Title

Song Sources for the Cultural Side of Migration: An Exploratory Study

Author

Patricia B. Ebrey

Genre

Article

Pages

5-35

DOI

10.6503/THJCS.202103_51(1).0001

Download

PDF

Language

English

Key words

Song dynasty, migration, migrants, Jingkang disaster 靖康之難, Zhu Xi 朱熹, Zhuang Chuo 莊綽

Abstract

The movement of people has played an important part in the history of China, especially the movement from north to south over the centuries. In Song times, as in other periods, war, famine, and economic opportunities had much to do with motivating people to move, but culture was important in shaping not only the willingness to move but also how people looked on moving and migrants. This essay is a preliminary effort to identify sources and studies that help us better understand how people thought about geographical relocations, both the process of moving and the people who moved. This was not a topic that philosophers discussed as a moral issue, connected either to family obligations or concern for the larger good, but other types of sources can be drawn on that give partial views of people’s thinking. Particularly useful are the stories writers told and the political proposals they made. Funerary biographies are especially rich in evidence of how people told the story of the moves of their ancestors. A different side of how people thought about relocation is found in accounts of migrants in difficult circumstances. In both biji 筆記 and memorials, writers expressed sympathy for people displaced by disasters and proposed that the government at both central and local level take steps to help them and minimize the impact of their arrival. From the writings of literati we learn most about what members of their class thought and did, but do get occasional glimpses of other people as well.