Literary Inquisition

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The literary inquisition (Chinese :文字獄; pinyin :wénzìyù; literally: "imprisonment due to writings") or speech crime (Chinese:以言入罪) refers to official persecution of intellectuals for their writings in China. The Hanyu Da Cidian (汉语大词典) defines it as "the ruler deliberately extracts words or phrases from intellectual's writings and arbitrarily accuse him in order to persecute him" ("旧时谓统治者为迫害知识分子,故意从其著作中摘取字句,罗织成罪"). [1] The Inquisition took place under each of the dynasties ruling China, although the Qing was particularly notorious for the practice. In general, there are two ways a literary inquisition could be carried out. First is that the conviction came from the writing itself. That is, the writing was the direct cause of the persecution. The second is that the writing was used as a tool to provide legitimate evidence for a predetermined conviction. [2] Such persecutions could owe even to a single phrase or word which the ruler considered offensive. Some of these were due to naming taboo, such as writing a Chinese character that is part of the emperor's personal name. In the most serious cases, not only the writer, but also his immediate and extended families, as well as those close to him, would also be implicated and killed.

Simplified Chinese characters standardized Chinese characters developed in mainland China

Simplified Chinese characters are standardized Chinese characters prescribed in the Table of General Standard Chinese Characters for use in mainland China. Along with traditional Chinese characters, they are one of the two standard character sets of the contemporary Chinese written language. The government of the People's Republic of China in mainland China has promoted them for use in printing since the 1950s and 1960s to encourage literacy. They are officially used in the People's Republic of China and Singapore.

Hanyu Pinyin, often abbreviated to pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Chinese in mainland China and to some extent in Taiwan. It is often used to teach Standard Mandarin Chinese, which is normally written using Chinese characters. The system includes four diacritics denoting tones. Pinyin without tone marks is used to spell Chinese names and words in languages written with the Latin alphabet, and also in certain computer input methods to enter Chinese characters.

China Country in East Asia

China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia and the world's most populous country, with a population of around 1.404 billion. Covering approximately 9,600,000 square kilometers (3,700,000 sq mi), it is the third- or fourth-largest country by total area. Governed by the Communist Party of China, the state exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four direct-controlled municipalities, and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.

Contents

Before Ming dynasty

The practice of literary persecution has been recorded since Qin dynasty, and has been used by almost all successive dynasties ruling China. It is uncertain how frequently the persecutions occurred. [3] The poet Su Shi of Song dynasty was jailed for several months by the emperor due to the accusation of writing poems that slanders the government. This case involved more than 30 people, some of them being other poets who had contact with Su Shi, and turned out to be one of the most noted literary persecution on poems in Chinese history. [4] In the classical novel Water Margin , set in Song dynasty, one of the protagonists, Song Jiang, who was originally a minor official, was sentenced to death for writing a poem advocating rebellion against the government while he was drunk. He was saved and later became the chief of an outlaw band.

Qin dynasty Dynasty that ruled in China from 221 to 206 BC

The Qin dynasty was the first dynasty of Imperial China, lasting from 221 to 206 BC. Named for its heartland in Qin state, the dynasty was founded by Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor of Qin. The strength of the Qin state was greatly increased by the Legalist reforms of Shang Yang in the fourth century BC, during the Warring States period. In the mid and late third century BC, the Qin state carried out a series of swift conquests, first ending the powerless Zhou dynasty, and eventually conquering the other six of the Seven Warring States. Its 15 years was the shortest major dynasty in Chinese history, consisting of only two emperors, but inaugurated an imperial system that lasted from 221 BC, with interruption and adaptation, until 1912 CE.

Su Shi Chinese writer

Su Shi, courtesy name Zizhan,, art name Dongpo, was a Chinese writer, poet, painter, calligrapher, pharmacologist, gastronome, and a statesman of the Song dynasty. A major personality of the Song era, Su was an important figure in Song Dynasty politics, aligning himself with Sima Guang and others, against the New Policy party led by Wang Anshi.

Song dynasty Chinese historical period

The Song dynasty was an era of Chinese history that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou, ending the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The Song often came into conflict with the contemporary Liao and Western Xia dynasties in the north. It was eventually conquered by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Song government was the first in world history to issue banknotes or true paper money nationally and the first Chinese government to establish a permanent standing navy. This dynasty also saw the first known use of gunpowder, as well as the first discernment of true north using a compass.

Ming dynasty

There are records of literary persecutions during the Ming dynasty and the beginning of the period saw the most severe persecutions. Before he became emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang (the Hongwu Emperor), the Ming dynasty's founder, was illiterate and had been a beggar. While he established his empire, he surrounded himself with scholars, treating them with respect while he learnt to read and familiarise himself with history. He sent out requests to scholars for their presence, and while many agreed others declined for fear of the repercussions if they made a mistake. On occasion the emperor, who was learning to read, would order the execution of someone who had written something he misunderstood. [5]

Ming dynasty Former empire in Eastern Asia, last Han Chinese-led imperial regime

The Ming dynasty was the ruling dynasty of China – then known as the Great Ming Empire – for 276 years (1368–1644) following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last imperial dynasty in China ruled by ethnic Han Chinese. Although the primary capital of Beijing fell in 1644 to a rebellion led by Li Zicheng, regimes loyal to the Ming throne – collectively called the Southern Ming – survived until 1683.

