Confucian Image Politics : Masculine Morality in Seventeenth-Century China

During the Ming-Qing transition (roughly from the 1570s to the 1680s), literati-officials in China employed public forms of writing, art, and social spectacle to present positive moral images of themselves and negative images of their rivals. The rise of print culture, the dynastic change, and the proliferating approaches to Confucian moral cultivation together gave shape to this new political culture. Confucian Image Politics considers the moral images of officials-as fathers, sons, husbands, and friends-circulated in a variety of media inside and outside the court. It shows how power negotiations took place through participants' invocations of Confucian ethical ideals in political attacks, self-expression, self-defense, discussion of politically sensitive issues, and literati community rebuilding after the dynastic change. This first book-length study of early modern Chinese politics from the perspective of critical men's history shows how images-the Donglin official, the Fushe scholar, the turncoat figure-were created, circulated, and contested to serve political purposes. image00001_2R 1 image00002_1L 2 image00002_2R 3 image00003_2R 4 image00004_2R 5 image00005_1L 6 image00005_2R 7 image00006_1L 8 image00006_2R 9 image00007_2R 10 image00008_1L 11 image00008_2R 12 image00009_1L 13 image00009_2R 14 image00010_1L 15 image00010_2R 16 image00011_1L 17 image00011_2R 18 image00012_1L 19 image00012_2R 20 image00013_1L 21 image00013_2R 22 image00014_1L 23 image00014_2R 24 image00015_1L 25 image00015_2R 26 image00016_1L 27 image00016_2R 28 image00017_1L 29 image00017_2R 30 image00018_1L 31 image00018_2R 32 image00019_1L 33 image00019_2R 34 image00020_1L 35 image00020_2R 36 image00021_1L 37 image00021_2R 38 image00022_1L 39 image00022_2R 40 image00023_1L 41 image00023_2R 42 image00024_1L 43 image00024_2R 44 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image00138_2R 268 image00139_1L 269 image00139_2R 270 image00140_1L 271 image00140_2R 272 image00141_1L 273 image00141_2R 274 image00142_1L 275 image00142_2R 276 image00143_1L 277 image00143_2R 278 image00144_1L 279 image00144_2R 280 image00145_1L 281 image00145_2R 282 image00146_1L 283 image00146_2R 284 image00147_1L 285 image00147_2R 286 image00148_1L 287 image00148_2R 288 image00149_1L 289 image00149_2R 290 image00150_1L 291 image00150_2R 292 image00151_1L 293 image00151_2R 294 image00152_1L 295 image00152_2R 296 image00153_1L 297 image00153_2R 298 image00154_1L 299 image00154_2R 300 image00155_1L 301 image00155_2R 302 image00156_1L 303 image00156_2R 304 image00157_1L 305 image00157_2R 306 image00158_1L 307 image00158_2R 308 image00159_1L 309 image00159_2R 310 image00160_1L 311 image00160_2R 312 image00161_1L 313 image00161_2R 314 image00162_1L 315 image00162_2R 316 image00163_1L 317 During the Ming-Qing transition (roughly from the 1570s to the 1680s), literati-officials in China employed public forms of writing, art, and social spectacle to present positive moral images of themselves and negative images of their rivals. The rise of print culture, the dynastic change, and the proliferating approaches to Confucian moral cultivation together gave shape to this new political culture. Confucian Image Politics considers the moral images of officials—as fathers, sons, husbands, and friends—circulated in a variety of media inside and outside the court. It shows how power negotiations took place through participants'invocations of Confucian ethical ideals in political attacks, self-expression, self-defense, discussion of politically sensitive issues, and literati community rebuilding after the dynastic change. This first book-length study of early modern Chinese politics from the perspective of critical men's history shows how images—the Donglin official, the Fushe scholar, the turncoat figure—were created, circulated, and contested to serve political purposes.The open access publication of this book was made possible by a grant from the James P. Geiss and Margaret Y. Hsu Foundation.

During the Ming-Qing transition (roughly from the 1570s to the1680s), literati-officials in China employed public forms ofwriting, art, and social spectacle to present positive moral imagesof themselves and negative images of their rivals. The rise ofprint culture, the dynastic change, and the proliferatingapproaches to Confucian moral cultivation together gave shape tothis new political culture. Confucian Image Politicsconsiders the moral images of officials-as fathers, sons, husbands,and friends-circulated in a variety of media inside and outside thecourt. It shows how power negotiations took place throughparticipants' invocations of Confucian ethical ideals in politicalattacks, self-expression, self-defense, discussion of politicallysensitive issues, and literati community rebuilding after thedynastic change. This first book-length study of early modernChinese politics from the perspective of critical men's historyshows how images-the Donglin official, the Fushe scholar, theturncoat figure-were created, circulated, and contested to servepolitical purposes.

Part I. The Late Ming -- Lists, Literature, And The Imagined Community Of Factionalists: The Donglin -- Displaying Sincerity: The Fushe -- A Zhongxiao Celebrity: Huang Daozhou (1585-1646) -- Interlude: A Moral Tale Of Two Cities, 1644-1645: Beijing And Nanjing -- Part Ii. The Early Qing -- Moralizing, The Qing Way -- Conquest, Continuity, And The Loyal Turncoat. Ying Zhang. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.