Baojia system
Encyclopedia
The baojia system was an invention of Wang Anshi
of the Song Dynasty
, who created this community-based system of law enforcement and civil control that was included in his large reform of Chinese government (“the New Policies”) from 1069-1076.
, but the system was not mandatory. Rather, the regulations were more like guidelines for officials who wished to deploy the system in their counties.
During the Qing Dynasty
, the baojia system was expanded across all of China. However, Ju Dongzu has written that the system was "on the whole ineffective" during this time, and "remained a formality" for several centuries after its introduction.
Being primarily the system of self-defence, in 1835, baojia was extended to cover tax collection. This resulted in power abuses and local unrest.
that occurred during the May Fourth Movement
in 1919, students modeled their resistance on the baojia system. Ten people swore a collective oath to boycott Japanese products, and to make sure that the other nine members of their group upheld their oath. Each member of the group was to attempt to convert nine outsiders to the cause, forming ten groups of ten, which could come together as a group of one hundred. Finally, ten groups of one hundred could meet to form a one thousand person brigade. As with the traditional baojia system, one member of each group of ten became leader of the group. Although no functional group of one thousand ever existed, there is evidence that the ten person groups played an important role in carrying out the boycott.
During the later Republic of China
era, Chiang Kaishek pressed for the reintroduction of the baojia system. He Yingqin
argued that the baojia system could be used as the basis for the switch from a mercenary to a compulsory military service. The system had some success, but there was great difficulty in finding qualified and willing baozhang, as the position was unpaid.
The Japanese
also revived the baojia (in Japanese, Tonarihumi) system in Manchukuo
on December 22, 1933. In this case, the system's primary purpose was to monitor and control the Chinese citizens. The government instituted a lianzuo punishment system, in which crimes committed by one family in a pai would result in punishment for all ten families in that pai. This gave the paizhang a large incentives to monitor the other families in his pai. The Tonarihumi system was also a self defense unit and an operational mutual responsibility and surveillance organization. This system lasted until 1937, when the all-out war being waged in East Asia forced the Japanese government to consider more direct and centralized control schemes. On December 1, 1937, a new district and village government system was announced.
There was a great deal of regional variation in the system. In some areas, jia had as few as four families or as many as thirteen. Some Jiangnan
counties added an intermediary unit called the dang (compact). This unit consisted of thirty families and had a corresponding dangzhang.
During the Qing Dynasty, the system's structure changed again. Ten households made up one pai, ten pai constituted one jia, and every ten jia formed a bao. Studies by Philip Huang and Wang Fuming of Baodi County in northeastern Hebei
province (now Baodi District
, Tianjin
) have shown that the lowest quasi-official was the xiangbao, who oversaw about twenty villages and was intended to act as a buffer between the people and the government.
When the system was reimplemented in the Republic of China, the structure remained essentially the same, with the exception of the introduction of the lianbao (associated bao), a group of several bao at the district level.
Wang Anshi
Wang Anshi was a Chinese economist, statesman, chancellor and poet of the Song Dynasty who attempted controversial, major socioeconomic reforms...
of the Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
, who created this community-based system of law enforcement and civil control that was included in his large reform of Chinese government (“the New Policies”) from 1069-1076.
Imperial China
The leaders of the baos were given authority to maintain local order, collect taxes, and organize civil projects. The idea of the system was that it would diminish the government's reliance on mercenaries, and that it would instead assign responsibility of law enforcement to these civil societies. Baojia regulations were issued centrally in 1548, during the Ming DynastyMing Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
, but the system was not mandatory. Rather, the regulations were more like guidelines for officials who wished to deploy the system in their counties.
During the Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
, the baojia system was expanded across all of China. However, Ju Dongzu has written that the system was "on the whole ineffective" during this time, and "remained a formality" for several centuries after its introduction.
Being primarily the system of self-defence, in 1835, baojia was extended to cover tax collection. This resulted in power abuses and local unrest.
