862035

Autorenporträt

Di Wang is Professor of History at the University of Macau. He is the author of The Teahouse: Small Business, Everyday Culture, and Public Politics in Chengdu, 1900-1950 (Stanford, 2008).

Inhaltsangabe

Contents and Abstracts
Introduction: Two Voices Joined in the Chengdu Plain
chapter abstract
The academic disciplines of sociology and anthropology took root in 1920s
China under the influence of American scholars and missionaries. Among
these pioneers were Shen Baoyuan's teachers in the Department of Sociology
at Yenching University in Beijing. Under their influence, Shen aspired to
become a "rural activist" and went to the countryside to learn about rural
issues from peasants. In the summer of 1945 she traveled to the village she
called Hope Township in the Chengdu Plain, Sichuan Province, to investigate
the Gowned Brothers. This introduction discusses past scholarship of secret
societies and traces the intellectual origins of Shen's investigation that
built the academic foundation for her fieldwork.
1A Public Execution
chapter abstract
Shen Baoyuan created the pseudonym Hope Township to protect the privacy of
the people she investigated. However, based on the information in her
report as well as other historical sources, this chapter confirms that Hope
Township is in fact Chongyiqiao, a northern suburb of Chengdu. Lei
Mingyuan, the central personality in Shen's report and head of the local
branch of the Gowned Brothers, publicly lynched his daughter and the young
tailor who worked for the family in response to rumors that the two were
engaged in an affair. Despite the brutal and brazen nature of his crimes,
however, Lei did not face any charges. This chapter details the horrific
crime and its ramifications, looking at the problematic prevalence of
lynching and the rule of law at the time.
2A Local Band of the Gowned Brothers
chapter abstract
The Chengdu Plain, in rural western Sichuan, was one of the most affluent
areas in all of inland China. All aspects of geography, ecology, economy,
lifestyle, and local culture and customs enhanced the development and
survival of the Gowned Brothers, who thrived here. This chapter describes
these factors as well as the growth of the secret society. The organization
was founded in the early Qing period with the goal of "overthrowing the
Qing and restoring the Ming." In its long struggle against the Qing
government, the Gowned Brothers developed a solid organizational structure
and extensive power network. A large proportion of Sichuan's male
population were members and played an active role in local control and
security. This chapter documents how this secret society assumed and
enforced dominance of local communities.
3Spirituality and Customs
chapter abstract
This chapter explores the spiritual beliefs and actions of the Gowned
Brothers and looks at how these reinforced the secret society's power
structure. Paoge members took what was traditional and fashioned a variety
of specialized rites and customs for themselves. Over the past forty or so
years, historians and students of Chinese society have taken a much-needed
neutral, in some sense anthropological, stance toward China's broad
landscape of rites, beliefs, and religious and ceremonial practices. This
chapter turns to the unique observations of Shen Baoyuan, who was
fascinated with what many in academe of her time thought of as arcane and
superstitious ploys. It begins with a short sketch of how traditional rites
and beliefs were acted out in the Paoge's own local areas. Popular
religions were closely tied to local culture, and the Gowned Brothers
worshipped Guandi, which brought members together to fight for a common
goal.
4Secret Codes and Language
chapter abstract
In her investigation, Shen Baoyuan documented unique words used by Paoge
members in everyday life, rituals, and communication, often referred to as
"black words" or "hidden lingo." Her 1946 report explained pointed out that
the very name of the Paoge originates from an agenda of "national spirit"
and "revolutionary ideas," which was a way to refer to the anti-Manchu
revolution. Haidi, documenting the organization's history, language,
structure, and other information, was the organization's canonical text.
The Gowned Brothers created their own language, which reflected their
unique political ideas, identity, and historical narratives and provided a
covert means of communication. This chapter analyzes the development and
role of their secret language as well as the political implications.
5Disciplines and Dominance
chapter abstract
Members of the Gowned Brothers reinforced their solidarity and internal
stability through strict regulations, codes of conduct, and rituals for
meetings and other activities. Any member who violated them would be
harshly punished or even executed. This chapter examines these regulations
and their chilling effect on nearly every type of behavior. Paoge members
actively participated in stabilizing local order. The parties involved in a
dispute usually did not pursue justice through a formal, forensic process,
but instead went to a teahouse for "negotiation tea." This practice was an
important means through which Paoge members learned about current events
and kept order in even the smallest of neighborhoods. As prominent members
of the community, the brothers challenged official judicial power in this
role. This chapter describes the Paoge's mediation process and its effect
on local jurisprudence.
6A Tenant Farmer and Paoge Master
chapter abstract
This chapter examines Lei Mingyuan's economic situation as his leadership
in the Gowned Brothers grew. Scholars generally believed that a tenant
belonged to the economic class of poor peasants, but Lei, as a tenant
farmer, did not actually do fieldwork. Instead, he hired four short-term
laborers, whom he paid on a daily basis. Contrary to the assumption that a
leader of the secret society would at least be economically well-to-do, Lei
did not fit any category of the rural class division established by the
Chinese Communist Party during the Land Revolution in the early 1950s. He
rose to power primarily through success in fighting bandits.
7Entering the Paoge
chapter abstract
This chapter describes the dynamics that led the Paoge worldview and
policies that took hold in the Lei family. Although Lei Mingyuan was a
Paoge leader, he was not omnipotent, according to Shen Baoyuan's
observations in her 1946 report. He was imperceptibly influenced by social
constraints, but he had to support his family and fulfill family
obligations. Rice cultivation was the primary focus of those who lived in
Hope Township, and the home Lei shared with his second wife, Woman Lei, was
surrounded by bamboo groves and paddies. Woman Lei was literate and stern,
the survivor of a great tragedy in her first marriage. Her demeanor and
shrewdness enhanced the family's ability to establish Lei's reputation as a
leader in the organization.
8The Decline of Power
chapter abstract
This chapter describes the events that sealed Lei Mingyuan's grim demise,
through the lens of the larger framework of leadership in the Gowned
Brothers. Given his apparent lifestyle and role in his village from about
1939 to 1945, Lei was incapable of maintaining his responsibilities.
Covering up his growing financial and leadership problems, Lei lost his
economic freedom when his paddy fields of about seven acres were
transferred to another tenant as a result of his failure to pay rent. One
might assume that a landlord would not dare enforce the rules against a man
as powerful as Lei, but in reality all landholders, despite their status,
were subject to the same standards. As Lei's personal economic situation
weakened, the financial support he had provided his subordinates
diminished, thus causing his political power to wane as well.
9A Family Crisis and a Rural Woman's Fate
chapter abstract
Lei Mingyuan understood that his leadership position in the Gowned Brothers
depended on the strength of his reputation. His need to "save face" had
driven him to carry out the public execution of his daughter and her
presumed lover. This chapter weaves together other stories and details of
community life revealing that the women in Lei's family suffered under his
tyranny. Lei's economic and political instability drew him into a life of
decadence: he began taking opium, further escalating his personal financial
crisis. Notoriety resulted for Lei family when their servant girl ran away,
further diminishing Lei's reputation and authority. Lei was indifferent to
his family's suffering and sought a concubine. Woman Lei resisted, however,
and garnered the support from other Gowned Brothers, leading Lei Mingyuan
to abort his plan. Eventually, the couple reconciled and the Lei family
moved to a shabby house in a neighborhood of coolies.
10Fall of the Paoge
chapter abstract
This chapter explores how the Communists established their control in rural
China. Knowledge of the transition from the Nationalist regime to the
socialist state has centered on major cities, and there has been little
understanding of how the CCP extended its power into the countryside. This
chapter reveals that the Paoge did not confront the CCP upon its arrival on
the Chengdu Plain; rather, the organization quietly watched the situation
unfold. When the new regime imposed a grain tax, however, the group led
resistance in what the Communist discourse called the "bandit riots."
Although the Paoge had many connections with the Communist revolution, the
CCP could not tolerate its antiestablishment tradition and was determined
to destroy the organization entirely.
11Looking for the Storyteller
chapter abstract
This book is primarily concerned with two people: Paoge leader Lei Mingyuan
(and his family) and Shen Baoyuan, the storyteller. This chapter provides
important, new information on Shen and her 1946 report. Lei and Shen lived
in two completely different worlds, with different geographical,
educational, social, and economic backgrounds, but they intersected in the
summer of 1945. One was investigated and described; the other was the
investigator and narrator. Both played a role in retelling an untold,
powerful piece of human history. The book is also a three-way narrative: in
addition to Lei and Shen, there is the author, who engages the dialogue and
attempts to understand the Paoge leader Lei Mingyuan through Shen Baoyuan's
perspective.
12Untangling Paoge Myth
chapter abstract
This chapter's comprehensive examination of texts and narratives aids the
understanding of how the public's perception of the Gowned Brothers was
constructed over the centuries. These materials reveal the complex
relationship between the Chinese Communist Party and the Paoge. In her
report Shen Baoyuan harshly criticized the Paoge in Hope Township, but she
found a reason to be hopeful by the fresh ideas presented in Righteous
Monthly, a journal published by the organization in Chengdu. At the time,
however, Shen did not realize that the journal actually was controlled by
the CCP. More than six decades have passed since the Paoge was obliterated.
However, during the post-Mao reform the CCP gradually loosened its control,
leaving a prime opportunity for the revival of at least some secret
societies in China.