From the National to the Local: Printing, Kinship, and Local Dominance in 15th-Century China

For scholar-officials in premodern China, retiring from government service marked the end of their political careers, yet it also opened the door to new opportunities for influence in their hometowns. How, then, did officials transform their imperial status into local dominance as they shifted their focus from the government to local society? This article examines how Cheng Minzheng (1445-1499), a prominent scholar-official, transferred his influence from the government to the local kinship system in his hometown. I argue that this transition was not automatic; it required effort, deliberation, and strategy.

In Cheng’s case, the transfer of power occurred through the compilation and publication of a history of his surname in his home prefecture. While the history he created significantly diverged from the preexisting narratives he used as sources, and arbitrarily elevated his own lineage at the cost of others, Cheng used the hegemonic power of printing to impose this new version on other Cheng lineages, thereby establishing his dominance over them. This article highlights the central role of printing technology and print media in transferring power from the government to local society, revealing the mechanisms that bridged national and local power structures and demonstrating how printing technology enabled the literati elite to enhance their influence in new ways.