The Lives of the Masses: The “Workers” in Qing Dynasty Criminal Case Files

This book categorizes various professions and depicts the working lives of the lower-class laborers found in Qing Dynasty criminal case files. It presents a vivid portrayal of barbers， carpenters， blacksmiths， bamboo weavers， small business owners running tofu shops， coal miners， tea farmers， performers， and others engaged in a variety of occupations. By examining the disputes in which these individuals were involved， the book uncovers the everyday lives and survival strategies of ordinary people. The seemingly trivial historical records reveal the underlying logic of their existence and their methods of coping with society， thus providing a historical narrative of common people in the Qing Dynasty.

How to Write the History of Ordinary People

The Lives of the Masses: The “Workers” in Qing Dynasty Criminal Case Files

Chang Jianhua

China Workers Publishing House

July 2024

58.00 (CNY)

Chang Jianhua

Chang Jianhua is a professor at the School of History at Nankai University and a Ph.D. supervisor. He serves as the director of the Chinese Social History Research Center at Nankai University and the president of the Association of Chinese Historians. His research focuses on Chinese social history and the history of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

The topic of “human history” is vast， as studying history involves exploring the records of past human activities. China has a long and profound tradition in historiography， with its most significant hallmark being Sima Qian’s Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji). The annalistic-biographical style pioneered by Shiji represents a major achievement in Chinese historiography， providing ample records of human activities. The “Annals” section documents emperors， the “Biographies” detail various figures， the “Hereditary Houses” cover aristocratic lineages， the “Treatises” describe systems， and the “Tables” present chronological sequences. The greatest strength of this biographical style is its ability to reflect the main activities of emperors， nobles， ministers， and officials. This is a proud aspect of traditional Chinese historiography， attributed to Sima Qian’s innovative framework.

However， in modern times， the concept of human history has evolved. Despite the excellence of traditional annalistic-biographical history， modern historiography argues that historical records should focus on ordinary people， as expressed by Liang Qichao in his New Historiography. Liang believed that traditional historiography was merely the genealogies of emperors from twenty-four surnames， and that history should instead study the nation and society. By this standard， traditional historiography has severe limitations and differs from modern historical perspectives. The modern historiographical perspective， which we now accept and which is reflected in textbooks， emphasizes the history of the entire nation. Modern historiography also changes the way history is recorded， adopting a chapter-based structure that emphasizes analysis， trends， and categorizes developments in politics， economy， military， ethnicity， society， and culture. While this chapter-based structure is advantageous for understanding broader trends， it tends to overlook individual activities. Even the Annales School， a highly advanced branch of historiography in France， advocates studying human groups rather than individuals， examining various aspects such as economics and society. However， after such abstraction， the concrete individual and their personal characteristics are often lost. This has led to a reflection on this type of historiography.

Before China’s reform and opening up， the vast majority of thematic general histories focused on politics， economics， and society， with little attention to people. This gap led to the rise of social history， which advocates for the study of people and groups. In the new era， social history has a distinct characteristic: It examines both social structures and life， combining social structure with social life. However， in practice， our social life history has become almost synonymous with social history， focusing mainly on a few large categories like politics and economy， with a narrow sense of the social aspect. The original intention to make history vivid and concrete， down to people’s activities， has instead been overshadowed by abstraction. In recent years， this has led to the emergence of everyday life history， which aims to focus more closely on people’s activities and to center historical narratives on human actions. Therefore， an important task for social history today is to reflect the history of people， especially how to present people’s history in the context of everyday life.

The reason why the history of ordinary people was not visible in traditional history is that the daily lives of the masses were too mundane to be preserved， resulting in a lack of sources. When we look at European history， we often find more reflections of daily life， villages， and ancient lifestyles. For example， works like Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie’s Montaillou: The Promised Land of Error (translated by Xu Minglong and Ma Shengli， Commercial Press， 2007) provide excellent insights， utilizing church archives. Much of European family history and demographic history also relies on church records. The history of the Qing Dynasty， however， has a unique advantage: A vast number of archival materials have been preserved， including many criminal case files involving human lives from the Ministry of Punishments that were retained due to lawsuits and legal disputes among the populace. These files offer valuable insights into the daily lives and experiences of ordinary people. In a sense， these criminal case files can be compared to Europe’s church archives. Yet， the utilization of these files remains relatively low. I believe that by using these criminal case files， we can document the lives of ordinary people and write the history of the common folk.