Center and Periphery: Shih-Tsung's Southern Journey, 1539

Beyond Flattery: Legitimating Political Participation in a Ming Living Shrine

“…Bureaucratic consultation with locals as part of the evaluation process fluctuated (Nimick 2008); ballot boxes were few (Fei 2010, 48-49); and protests and petitions, while frequent, were fleeting (e.g., Fang 2009;Fisher 1984;Kracke 1976). But one more durable form of political participation appears in a ubiquitous local institution: the "living shrine" (sheng ci).…”

“…Yet I argue that amid the swirl of Ming power relations, Mandate discourse-already very old and layered, even saturated (Weller 1994) with complex ideas about law, ritual, reciprocal emotion, righteousness outside of office, and the like-made possible a variety of claims to a legitimate political voice, just as Confucian family values enabled some young women to disobey their parents by insisting on lifelong chastity (Lu 2008). Bureaucratic consultation with locals as part of the evaluation process fluctuated (Nimick 2008); ballot boxes were few (Fei 2010, 48-49); and protests and petitions, while frequent, were fleeting (e.g., Fang 2009;Fisher 1984;Kracke 1976). But one more durable form of political participation appears in a ubiquitous local institution: the "living shrine" (sheng ci).…”