Gift And Arrogance:Sedan Chair System And Sedan Chair Fashion In Ming Dynasty

Setting the functional and social in one,the sedan chair that is one of the main transportation traveled by Ming officials was not only playing the tool function,but also an important part of vehicles system in the traditional period to distinguish identity levels.That is why the sedan chair carried symbolic meaning given by the political culture.Changes in the concept of taking sedans could also reflect the changes in social culture during this period.Considering the importance of the sedan chair in the national system,officials had developed a strict hierarchy for officials taking the sedan chair.The sedan system which formed and improved in the early Ming Dynasty and constantly reaffirmed the ban in the late Ming Dynasty,generally did not violate the basic principle that three or above civil officials could be allowed to take a chair and generals had been banned.Accompanied by the development and perfection of the sedan system,there was a boom of taking the sedan in society,such as officials competed with each other in taking the sedan even at arrogating.Meanwhile,with the development of atmosphere in taking the sedan in the Ming Dynasty,gifted to taking the sedan by emperor as an important means of the emperor rewarding the minister became a high degree of political treatment in the Ming Dynasty,though it had never been established as a formal gift system.The treatment of gifted to taking the sedan by emperor had a great appeal to the all officials at all levels who were even at the risk of being punished to pursue this special form of reward.Though more and more officials taken the sedan irregularly,the official punishment measures had not been introduced.The result was that officials could not punish the officials who taken the sedan irregularly,just because there were not rules to follow.In the process of system development and prohibition of the process had shown a tension between the system and fashion.The dislocation of system and reality,the lack of enforcement and the lack of punishment mechanism led to the situation in which taking the sedan at arrogating repeatedly in the Ming Dynasty.With the court's declaration of injustice,officials of the overstepping behavior was more and more serious.The destruction of the system also reflected the influence of the fashion trend.Arrogance of sedan behavior itself also brought a lot of negative impact to the Ming Dynasty society.Combining with the social fashion,the official shape and officials competing,the sedan in the Ming Dynasty was given what kind of symbolic meaning and what kind of social symbols,which is the ultimate goal of this article to explore the relevant issues.Through the observation of the development of sedan chair culture in the Ming Dynasty from the system,behavior and culture,this article can clarify the relevant historical facts,but also for the Ming Dynasty social change to provide a new perspective of the analysis.