The Pledge of Oaths Before Gods Activities of Local Records Compilers and the Causes in Qing Dynasty
Local records compilations were major events in regional societies of ancient China.In the Qing Dynasty,local records compilers during the process of local records compilation would commonly hold activities of pledge of oaths before gods in places such as the township deity's temple.There were mostly two aims of doing this:firstly deploying supervision and force of deterrence on the activities of the compilers through the"omnipotence"of deities;and secondly providing guarantee by the authority of the deities for the compilers to demonstrate fairness and obtain trust from local society and prevent reproaches and discontents to the largest degree.Local records compilers of Qing Dynasty used the method of pledging before gods to construct effective mechanism of communication through deities between compilers and the local gentry,to realize self-supervision and self-proof of"innocence"through a plain method,and to further guarantee the smooth conduction of local records compilation activities.
万方数据
维普
