The Art of Doing Good

Charity in Late Ming China

By: Joanna Handlin Smith

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Hardcover | 11 March 2009 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Hardcover
424 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
23.57 x 16.89 x 3.16

Hardcover

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An unprecedented passion for saving lives swept through late Ming society, giving rise to charitable institutions that transcended family, class, and religious boundaries. Analyzing lecture transcripts, administrative guidelines, didactic tales, and diaries, Joanna Handlin Smith abandons the facile explanation that charity was a response to poverty and social unrest and examines the social and economic changes that stimulated the fervor for doing good. With an eye for telling details and a finesse in weaving the voices of her subjects into her narrative, Smith brings to life the hard choices that five men faced when deciding whom to help, how to organize charitable distributions, and how to balance their communities' needs against the interests of family and self. She thus shifts attention from tired questions about whether the Chinese had a tradition of charity (they did) to analyzing the nature of charity itself. Skillfully organized and engaging, The Art of Doing Good moves from discussions about moral leadership and beliefs to scrutiny of the daily operation of soup kitchens and medical dispensaries, and from examining local society to generalizing about the just use of resources and the role of social networks in charitable giving. Smith's work will transform our thinking about the boundaries between social classes in late imperial China and about charity in general.

Industry Reviews

"[Smith] convincingly proves that charity was a vibrant motivation for many in [the Ming] period." Chinese Cross Currents "Few if any equals in the scholarly studies of the actual working of local politics in late imperial China." -- Joseph McDermott Journal Of Chinese Studies "This is an extraordinary book which, in addition to adding a wealth of detail on life at the local level to the existing literature on the late Ming, also offers sophisticated analysis of the diaries on which it is largely based." -- Andrea Janku Bltn Of Sch Of Oriental & African Stds "This volume raises a great number of relevant questions with regard to China today." -- Andre Laliberte, translated by Jonathan Hall China Perspectives "The book adds... to our understanding of charity in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century China, but also to our broader grasp of Ming society." Chinese Historical Review "An extraordinary book." -- Andrea Janku Bltn Of Sch Of Oriental & African Stds "A contribution to the study of premodern China's social elite ... the book deepens our understanding of gentry identity." -- Helen Dunstan American Historical Review "An important, well-researched book that fills a void left by the lack of similar publications on this topic." -- V. J. Symons Choice

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You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction History Regional & National History Asian History Social Services & Welfare Social Welfare & Social Services Social Work Charities Sociology & Anthropology Anthropology Social & Cultural Anthropology, Ethnography

Acknowledgments
Conventions, Measurements, and Dynasties
Introduction
New Routines: Associations for Doing Good
Societies for Liberating Animals
Early Benevolent Societies and Their Visionary Leaders
The Benevolent Society among Its Alternatives
Lectures for the Poor-and the Rich
A Benevolent Society Viewed from the Margins
Enacting Charitable Routines during a Crisis
Mobilizing Food Relief
Aligning with Officials
Medical Relief and Other Good Deeds
Beliefs in Charity-and the Rhetoric of Beliefs
Conclusion: From Moral Transformation toward the Legitimation of Wealth
List of Abbreviations
Notes
Bibliography
Character Glossary
Index
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

The Art of Doing Good

Charity in Late Ming China

At a Glance

Hardcover

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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