Letters and Parting Valedictions

Abstract

In eleventh-century China, a growing number of local men received a classical education and played a visible role in the government. Some passed the civil service examinations and held office, but those who did not also actively engaged themselves in local administration. These local men of culture, or local literati, had a dual identity: they were influential members of local society in their hometowns, but they were also participants in an empire-wide literati community that defined itself by a shared culture and supralocal networks. This chapter provides a case study of how local literati on the fringes of officialdom negotiated between these two identities and how they both cooperated with the state in local administration and protested against it in defence of local interests. The protagonist in this chapter is Zhang Yu, a Sichuanese literatus of the early Northern Song Dynasty who never held office but commanded great respect from local officials. Using his letters, parting valedictions, and commemorative inscriptions, this chapter explores how local literati provided political counsel and communicated their demands to the government. It argues that Zhang pursued, in different genres of his writings, several agendas that complemented one another. He eagerly fashioned himself as a true literatus in the metropolitan circles, which in turn strengthened his social standing and enabled him to weigh in on local policy and speak for local interests.