On Autonomy and Nomocracy in the Qingshui River Valley during the Qing Dynasty:A Textual Research of the Contracts in the Area

During the Ming Dynasty, there was a strong social basis for dispute resolutions with the forms of rational explanations and deity judgment in the Qingshui River valley areas, reflecting the extinctive features of autonomy. With the gradual entering of the royal power, however, the local people began to go to officials for dispute resolution. From the Ming Dynasty to the early Qing Dynasty, rational explanations and deity judgment were mainly practiced. From the middle reigns of the Qing Dynasty, cases, either serious or moderate, were judged by officials, reflecting the legal practices in the communities of the areas. The royal power provided political resources to the officials and litigation was practiced after the middle reign of the Qing Dynasty.