Modern China
The baojia system has continued to resonate with Chinese citizens during the 20th century. During the boycott of Japanese productsChinese boycotts of Japanese products
Boycotts of Japanese products have been conducted by numerous Chinese civilian and governmental organisations, always in response to real or perceived Japanese aggression, whether military, political or economic.-Early boycotts:...
that occurred during the May Fourth Movement
May Fourth Movement
The May Fourth Movement was an anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement growing out of student demonstrations in Beijing on May 4, 1919, protesting the Chinese government's weak response to the Treaty of Versailles, especially the Shandong Problem...
in 1919, students modeled their resistance on the baojia system. Ten people swore a collective oath to boycott Japanese products, and to make sure that the other nine members of their group upheld their oath. Each member of the group was to attempt to convert nine outsiders to the cause, forming ten groups of ten, which could come together as a group of one hundred. Finally, ten groups of one hundred could meet to form a one thousand person brigade. As with the traditional baojia system, one member of each group of ten became leader of the group. Although no functional group of one thousand ever existed, there is evidence that the ten person groups played an important role in carrying out the boycott.
During the later Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
era, Chiang Kaishek pressed for the reintroduction of the baojia system. He Yingqin
He Yingqin
He Yingqin , also spelled Ho Ying-chin, was one of the most senior generals of the Kuomintang during Republican China, and a close ally of Chiang Kai-shek.-Early years:A native of Guizhou, He was healthy and bookish in his childhood...
argued that the baojia system could be used as the basis for the switch from a mercenary to a compulsory military service. The system had some success, but there was great difficulty in finding qualified and willing baozhang, as the position was unpaid.
The Japanese
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
also revived the baojia (in Japanese, Tonarihumi) system in Manchukuo
Manchukuo
Manchukuo or Manshū-koku was a puppet state in Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia, governed under a form of constitutional monarchy. The region was the historical homeland of the Manchus, who founded the Qing Empire in China...
on December 22, 1933. In this case, the system's primary purpose was to monitor and control the Chinese citizens. The government instituted a lianzuo punishment system, in which crimes committed by one family in a pai would result in punishment for all ten families in that pai. This gave the paizhang a large incentives to monitor the other families in his pai. The Tonarihumi system was also a self defense unit and an operational mutual responsibility and surveillance organization. This system lasted until 1937, when the all-out war being waged in East Asia forced the Japanese government to consider more direct and centralized control schemes. On December 1, 1937, a new district and village government system was announced.
Structure
The structure of the baojia system changed over time. In Wang Anshi's original system, its basic unit was the bao (watch), which consisted of ten families. However, during the Ming Dynasty, this ten family unit was instead labeled a jia(tithing), and ten jia (or one hundred families) made a bao. Each jia possessed a placard that rotated among the families. The family holding it at a given time was the jiazhang, or tithing captain. Similarly, the captain of the bao was the baozhang.There was a great deal of regional variation in the system. In some areas, jia had as few as four families or as many as thirteen. Some Jiangnan
Jiangnan
Jiangnan or Jiang Nan is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, including the southern part of the Yangtze Delta...
counties added an intermediary unit called the dang (compact). This unit consisted of thirty families and had a corresponding dangzhang.
During the Qing Dynasty, the system's structure changed again. Ten households made up one pai, ten pai constituted one jia, and every ten jia formed a bao. Studies by Philip Huang and Wang Fuming of Baodi County in northeastern Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
province (now Baodi District
Baodi District
Baodi District is a district of Tianjin, China....
, Tianjin
Tianjin
' is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government...
) have shown that the lowest quasi-official was the xiangbao, who oversaw about twenty villages and was intended to act as a buffer between the people and the government.
When the system was reimplemented in the Republic of China, the structure remained essentially the same, with the exception of the introduction of the lianbao (associated bao), a group of several bao at the district level.