Hongwu Emperor founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty

The Hongwu Emperor, personal name Zhu Yuanzhang, was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty.

Qing dynasty

The rulers of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty are particularly notorious for their use of literary inquisitions. The Manchus were an ethnic minority who had defeated the Han Chinese-led Ming dynasty; as such, they were sensitive to public sentiments towards them. [6] Writers and officials usually took the stance of drawing distinctions between the Han Chinese and the Manchus; the latter were traditionally viewed as barbarians in Han Chinese culture. However, while the Manchus were in charge, writers resorted to veiled satire. [7] According to Gu Mingdong, a specialist in Chinese literature and intellectual thought, [8] the Manchus became almost paranoid about the meanings associated with the Chinese characters for 'bright' and 'clear', 'Ming' and 'Qing' respectively. [6] One inquisition was the "Case of the History of the Ming Dynasty" (明史案) in 1661–1662 under the direction of regents (before the Kangxi Emperor came in power in 1669) in which about 70 were killed and more exiled. [lower-alpha 1]

The Manchu are an ethnic minority in China and the people from Manchuria derives its name. They are sometimes called "red-tasseled Manchus", a reference to the ornamentation on traditional Manchu hats. The Later Jin (1616–1636), and Qing dynasty (1636–1912) were established and ruled by Manchus, who are descended from the Jurchen people who earlier established the Jin dynasty (1115–1234) in China.

Qing dynasty former empire in Eastern Asia, last imperial regime of China

The Qing dynasty, officially the Great Qing, was the last imperial dynasty of China. It was established in 1636, and ruled China proper from 1644 to 1912. It was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China. The Qing multi-cultural empire lasted for almost three centuries and formed the territorial base for modern China. It was the fifth largest empire in world history. The dynasty was founded by the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan in Manchuria. In the late sixteenth century, Nurhaci, originally a Ming Jianzhou Guard vassal, began organizing "Banners", military-social units that included Manchu, Han, and Mongol elements. Nurhaci formed the Manchu clans into a unified entity. By 1636, his son Hong Taiji began driving Ming forces out of the Liaodong Peninsula and declared a new dynasty, the Qing.

Han Chinese ethnic group

The Han Chinese, Hanzu, Han people, are an East Asian ethnic group and nation native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population. The estimated 1.3 billion Han Chinese people are mostly concentrated in mainland China and in Taiwan. Han Chinese people also make up three quarters of the total population of Singapore.

Under the Qing dynasty, literary inquisition began with isolated cases during the reigns of the Shunzhi and Kangxi emperors, and then evolved into a pattern. There were 53 cases of literary persecution during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. [9] Between 1772 and 1793, there was an effort by the Qianlong Emperor to purge "evil" books, poems, and plays. He set out to get rid of works by Ming loyalists who he believed were writing subversive anti-Qing histories of the Manchu conquest. The scale of the destruction cause by this "literary holocaust" is uncertain due to gaps in the imperial archives, however as many as 3,000 works may have been lost. An estimated 151,723 volumes were destroyed by the inquisition in this period. Amongst the works subject to this treatment were books considered disrespectful towards the Qing emperors or previous ethnic minority dynasties that could be viewed as analogous to the Qing. From 1780 onwards, plays could also be destroyed if they were vulgar or contained anti-Manchu material. Writers who criticised the Qing dynasty could expect to have their entire work erased, regardless of content. [10] The inquisition was often used to express local ambitions and rivalries that had little to do with the ruler's own political interests. It thus generated interclass, as well as intraclass, warfare. For example, commoners could lay charges against scholars. [11]

Shunzhi Emperor Qing Dynasty emperor of China

The Shunzhi Emperor was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty and the first Qing emperor to rule over China proper, from 1644 to 1661. A committee of Manchu princes chose him to succeed his father, Hong Taiji (1592–1643), in September 1643, when he was five years old. The princes also appointed two co-regents: Dorgon (1612–1650), the 14th son of the Qing dynasty's founder Nurhaci (1559–1626), and Jirgalang (1599–1655), one of Nurhaci's nephews, both of whom were members of the Qing imperial clan.

