LEADER 04172nam 2200601Ia 450 001 9910807376003321 005 20230324203253.0 010 $a0-674-03977-7 024 7 $a10.4159/9780674039773 035 $a(CKB)1000000000787142 035 $a(StDuBDS)AH21620440 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000248828 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11216374 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000248828 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10204986 035 $a(PQKB)11323419 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL3300414 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10318407 035 $a(OCoLC)923111213 035 $a(DE-B1597)571806 035 $a(DE-B1597)9780674039773 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC3300414 035 $a(EXLCZ)991000000000787142 100 $a19900213d1990 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aur||||||||||| 181 $ctxt$2rdacontent 182 $cc$2rdamedia 183 $acr$2rdacarrier 200 10$aSoulstealers $ethe Chinese sorcery scare of 1768 /$fPhilip A. Kuhn 210 1$aCambridge, Mass. :$cHarvard University Press,$d1990. 215 $a1 online resource (320 pages) $c9 halftones, 10 line illustrations, 2 maps 300 $aBibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph 311 0 $a0-674-82151-3 311 0 $a0-674-82152-1 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. [269]-278) and index. 327 $aIntroduction A Time of Turmoil Model Rulers Reforming into Collapse The Song in the South Three Doctrines Education and Examination Life Cycle Rituals Exploring the World Within and Without Transforming the Capitals A Changing World of Production Money and Taxes Private Lives in the Public Sphere Conclusion Dynastic Rulers Measures Pronunciation Guide Notes Bibliography Acknowledgments Index 330 $bMidway through the reign of the Ch'ien-lung emperor, Hungli, in the most prosperous period of China's last imperial dynasty, mass hysteria broke out among the common people. It was feared that sorcerers were roaming the land, clipping off the ends of men's queues (the braids worn by royal decree), and chanting magical incantations over them in order to steal the souls of their owners. In a fascinating chronicle of this epidemic of fear and the official prosecution of soulstealers that ensued, Philip Kuhn provides an intimate glimpse into the world of eighteenth-century China. Kuhn weaves his exploration of the sorcery cases with a survey of the social and economic history of the era. Drawing on a rich repository of documents found in the imperial archives, he presents in detail the harrowing interrogations of the accused--a ragtag assortment of vagabonds, beggars, and roving clergy--conducted under torture by provincial magistrates. In tracing the panic's spread from peasant hut to imperial court, Kuhn unmasks the political menace lurking behind the queue-clipping scare as well as the complex of folk beliefs that lay beneath popular fears of sorcery. Kuhn shows how the campaign against sorcery provides insight into the period's social structure and ethnic tensions, the relationship between monarch and bureaucrat, and the inner workings of the state. Whatever its intended purposes, the author argues, the campaign offered Hungli a splendid chance to force his provincial chiefs to crack down on local officials, to reinforce his personal supremacy over top bureaucrats, and to restate the norms of official behavior. This wide-ranging narrative depicts life in imperial China as it was actually lived, often in the participants' own words. Soulstealers offers a compelling portrait of the Chinese people--from peasant to emperor--and of the human condition. 606 $aBureaucracy$zChina$xHistory$y18th century 606 $aWitchcraft$zChina$xHistory$y18th century 607 $aChina$xPolitics and government$y18th century 607 $aChina$xHistory$yQianlong, 1736-1795 615 0$aBureaucracy$xHistory 615 0$aWitchcraft$xHistory 676 $a951/.032 700 $aKuhn$b Philip A$0636839 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910807376003321 996 $aSoulstealers$91173844 997 $aUNINA