Primary source-driven Research on the Social History of Institutions in Early Modern China

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My project explores the qualifications of officials and their family backgrounds with an eye to clarifying the social environment in which officials operated and in which their appointments and promotions were made.It draws primarily from a previously untapped historical source, the Tongguanlu [Register of Officials], which records information on the previous posts and the composition of family members of officials serving in the same province or same governmental agency.In addition to shedding light on the how the Register was compiled, the project also shows how government superiors used the Register to manage their subordinates, while subordinates used it to heighten a sense of connection among themselves.The Register was compiled in the hope that it would stabilize personnel relations within particular government offices.The project demonstrates through numerical evidence that people during the late Qing period,used the system of purchased degrees to advance their social status.