Escort-masters in Northern China: Studying a social category mixing protection against and complicity with brigandage (18th-20th centuries) - Archive ouverte HAL Accéder directement au contenu
Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2022

Escort-masters in Northern China: Studying a social category mixing protection against and complicity with brigandage (18th-20th centuries)

Résumé

In the 18th century, merchants in Shanxi Province, who were victims of the brigandage that was rampant in the steppes of Northern China, sought protection from local martial arts masters. From the interaction between these two worlds a new profession emerged, the “escort-master” (biaoshi 鏢師). Initially in charge of the protection of caravans' goods during their journeys, mainly money, salt and tea, the companies of escort-masters (biaoju 鏢局) gradually specialised in the late 19th century in the convoying of banks' funds and the guarding of merchants’ residences (kanjia huyuan 看家護院). Today, the phenomenon is best known for its connection with the development of martial arts, which are still transmitted locally. By highlighting a cryptolect called the “dark language” (heihua 黑話), this presentation will put into question the role of martial arts in this phenomenon. Intended in particular to avoid the use of violence, the “dark language” reveals the forms of social regulation at work in areas inadequately controlled by the state and the continuum existing between the world of ancient merchants and the borders of “rivers and lakes” (jianghu 江湖).
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Dates et versions

hal-04082740 , version 1 (27-04-2023)

Identifiants

  • HAL Id : hal-04082740 , version 1

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Laurent Chircop-Reyes. Escort-masters in Northern China: Studying a social category mixing protection against and complicity with brigandage (18th-20th centuries). Institut of Philology and History-EFEO, Academia Sinica, Frank Muyard, Oct 2022, Taipei, China. ⟨hal-04082740⟩
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