{"product_id":"talons-and-teeth-9780804737586","title":"Talons and Teeth","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor commoners in the Qing dynasty, the most salient agents of the imperial state were not the emperor''s appointed officials but rather the clerks and runners of the county \u003ci\u003eyamen,\u003c\/i\u003e the lowest level of functionaries in the Qing state''s administrative hierarchy. Yet until now we have known very little about these critically important persons beyond the caricatured portrayals of corruption and venality left by Qing high officials and elites.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDrawing from the rich archival records of Ba county, Sichuan, the author challenges the simplicity of these portrayals by taking us inside the county \u003ci\u003eyamen\u003c\/i\u003e to provide the first detailed look at local administrative practice from the perspective of those who actually carried it out. Who were the county clerks and runners? How were they recruited, organized, disciplined, and rewarded? What was the economic basis for a career in the \u003ci\u003eyamen\u003c\/i\u003e? How did clerks and runners view themselves as well as legitimize their role in Qing go\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“...the book is a valuable contribution to the study of a sophisticated bureaucracy in a non-Western, nonmodern setting.”—Robin D.S. Yates, McGill University\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePreface; Abbreviations and conventions; 1. Illicit bureaucrats; 2. Clerks; 3. Families, friends, and factions; 4. Runners; 5. Illicit allies and the magistrate's men; 6. The economics of justice; 7. The legitimacy of the indispensable; Appendixes; Notes; Character list; Index.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Stanford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49405536371031,"sku":"9780804737586","price":55.8,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780804737586.jpg?v=1730492767","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/talons-and-teeth-9780804737586","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}