Book contents
- The Cambridge World History of Violence
- The Cambridge History of Violence
- The Cambridge World History of Violence
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures and Table
- Contributors to Volume II
- Introduction to Volume II
- Part I Beyond Warfare: Armies, Tribes and Lords
- Part II The Violence of Governments and Rulers
- Part III Social, Interpersonal and Collective Violence
- 10 Bandits and Peasants in Medieval Japan
- 11 State, Society and Trained Violence in China, 618–1500
- 12 Seigneurial Violence in Medieval Europe
- 13 The Growth of Military Power and the Impact of State Military Violence in Western Europe, c. 1460 to 1560
- 14 Ethnic and Religious Violence in Byzantium
- 15 Violence against Women in the Early Islamic Period
- 16 Violence and Murder in Europe
- Part IV Religious, Sacred and Ritualised Violence
- Part V Depictions of Violence
- Index
- References
11 - State, Society and Trained Violence in China, 618–1500
from Part III - Social, Interpersonal and Collective Violence
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 March 2020
- The Cambridge World History of Violence
- The Cambridge History of Violence
- The Cambridge World History of Violence
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures and Table
- Contributors to Volume II
- Introduction to Volume II
- Part I Beyond Warfare: Armies, Tribes and Lords
- Part II The Violence of Governments and Rulers
- Part III Social, Interpersonal and Collective Violence
- 10 Bandits and Peasants in Medieval Japan
- 11 State, Society and Trained Violence in China, 618–1500
- 12 Seigneurial Violence in Medieval Europe
- 13 The Growth of Military Power and the Impact of State Military Violence in Western Europe, c. 1460 to 1560
- 14 Ethnic and Religious Violence in Byzantium
- 15 Violence against Women in the Early Islamic Period
- 16 Violence and Murder in Europe
- Part IV Religious, Sacred and Ritualised Violence
- Part V Depictions of Violence
- Index
- References
Summary
Trained violence was a central forum for establishing the relationship between Chinese dynastic governments and their subjects. Because training in the use of violence (martial arts), along with access to weapons, determined an imperial subject’s effectiveness in carrying out violence in the service of the state, or in resisting the will of the state, imperial governments were always concerned to confine skills and weapons to those loyal to the state. Not only did different dynasties solve that problem differently at the beginning of their rule, the institutions governing training in violence changed over time in response to a government’s evolving society and external threats. Seen in this light, a state’s control over trained violence and access to weapons is a direct reflection of that state’s evaluation of its subjects’ loyalty and commitment to dynastic goals.
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- Information
- The Cambridge World History of Violence , pp. 228 - 247Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020