Development And Transformation Of Shandong Imperial-Examination And Official Clan From Late Ming To Early Republic Period

From late Ming Dynasty to early Republic of China, there were scores of imperial-examination and official clans in Shandong, which had many common attributes as well as different characteristics. Based on the representative Zhuang clan in Dadian of Linyi which was called Zhu-chen village, this thesis explores formation, development, transformation of Shandong imperial- examination and official clans and relationship between the clans and society during the period from late Ming to early republic.There are four chapters in this thesis, whose main contents are as follows:In chapter 1, the development process of Dadian Zhuang clan from late Ming to late Qing is probed. The geography and history of Dadian, and the origin of the clan are firstly introduced and explored, and according to distinctive characteristics manifested in different durations, Zhuang clan is divided into four stages——rise, decline, revival and development. Therefore, development track of Zhuang clan and representative persons of different stages are distinctly recognized, and the formation of Zhuang clan as an imperial-examination and official clan in late Qing Dynasty is concluded.In chapter 2, reasons of formation of Dadian Zhuang clan as an imperial-examination and official clan are analyzed. Initially, the achievements of Zhuang clan in imperial civil service examination and officialdom are enumerated in the form of tables. After that, the reasons are concluded as follows: geography, clan character, clan culture, principles of being officials, social intercourses, and marriage among clans. In the end, through the analysis of three representative imperial-examination and official clans in Shandong, a general conclusion of reasons of the formation of these clans in Ming and Qing Dynasties is drawn.Chapter 3 expounds the transformation of Dadian Zhuang clan from late Qing to early Republic of China, a particular period.As a kind of qualitative change, social transformation refers to a whole change in various spheres and levels of social lives, including political structure, economic structure and culture. The essence of the process of transformation is achieving modern competence from traditional systems, and changing the state from a kind of stability into another.Being an important part of a series of transformations in the background of violent change in modern history, the reasons of the transformation includes factors of economy, politics, culture and social lives. Besides, the factor of the clan itself is a principal one. The contents of this transformation are mainly manifested in four aspects: changes of identity of the clan people, of how and what they are educated, of the clan structure, and of where they live. And three features are embodied from the transformation: passiveness in causation, modernity in process, and social class limitations in consequences. Furthermore, the transformation of Zhuang Clan in Dadian complies with the developing trend of society, and it is success in general.Chapter 4 is in fact a conclusion of the former three chapters, which is trying to realize relationship between clans and regional society through circumstances of Zhuang clan in Dadian. Firstly, positive and negative influences and historical position of Zhuang clan in Dadian are analyzed, and the relationship is then studied from the aspects of harmony, contradiction, and synch and out of synch. Nevertheless, how much a clan can affect a regional area depends chiefly on the assembling life and being relatively closed from outside world. After medium term of Ming Dynasty, profound changes have gradually taken place in China, and people's clan thought becomes weaker and weaker. As a result, the authority of a regional clan becomes weaker and weaker.Imperial-examination and official clans were established from reaction of systems of imperial civil service examination, official and clan, which had been playing a significant role in the long historic time from Sui and Tang Dynasties to Qing Dynasty. Imperial-examination and official clan is a conception involving history of society, region and culture, and much further study needs to be done.