A Gentleman's Social Life：Ch'I Pian-chia's Groups and Community Activities in Late Ming China

• Main Authors: Chu Ton-chi, 朱冬芝
• Other Authors: Wang Hong Tai
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2006
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/70890092589437662926

碩士 === 國立暨南國際大學 === 歷史學系 === 94 === “The social interaction” has many aspects, including the continuation of contemporary relation, related people, the possible influence after the interaction, etc. The purpose of the thesis is, with diaries, letter, and anthologies of Ch’I Pian-chia, the gentleman in the late Ming China, to discuss the social interaction of the upper-class elite in Jiannan and positive influences on the local. From Ch’I Pian-chia’s family background and life, we can find that people he interacts with are from the same province. Geographically, they are gentlemen in Zhejiang area; the focus will be Shaohsing gentlemen if we further minimize the range. They are mostly locally prestigious and most of them are relatives. Therefore, Ch’I Pian-chia’s social life and community are extremely connected to the local. From the perspective of the life history, Ch’I Pian-chia becomes an official very early. With the early education of studying at home, the local connection becomes the key to the social relation. Shaohsing area becomes the main geographical focus in his development. Ch’I Pian-chia mainly interacts with gentlemen of the same province. These social activities indicate Ch’I Pian-chia is very experienced in socializing and has particular principles and disciplines in his social management. Ch’I Pian-chia himself has participated in as many as seven groups, which reveals that the more connected these gentlemen are, the more collective activities will be. These groups members can be divided into two kinds—chianghui (learning and discussing meetings) and literary association. chianghui group becomes the main role in directing the local relief of the disaster afterwards while literary association, along with garden activity, becomes the chief member of the local cultural activity. With the local need and gentlemen’s leading, the private social activity, however, becomes the communicative medium between public and private affairs.