【内容简介】

　　在传统认知中，明朝封建专制高度强化，平民基本没有政治话语权，只能保持“绝对臣服”的姿态。本书借由对生祠理论与实践的考察，挑战了这一偏见——在明朝专制集权的土壤中，生长着另一套政治模式：地方官受命于皇帝，并由平民决定其价值，平民借此实现政治参与。而生祠，正是平民获得政治话语权的工具。

　　与“天子受命于天”相对应，作者将这一模式称为“小天命”，其背后是政治生态、神灵信仰、儒家思想之间复杂的互动。平民以立碑立祠的传统“绑架”地方官，用“孝道”掩饰生祠中的利益交换。生祠成为利益杠杆，地方官“多施惠政”以换取晋升的政治资本，百姓立生祠换取官员为当地利益服务，抵抗朝廷的苛政。以生祠为纽带的官员—平民利益体，形成了中央与地方之间的平衡。平民对地方官员的认可有助于提升朝廷的声誉，为中央反对结党营私、贪污腐败、滥用皇权的原则立场代言。

　　本书首次将生祠置于明代的政治和信仰之间进行研究，通过大量碑刻记录、地方方志和文人文集，考察了生祠制度，阐发了对明代政治与思想体系的思考。

　　作者简介

　　[美]施珊珊（Sarah Schneewind）著

　　加州大学圣地亚哥分校历史系教授，曾任美国明史学会会长。是明代政治史、思想史研究领域卓有成就的学者，着重探讨国家与社会之间的关系。曾著有《明代的社学与国家》《两个西瓜的传说：明代的皇帝和大臣》《小天命：生祠与明代政治》，编有《吾皇万岁！》《1200年前东亚史纲》。

　　邵长财译

　　复旦大学历史学系中国古代史专业硕士。

【 Content Introduction 】

In the traditional cognition, the feudal autocracy of the Ming Dynasty was highly strengthened, and the common people basically had no political voice, and could only maintain the attitude of "absolute submission". By examining the theory and practice of Shengci, this book challenges this preconception: in the soil of the Ming Dynasty's authoritarian centralization, an alternative political model grew: local officials were appointed by the emperor and their values were determined by the common people, who thus achieved political participation. And the birth temple is a tool for the common people to obtain political voice.

Corresponding to "the son of Heaven is ordered by heaven", the author calls this model "small mandate of heaven", which is behind the complex interaction between political ecology, god belief and Confucianism. Civilians use the tradition of erecting monuments to "kidnap" local officials, and use "filial piety" to cover up the interests of the temple in exchange. Sheng shrines became a lever of interest, local officials "more patronage" in exchange for promotion of political capital, the common people set up Sheng shrines in exchange for officials to serve local interests and resist the harsh government of the court. The office-civilian interest groups linked by the student temple formed a balance between the central and local governments. Civilian recognition of local officials helped boost the court's reputation and spoke to the central government's principled stance against clique, corruption, and abuse of imperial power.

For the first time, this book places Shengci between the politics and beliefs of the Ming Dynasty, examines the Shengci system through a large number of stele records, local Chronicles and literati collections, and elucidates the political and ideological system of the Ming Dynasty.

About the author

By Sarah Schneewind

Professor of History at the University of California, San Diego, and former president of the American Ming History Society. He is an accomplished scholar in the field of political history and ideological history of the Ming Dynasty, focusing on the relationship between the state and society. He is the author of "Social Studies and the State in the Ming Dynasty", "The Legend of Two watermelons: Emperor and Minister in the Ming Dynasty", "Little Destiny: Sheng Temple and Ming Dynasty Politics", edited "Long Live My Emperor!" An Outline of East Asian History before 1200.

Translated by Shao Changcai

Master's degree in Ancient Chinese History, Department of History, Fudan University.