The Legal Ethos of Late Imperial China
Two Neglected and Rival Legal Specialists
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5949575 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Pao-Feng Tsai (0000-0002-9366-0985, corresponding author), P Tsai, Po-Fang Tsai, Pei-Hsuan Tsai (0000-0001-6227-7652, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2014 |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 55-77 |
| Publication date | 2014-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Max Weber Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1470-8078 • E-ISSN: 2056-4074 |
| Publisher | Project MUSE (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1353/max.2014.a808720 |
| OpenAlex | W4379623765 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 34 |
Although Max Weber pointed out the importance of the Literati or Mandarin and their cultural ethos, mainly Confucianism and Taoism, in the maintenance of order of imperial China, his analysis of the carrier strata left some problems to be elaborated. One is the structural differentiation and social mobilization caused by civil service examinations (CSE). The literati who did not pass the CSE to become civil servants, such as the local magistrate, often earned their living as legal and financial advisors of the mandarins. Private secretaries and litigation masters were the most commonly seen occupations, and they became involved in the local legal practice. Along with this trend, the other problem is the cultural ethos, not always shared, within the three roles–local magistrate, private secretary, and litigation master. While they might have a similar experience of Confucianism during their examination life, there existed different professional ethics and religious faiths after their career paths and jobs diverged. As far as these two observations are concerned, this paper attempts to extend Weber's analysis of literati into local legal practice. Using the different texts left respectively by local magistrate, private secretary, and litigation master, I try to compare their different self-images and prejudices against one another. The implication of this paper is double: Weber's insight could be revived again by investigating the structural differentiation within the literati strata, but the ethical analysis indicates a much more complicated ethos than his 'Confucianism and Taoism' theme
Archaeology · Buddhism · China · Ethos · Legal pluralism · Legal profession · Legal realism · Magistrate · Political science · Sociology · Taoism · Chinese history and philosophy · History · Law · Multicultural Socio-Legal Studies · Religion, Gender, and Enlightenment
Legal foundations of capitalism
A cultural history of civil examinations in late imperial China
Law and revolution
Law and the Rise of Capitalism
A Cultural History of Civil Examinations in Late Imperial China
Litigation Masters and the Litigation System of Ming and Qing China
Social Power and Legal Culture
Talons and Teeth
Escape from Predicament
Civil Justice in China
A Cultural History of Modern Science in China
Religion and Modern Society
On Their Own Terms
Confucian Traditions in East Asian Modernity
Max Weber and the Idea of Economic Sociology
Economy and Society
Leo Strauss, Max Weber, and the Scientific Study of Politics (review)
Uncivil Dialogue
Law and revolution. The formation of the Western legal tradition
Law and the Rise of Capitalism
Counterculture and Consumerism
The Internal Organization of Ch'ing Bureaucracy
Understanding Weber
Elective affinities? between Weber's sociology of religion and sociology of law
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |