Historical Studies (Chinese Edition)

No.4, 2018

 

An Influential Shanyin Family and the Ming-Qing Transition (Abstract)

 

Yang Haiying

 

The fortunes of the Wu family of Shanyin in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, can act as a marker of the dynastic change from the Ming to the Qing. The family rose to prominence in the ninth year of the Ming Emperor Wanli, when Wu Dui became governor of Jiliao and Minister of War. Relying on the family’s influence, a distant relative, Wu Zongdao, established close ties with Korea during the Eastern Expedition. Wu Dabin and his nephew Wu Tingzhong, from the same branch of the family, went to Liaoning but fled, either dying or living on as adherents of the previous dynasty. Their implacable opposition to Mao Wenlong reflects the contest between the new and old forces in Dengzhou and eastern Liaoning. The blood relationships behind Wu Xingzuo, newly ennobled in the eight banners, were artificially expunged due to the politics of the Ming-Qing transition, highlighting the Qing official historians’ practice of blotting out forbidden details. By comparing official and private together with Chinese and foreign historical materials with various taboo names and examining the histories of some members of the Wu family, we can find the details and characteristics of how this influential family fared and how it maintained its prosperity when the dynasty changed, as well as gain a partial view of the Ming government’s difficulties in managing eastern Liaoning, the way the Qing carried on Ming institutions, and the tactics and features of the Qing construction of a national image. This research can deepen our awareness and perception of the multi-faceted issues involving individuals and families as well as society and culture during the transition from the Ming to the Qing.