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Studies, cultivation of the mind, and formation of character: The life of scholars in Jiangnan in the Late Ming Dynasty

During the late Ming Dynasty, the region of Jiangnan fostered a high number of remarkable figures who had extensive and important influence on the living world of officials and gentry as a whole. Apart from the requirements of the imperial civil service examination system, the family or clan’s education of descendants was particularly important. With respect to the plan for the life of a scholar, the civil service examinations were an avenue or ladder to becoming an outstanding member of society or entering the realm of success, and by this means, one could potentially achieve the objectives of wealth and high rank recognized by secular society. Progress in one’s studies lay at the heart of family culture and education, and this was naturally largely tied to the civil services examinations, while also being related to expectations regarding political life and service to the state, but for the most part, a fair degree of attention was also given to cultivation of the mind and the formation of character. This was not merely localized, but furthermore has had profound and far-reaching influence on Chinese society since the late Ming Dynasty. Further examination or analysis on these levels not only aids in revealing the atmosphere in that era, but furthermore also contributes to clearing such paradigmatic historical memories and impartially observing the shape of the lives of local intellectuals over the course of history at large. Setting out from Jiangnan allows us to better understand the sociocultural history of China since the traditional era as well as the living world of the Chinese people.

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Taking refuge in melancholy amidst natural landscapes: Zhang Dai’s idle life in the Ming-Qing transition

During the middle to late periods of the Ming Dynasty, the commercial economy experienced striking development, yet political corruption and congestion of the imperial civil service examination system deprived many scholars of a pathway for elevation. Many people therefore opened up new avenues, preparing for the examinations while simultaneously exploring different ways of life, expanding new fields of activity so as to realize value in life. Zhang Dai 張岱, who originated from a great clan in Shaoxing, was one such person. Whilst reading, assembling scholars, critiquing theater, and engaging in other activities, he gradually created considerable renown and achievements for himself. In reviewing Zhang Dai’s life, his inability to enact change in the face of the incoherent society of the late Ming Dynasty was the first great tragedy of his life. He endured by leading a life of pleasure, realizing his ambition of accomplishing great things in a roundabout fashion. After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, he experienced the second tragedy in his life, which caused him to nostalgically ponder the events of the past and, in his extreme grief, he resorted to the writing brush to express his thoughts and emotions, including writing history to pass on what was left of his life. Throughout his life, Zhang Dai produced many written works, perennially relying upon his writing to make a living, and leisure, extravagance, comfort, sorrow, lamentations and grief for the world all became subjects of his writing, ultimately allowing him to find a different path in life and achieve longevity in academic and cultural history.

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