WANG SHIZHEN AS PARTISAN: THE CASE OF YANG JISHENG

Abstract

In the past ten or fifteen years scholars have developed new perspectives on political conflict in early modern China that elucidate the roles played by groups within the world of literati culture and official bureaucratic life. Moreover, they show that such collectivities often sought to advance agendas which combined policy views and personal ambitions. Works such as Lin Manhong's study of monetary policy in the early nineteenth century and Jie Zhao's studies of contending groups during the early Wanli reign have specifically addressed the nature of “factionalism.” Arthur Waldron's study of the Great Wall and the debates about managing the relationship with Inner Asian nomadic peoples and Alastair lain Johnston's work on Ming military policy are major expositions of the conflicting views of border defense which concerned generations of officials in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. William Rowe's book on Chen Hongmou has done much to demonstrate the ways in which one prominent official in the High Qing pursued policies in a variety of situations which embodied a consistent perspective on the problems of provincial administration. These and other works have begun to unpack the complexities of conflicts between individuals and groups over real issues of government policy and administration, as well as the use of networks of contacts and connections to advance the career goals of group members.