Meeting of the Society

Meeting of the Society. The first known local meeting of the Society for Ch'lng Studies was held on Oct. 23 and 24, 1965, in the Yale area, the topic being "Manchu Impact on Ch'lng institutions and culture." The format was a long meeting on October 23 for members only, spanning the afternoon and evening (including cocktails and dinner), of discussion on the topic. Later that night friends and spouses were admitted and the meeting became a party. On October 24 informal meetings and discussions were held during late morning and lunch. Visiting members stayed with Yale hosts. Ground covered at the main meeting included: The switch from eunuchs to bondservants (pao-i); the higher status of the military; the sharp distinction between grasping and idealistic officials (was there some factor in Manchu rule, such as their deliberate abandonment of cruel Ming practices, that encouraged officials to be unusually honorable?); Mongol influences on the Manchus in the idea of the state, religion, identity of civil and military; dwindling of popular Taoism; the problem of Intermarriage and the fact that with Chinese bondservants In Manchu Banners having female relations taken as concubines by the Emperor one could have offspring institutionally Manchu though ethnically half Chinese; tougher Confucian orthodoxy springing from Manchu Naivete, a simplistic manipulation of righteousness; was there some growing Manchu disgust with wealthy Chinese connected with the Ch'ien-lung Emperor's tacit acceptance of Ho-shen's activities? General conclusion was smallness of Manchu impact. Attendant local members and flying members: Philip Bilancia, Lloyd Eastman Chao-ying Fang, Lien-che Tu Fang, Tilemann Grimm, David Nivison, John Schreckefr, Jonathan Spence, Mary Wright (hostess). Recent Books and Reprints. Adyance orders are being taken for L. R. Marchant, A Guide to the Archive s and Records of Protestant Christian Missions from the British Isles to China, -17- ...