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The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School The College of the Liberal Arts LITERATI AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE “LOCAL”: THE QUANZHOU COMMUNITY OF LEARNING IN LATE IMPERIAL CHINA A Dissertation in History by Courtney R. Fu Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2017 The dissertation of Courtney R. Fu was reviewed and approved* by the following: On-cho Ng Professor of History, Asian Studies and Philosophy Head of Asian Studies Department Dissertation Advisor Chair of Committee Kathlene Baldanza Assistant Professor of History and Asian Studies Ronnie Hsia Edwin Earle Sparks Professor of History Charlotte Eubanks Associate Professor of Comparative Literature, Japanese, and Asian Studies Director of Graduate Studies, Comparative Literature David Atwill Associate Professor of History and Asian Studies Director of Graduate Studies, History *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School ii ABSTRACT This is a socio-cultural study of the locality of Quanzhou, Fujian, from the mid to late Ming period. Through the prism of its intellectual community of Cheng-Zhu Confucian scholars, this dissertation provides insights into the relationship between the literati elite and the locale which they helped to construct and they represented. It argues that the Quanzhou scholars had a dual-identity: as scholar-officials and as scholar-gentries. As the former, they attempted to associate the local and themselves with the imperial state through elevating the cultural status of Quanzhou. Accordingly, Zhu Xi’s intellectual legacy in the area and the later Cheng-Zhu Confucian scholars were transformed into cultural and symbolic capitals with which the Quanzhou scholars propelled their hometown into a center of learning of national repute. These intangible capitals found concrete manifestations in architectural monuments that became sites of collective memory, which in turn and eventually helped to forge a unique local identity shared by literati and commoners alike. In their capacity as local gentries, their intellectual allegiance to Cheng-Zhu orthodox learning did not prevent them from changing with the times. While their steadfast intellectual faith found expression in their antagonism against Buddhism and the religious syncretic trend popular in Fujian, in an effort to safeguard the welfare and livelihood, they went so far as to defy the imperial ban on maritime trade and actively endorsed the legitimacy and necessity of trade, embracing and promoting a mercantile ethos. In broad terms, this study of the Quanzhou Confucian scholars engages with the historiography of local history in late imperial China while reflecting on question of the scope and nature of the intellectual and social changes that might be construed as a sort of early modernity. iii Table of Contents List of Tables ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- vi List of Figures ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- vii List of Diagrams ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- viii Acknowledgements ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ix Introduction -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Chapter 1: Quanzhou Scholarly Community: A Renaissance in Cheng-Zhu Learning ----------- 17 A Renaissance of Cheng-Zhu Learning -------------------------------------------------------- 19 The Myth of the “Qingyuan School” ----------------------------------------------------------- 23 “Qingyuan school” in Historical Texts ------------------------------------------------ 24 “Qingyuan school” and Minxue (Learning in Fujian) ------------------------------- 28 Qingyuan scholars in Intellectual Genealogies --------------------------------------- 31 Qingyuan scholars in Li Qingfu’s Genealogical Compilation ------------------------------ 39 Li Qingfu and his Grandfather Li Guangdi ------------------------------------------- 42 Construction of the “Qingyuan School” ----------------------------------------------- 44 Search for the Right Nomenclature: the Quanzhou Scholarly Community --------------- 50 Chapter 2: Creating Cultural and Symbolic Capital in Quanzhou: the Immortalization of Cai Qing ------------------------------------- 57 Pierre Bourdieu’s Theory of Capital and its Application to the Study of Local History- 58 Cai Qing: the Person ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 64 Immortalization of Cai Qing: Efforts at the Local Level ------------------------------------ 71 Immortalization of Cai Qing: Efforts at the State