Informing the Public in Song China

Abstract

abstract:Over time, the Song government increasingly communicated with ordinary people through writing, a practice made easier by the growing availability of printing technology. The central government regularly instructed local officials to post notices, and local officials used notices for both routine situations and urgent needs. In addition to surveying the central government's instructions to local governments to post notices, I examine in more detail the use of notices as a weapon against official corruption during Gaozong's reign, Zhu Xi's well-documented use of notices as a local official, and the use of notices to mitigate panic in Kaifeng in 1126–1127 after the Jurchen had gained control of its walls. Looking at government communication via notices suggests that Song officials not only frequently relied on market forces to achieve compliance from ordinary people but also expected that most ordinary people had access to literate elders in their local communities摘要:本文根据官史、文集和筆記中的記載，論述宋代印刷技術的普及對中央及地方政府與平民交流方式的影響。對各方告示的功用的分析，有助於我們進一步了解宋代百姓在國家、社會和地方文化中的地位。告示使得宋朝官員不僅能依靠市場使百姓服從政府，而且期望多數人能接觸到當地的識字長者。