Redefining Reciprocity
Appointment Edicts and Political Thought in Medieval China
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5305994 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Shoufu Yin (0000-0003-1412-7726, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 83 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 533-554 |
| Publication date | 2022-10-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of the History of Ideas (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-5037 • E-ISSN: 1086-3222 |
| Publisher | Project MUSE (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1353/jhi.2022.0036 |
| PMID | 36189655 |
| OpenAlex | W4300002504 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
This article uses a large corpus of previously understudied documents-i.e., appointment edicts of medieval China-to reveal how real-time negotiation between the imperial court and its provincial officials gave rise to two sophisticated theories of political reciprocity that impose limits on the sovereign. The first, well-studied in existent scholarship, claimed that the ruler was obliged to appoint worthy officials to promote the well-being of the commoners. The second, which this article excavates, stated instead that the ruler, while enjoying the services of the employed officials, was obliged to repay the services properly, sometimes even at the cost of commoners
China · Law and economics · Negotiation · Political science · Politics · Reciprocity (cultural anthropology) · Ruler · Scholarship · Social science · Sociology · Sovereignty · China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance · Chinese history and philosophy · Law
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2024 - 2024 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |