The Companionship in the Local Administration of Wen-chou in Southern Sung China

The recent researches of Sung history have been focused on the elite's character and activities. Especially, Robert Hymes wrote an impressive analysis of the rise and growth of the elite families in Northern and Southern Sung. However, he was not interested in the relation between this local elite and the government. The aim of this article is to make clear the "informal" group in the local administration of Wen-thou 温州 prefecture in Liang-che 両浙 circuit. By examining the relations between the magistrate and the local elite, the following characterstics are pointed out: 1) The informal relationship between the magistrate and the local elite through neo-confucianism permitted the development of the administration in Wen-chou. 2) Although it was not easy to access the magistrates, the local elite was able to do it. The local elites formed their intimate social ties through the blood relations and the marriage ties. 3) The magistrates who came from Ming-chou 明州 prefecture often contributed to the local administration of Wen-chou. Officials from these two prefectures were also cooperative in the political world of the Southern Sung dynasty