TITLE:
The Rural Order of the “Si She Wu Cun” in Shanxi during the Qing Dynasty
AUTHORS:
Wenjie Ji
KEYWORDS:
The Qing Dynasty, “Si She Wu Cun”, Rural Order, Water Use Order
JOURNAL NAME:
Chinese Studies,
Vol.14 No.1,
January
23,
2025
ABSTRACT: As an area without the tradition of irrigation water conservancy, the “Si She Wu Cun” has extremely scarce water resources. In order to maximize the utilization of water resources, the local people have gradually formed a unique water use order in the long-term process of violent conflicts. In order to stabilize this water use order, the leaders of the “Si She Wu Cun” have given full play to the power of religious beliefs, gradually internalized the water use system into folk activities, and made full use of the inviolability of beliefs to strengthen the authority of the water use order, establish the absolute authority of the water use order, and obtain legitimacy in the later stage. By using the method of oral history, this paper deeply explores the unique rural order of the “Si She Wu Cun” in terms of water use order, social structure, and belief system, and reveals how this area has formed and maintained its unique social operation mode.