Xuantong Census from the Perspective of Legibility
The Xuantong census,as an important part of the New Deal in the late Qing Dynasty and the first census in Chinese history,has far-reaching influence but is also controversial.Based on James Scott's"legibility"theory,this paper constructs a unified analytical framework from macro to micro,incorporating the Qing court,local officials,gentry and the civilian,and analyzes the reasons and influences of different behavioral patterns during the survey process.The study found that during the Xuantong census,under the influence of the traditional and modern survey law,the time-limited assessment criteria,the constantly shifted survey funding costs,and the supervised by officials and handled by gentlemen survey system,led to the Qing court delegating power,officials evading responsibility,gentry and gentry seeking personal gain,and public resistance.From the results,the national population information obtained by the Qing court showed incomplete characteristics in both quantity and quality,while in the relatively complete police system of the capital and some provincial capitals,richer and more refined population information was obtained,achieving a certain degree of clarity and simplification.
万方数据
维普