Qianlong Emperor emperor of the Qing Dynasty

The Qianlong Emperor was the sixth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. Born Hongli, the fourth son of the Yongzheng Emperor, he reigned officially from 11 October 1735 to 8 February 1796. On 8 February, he abdicated in favour of his son, the Jiaqing Emperor—a filial act in order not to reign longer than his grandfather, the illustrious Kangxi Emperor. Despite his retirement, however, he retained ultimate power as the Emperor Emeritus until his death in 1799; he thus was one of the longest-reigning de facto rulers in the history of the world, and dying at the age of 87, one of the longest-lived. As a capable and cultured ruler inheriting a thriving empire, during his long reign the Qing Empire reached its most splendid and prosperous era, boasting a large population and economy. As a military leader, he led military campaigns expanding the dynastic territory to the largest extent by conquering and sometimes destroying Central Asian kingdoms. This turned around in his late years: the Qing empire began to decline with corruption and wastefulness in his court and a stagnating civil society.

Jiangnan

Jiangnan or Jiang Nan is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, including the southern part of its delta. The region encompasses the city of Shanghai, the southern part of Jiangsu Province, the entire Zhejiang Province, the southeastern part of Anhui Province, the northern part of Jiangxi and Fujian Provinces. The most important cities in the area are Shanghai, Anqing, Changzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Ningbo, Shaoxing, Suzhou, Wuxi, Zhenjiang and Fuzhou.

Zhang Tingyu Chinese politician and historian

Zhang Tingyu was a Han Chinese politician and historian who lived in the Qing dynasty.

Jiangsu Province of China

Jiangsu is an eastern-central coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the third smallest, but the fifth most populous and the most densely populated of the 23 provinces of the People's Republic of China. Jiangsu has the highest GDP per capita of Chinese provinces and second-highest GDP of Chinese provinces, after Guangdong. Jiangsu borders Shandong in the north, Anhui to the west, and Zhejiang and Shanghai to the south. Jiangsu has a coastline of over 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) along the Yellow Sea, and the Yangtze River passes through the southern part of the province.

See also

Notes

  1. The wuxia writer Louis Cha used this case as a prologue for his novel The Deer and the Cauldron .

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References

Citations

  1. Han yu da ci dian. Luo, Zhufeng., 罗竹风., Han yu da ci dian bian ji wei yuan hui., Han yu da ci dian bian zuan chu., 汉语大词典编辑委員会., 汉语大词典编纂处. (Di 2 ban ed.). Shanghai: Han yu da ci dian chu ban she. (2003 printing). ISBN   978-7543200166. OCLC   48854704.Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. Qiguang., Hu; 胡奇光. (1993). Zhongguo wen huo shi (Di 1 ban ed.). Shanghai: Shanghai ren min chu ban she. ISBN   978-7208015852. OCLC   31125076.
  3. Ku & Goodrich 1938 , p. 255
  4. Zhongqin., Li; 李钟琴. (2008). Zhi ming wen zi : Zhongguo gu dai wen huo zhen xiang (Di 1 ban ed.). Hefei Shi: Anhui ren min chu ban she. ISBN   9787212032289. OCLC   276910255.
  5. Ku & Goodrich 1938 , pp. 255–257
  6. 1 2 Gu 2003 , p. 126
  7. Ku & Goodrich 1938 , p. 254
  8. Faculty: Gu, Ming Dong, University of Texas at Dallas , retrieved 2010-07-13
  9. Wong 2000
  10. Woodside 2002 , pp. 289–290
  11. Woodside 2002 , p. 291
  12. "'Kang-Qian shengshi' de wenhua zhuanzhi yu wenziyu" “康乾盛世”的文化專制與文字獄 [Cultural despotism and literary inquisitions in the 'Kangxi-Qianlong golden age'], in Guoshi shiliujiang 國史十六講 [Sixteen lectures on the history of China]. Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2006. Retrieved on 10 November 2008.
  13. Guy 1987 , p. 32
  14. Schmidt 2003 , p. 379

Cited works

  • Gu, Ming Dong (2003), "Literary Openness: A Bridge across the Divide between Chinese and Western Literary Thought", Comparative Literature, 55 (2): 112–129, doi:10.1215/-55-2-112, JSTOR   4122488
  • Guy, R. Kent (1987), The Emperor's Four Treasuries: Scholars and the State in the Late Ch'ien-lung Era, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
  • Ku, Chieh-Kang (December 1938), translated by Luther Carrington Goodrich, "A Study of Literary Persecution under the Ming", Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, 3 (3/4): 254–311, JSTOR   2717839
  • Schmidt, J. D. (2003), Harmony Garden: The Life, Literary Criticism, and Poetry of Yuan Mei (1716–1798), New York and London: Routledge, ISBN   9780700715251
  • Wong, Kam C. (December 2000), "Black's Theory on the Behavior of Law Revisited IV: the Behavior of Qing Law", International Journal of the Sociology of Law, 28 (4): 327–374, doi:10.1006/ijsl.2000.0130
  • Woodside, Alexander (2002), "The Ch'ien-Lung Reign", The Cambridge History of China: The Ch'ing Empire to 1800, 9, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN   978-0-521-24334-6
  • Li, Zhongqin (2008). Zhi ming wen zi : Zhongguo gu dai wen huo zhen xiang. Anhui ren min chu ban she. ISBN   9787212032289.

Further reading