Level ------------------------------------- 76 State Endorsement of Cai Qing’s Work ----------------------------------------------- 79 State-Sponsored Local Shrine ---------------------------------------------------------- 82 Becoming a National Symbol for Quanzhou ----------------------------------------- 87 Cai Qing’s Biography and His Road to Enshrinement --------------------------------------- 94 Chapter 3: The Quanzhou Community of Learning: Creating Local Identity through Commemorative Writing ----- 96 The Commemorative Genre and Local Identity ----------------------------------------------- 97 Advocates of Cheng-Zhu Learning: the Core of Quanzhou Community of Learning -- 100 iv Actions against the Wang Yangming School --------------------------------------- 111 Zhang Yue’ Interaction with the Wang Yangming School -------------------------------- 117 Scope of the Quanzhou Community of Learning ------------------------------------------- 122 Early Members -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 122 Latter-day Quanzhou Scholars -------------------------------------------------------- 125 Chapter 4: Quanzhou Scholars as Gentry: Guardians of Tradition and Agents of Change ----- 131 A Historiography of the Late Imperial Chinese Gentry ------------------------------------ 133 Quanzhou Scholars as Gentries ---------------------------------------------------------------- 137 The Quanzhou scholar-gentry and Local Governance ----------------------------- 139 Construction of the Local: Gazetteers and Genealogies --------------------------- 142 Guardians of Cheng-Zhu Learning: Opposition to Buddhism ------------------------------150 Involvement in Trade: the Case of Lin Xiyuan ---------------------------------------------- 156 State Monopoly of Foreign Trade and the Rise of Illegal Trade in Quanzhou - 158 Lin Xiyuan and Illicit Maritime Trade ----------------------------------------------- 160 Rehabilitating Lin Xiyuan ------------------------------------------------------------- 163 Chapter 5: The “Untitled Nobility”: Merchants, the Way of Merchants, and Cheng-Zhu Scholar in Late Ming Society --------------------------------- 172 History and Historiography of Late Ming Socio-economic Changes --------------------- 173 Li Guangjin: a Cheng-Zhu Scholar and Proponent of Traditional Values --------------- 180 Li Guangjin: Advocate for the Merchants and Mercantile Ethos ------------------------- 185 “Untitled Nobility”: Wealthy Merchants and Li Guangjin’s Critique of Sima Qian --- 196 “Untitled Nobility”: Cultured Scholar and Honorable Gentry ----------------------------- 203 “Untitled Nobility”: Women of the Merchant Families ------------------------------------ 210 Conclusion ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 217 Appendix: Quanzhou Community of Scholars ------------------------------------------------------- 225 Bibliography ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 237 v List of Tables Table 1. Number of jinshi from Quanzhou during Ming Dynasty -----------------------------------20 Table 2. Geographic distribution of jinshi in Quanzhou during Ming Dynasty ------------------- 20 Table 3. Geographic distribution of the number of Classic of Changes and Four Books -------- 22 Table 4. Number of Cheng-Zhu scholars in Ming Dynasty Fujian in Zhang Boxing’s Origin and development of the Way south -------------------------------- 38 Table 5. Number of scholars and schools in Ming Dynasty Quanzhou in Li Qingfu’s Study of the Origin of Lixue in Min --------------------------------------------- 41 Table 6. Number of Cheng-Zhu schoalrs in Ming Dynasty Fujian in Li Qingfu’s Study of the Origin of Lixue in Min -------------------------------------------- 42 vi List of Figures Figure 1. Remains of Yungu Temple -------------------------------------------------------------------- 65 Figure 2. Shuilu Chan Temple ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 68 Figure 3. Former residence of Cai Qing ----------------------------------------------------------------- 75 Figure 4. Local shrine of Cai Qing ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 86 Figure 5. Former residence of Chen Chen ------------------------------------------------------------- 220 vii List of Diagrams Diagram 1. Social network based on commemorative writings centered on Cai Qing ---------- 102 Diagram 2. Social network based on commemorative writings centered on Lin Xiyuan ------- 104 Diagram 3. Social network based on commemorative writings centered on Chen Chen ------- 105 Diagram 4. Social network based on commemorative writings centered on Zhang