Capital Punishment and Confucian Justice in Eighteenth-Century China

Capital Crime and Confucian Justice examines the adjudication of capital cases in China during the Qianlong reign (1736-1795).  Central to this narrative is the brittle tension between the Confucian ideal of social stability and the stark reality of deadly violence in eighteenth-century China.  Detailed analysis of capital cases records provides the means to analyze the intersection between the principle, practice, and perversion of criminal justice in late imperial China. Bedrock values, such as filiality, patriarchal privilege, social hierarchy, and female chastity that have long been associated with Confucianism were firmly embedded in Qing law.  What makes the eighteenth century particularly interesting is the evidence that the increasingly competitive economy and highly mobile population had expanded the gap between elite social ideals and everyday reality into a yawning chasm.   

Ruler, State and Economy in Eighteenth-Century China:
The Economic Role of the Qing Imperial Household Department

Ruler, State and Economy in Eighteenth-Century China: The Economic Role of the Qing Imperial Household Department:  Operating outside the normal bureaucratic structure, the Imperial Household managed the personal income and expenditures of the emperor, which were distinct from the government budget.  Through the Imperial Household Department Qing emperors derived income from landed estates, monopolies on ginseng and furs, licensing commercial operations, customs and commercial taxes, domestic and foreign tribute, the salt monopoly, loans to merchants and officials, and the payment of fines and confiscation of property from negligent officials.  A study of the Qing Imperial Household will yield insights into the nature of alien conquest dynasties, contribute to the growing literature on Qing political and economic institutions, and provide new perspectives on the relationship between the state and economy during the Qing.