The Expression of Local Social Will in Official Document Administration in the Ming Dynasty

Abstract

In the local administrative procedures of the Ming Dynasty, very commonly submitted documents included those co-signed by a number of village leaders, local students, and gentry representatives. Such a way of document submission in the early and middle Ming Dynasty was known as the co-signed document submission, and then, as of the end of the Ming Dynasty, mostly, the public document submission. Starting from the middle Ming Dynasty, there were some document submissions signed as “whole school” or “whole county.” These submissions are not only an important means of reflecting the expectations of the local community to the government, but also an important basis for local officials to report on local affairs to the higher authorities. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, the status of the public document submission was increasingly prominent, and its application rules also tended to mature. For some local affairs, the public document submission of a specific group, as an evidence of the expectation of the local community, became the necessary documentary reference for the government’s decision-making.

Keywords

Ming Dynasty / co-signed document submission / public document submission / local administration / local community

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