Rural Community Compact And The Construction Of The Grass-root Legal Order In The Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty was an important period for the development of rural community compacts.In the Ming Dynasty,rural community compacts and state power came into contact.Rural community compacts had the function of governing the grassroots and uniting the villagers.Attaching importance to etiquette and helping each other was the original connotation of the rural community compact.However,the private implementation of rural community compacts led to various conflicts.On this basis,the government of the Ming Dynasty recognized the value of rural compacts and promoted them.At the same time,in view of the legality and coerciveness of rural community compacts,the Ming Dynasty government reformed rural community compacts.In the process of integrating the rural community compacts in the Ming Dynasty,content other than autonomy was added.The state had made rural community compacts a norm for constructing a grassroots legal order,giving play to the order value and management role of rural community compacts.The Ming Dynasty rural community compacts cited the Ming Dynasty's national laws,such as "Taizushengyu","Jiaominbangwen",and "Dagao" as sources.Officials of the Ming Dynasty continuously issued rural community compacts in areas where there were no spontaneous compacts.In areas where power was beyond reach,officials reviewed and authorized existing rural community compacts.The research object of this article is the Ming Dynasty rural community compacts under the control of public power.It is pointed out that consolidating rule and strengthening power were the mainstays of grassroots legal order construction in the Ming Dynasty.The gradual transformation and integration of the rural community compact by the public power in the Ming Dynasty made the rural community compact a tool to strengthen the empire's power over the grassroots.This article includes the following:The introduction introduces the basis for selecting the topic,the current research status,the significance of the topic and the research method.The period of the Ming Dynasty,the perspective of grassroots order and public power are of great significance for the study of rural community compacts.In the Ming Dynasty,rural community compacts had rich connotations,including the text of code of conduct,personnel organization,parties,rewards and punishment enforcement mechanisms.Second,public power was the driving force behind the consolidation of rural community compacts and the change of grassroots legal order in the Ming Dynasty.The intervention of power changed the origin of the rural community compact,and the rural community compact became a norm with both law and covenant.The first chapter introduces the process of the rural community compact entering the field of power.There was a gap in the adjustment field between the treaty and covenant.The social public order in the countryside lacked corresponding regulations.As a result,local authorities began consciously signing rural community compacts and optimizing order.Rural community compacts had flexible means of adjustment.However,in terms of legitimacy and coercive force,the rural community compact faced the risk of banding together for anti-government purposes and abusing lynching.The second chapter introduces the absorption of rural community compacts from the perspective of laws in the Ming Dynasty.The attitude change of the emperor of the Ming Dynasty caused the central government to push the rural community compact.Carrying forward the ancestral system of Hongwu had become the core of promoting the rural community compact."Taizushengyu","Jiaominbangwen","Hongwulizhi" became the basis of rural community compacts.Local officials were instructed to implement it,local authorities actively cooperated,and rural community compacts became popular at the grassroots level.The third chapter introduces the order value of the rural community compacts to the grassroots.The purpose of the rural community compact changed to attach importance to ruling order.The reform emphasized the obedience of township leaders and township members to officials.Local officials promoted rural harmony through rural community compacts and educate township members.Organized township party gatherings,united township members,and popularized the law.At the same time,rural community compacts was organized to combat bad practices and improve social ethos.The fourth chapter introduces the role of rural community compacts in managing the grassroots.Originally,rural community compacts valued welfare.Afterwards,the rural community compacts turned to law and order.Especially in unstable areas,the rural community compact emphasized the suppression of rebel forces.The collection of taxes became part of the rural community compact.Township leaders were responsible for raising funds to build public facilities.The rural community compact strongly emphasized that township members of recognize the country and prevent the government from losing power.Behind this process was the conflict between Confucian idealism and legalist conspiracy.The fifth chapter introduces the strengthening of the grass-roots rule by the rural compacts of the Ming Dynasty.The rural community compact carried out the will of the emperor,interpreted and disseminated the instructions of the emperor,and carved the imperial edict on wooden signs.Local officials had gradually increased their power to control township leaders.They had the right to determine the selection,powers and responsibilities of township leaders.Local governments strengthen penalties for violations of rural community compacts through collective punishment and convictions in accordance with the law.The sixth chapter introduces the power distribution of rural community compacts.There were different opinions on the role of officials in rural community compacts.Some insisted on restricting officials from going to the countryside and excessive intervention.But most rural community compacts insisted on official dominance.At the same time,the integration of power over rural community compacts had led to a decline in the status of township leaders.Some negligent rural community leaders abused power and led to corruption.The conclusion part proposes to re-understand the positioning of Ming Dynasty's town compact.It points out that the state power determined the development path of the rural community compact in the Ming Dynasty.The autonomy of the rural community compact in the Ming Dynasty was relatively weak.The healthy development of rural community compacts needs to take the interests and will of the majority of townspeople as the basis and achieve mutual cooperation between officials and people.