''Dibao'' (''ti-pao''),
[; also ]romanized
In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and transcription, ...
as ''tepao''. sometimes called headmen
or constables,
[Bernhardt, Kathryn ''et al.'' ]
Civil Law in Qing and Republican China
', p. 117. Stanford University Press, 1999. . Accessed 4 Nov 2011. were local officials in
Qing
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
and
early Republican China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, typically selected from among the prominent landowners.
[Henriot, Christian. "Invisible Deaths, Silent Deaths: 'Bodies without Masters' in Republican Shanghai". ''Journal of Social History'', Winter 2009, p. 433.] Working in communities of around 100
household
A household consists of one or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is im ...
s, they were charged with overseeing boundaries and land disputes.
He
notarized
A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems.
A notary, while a legal professional, is distin ...
all real estate
deed
A deed is a legal document that is signed and delivered, especially concerning the ownership of property or legal rights. Specifically, in common law, a deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, affirms or confirms an interest, right ...
s on a commission basis and collected the land tax,
as well as overseeing minor punishment such as the
cangue.
As foreign
missionaries
A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...
and businessmen gained the right to hold property in China from the
unequal treaties
The unequal treaties were a series of agreements made between Asian countries—most notably Qing China, Tokugawa Japan and Joseon Korea—and Western countries—most notably the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, the Unit ...
, the local headmen could be caught between them and their superiors in the Chinese hierarchy, for instance during the construction of the
Woosung Road.
[Pong, David.]
Confucian Patriotism and the Destruction of the Woosung Railway, 1877
, p. 649. ''Modern Asian Studies'', Vol. VII, No. 4. Cambridge University Press, 1973.
The ''dibao'' administered villages under the ordinary Chinese administrative system. A similar office called the ''shoubao'' (''shou-pao'') was established under the Qing in 1725 to manage the
Banner system.
The ''dibao'' were the successors of the
Qin and
Han ''tingzhang'',
[.] the
Sui and
Tang ''lizheng'',
[.] and
Song
A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...
''baozheng''.
[.] They were occasionally also known as ''baozheng'' or as ''dijia''
[.]
After 1900, they began to be replaced by less autonomous ''cunzheng'',
[.][Liu, Chang. ]
Peasants and Revolution in Rural China: Rural Political Change in the North China Plain and the Yangzi Delta, 1850–1949
', p. 58. ''Routledge Studies in the Chinese Economy'', vol. 25. Routledge, 2007. . Accessed 4 Nov 2011. although this transition was not completed until the
Republican era.
See also
*
village (China)
Villages (), formally village-level divisions () in China, serve as a fundamental organizational unit for its rural population (census, mail system). Basic local divisions like neighborhoods and communities are not informal, but have defined bo ...
*
village head
A village head, village headman or village chief is the community leader of a village or a small town.
Usage
Brunei
In Brunei, village head is called or in the Malay language. It is an administrative post which leads the community of a ...
*
notary public
A notary public ( notary or public notary; notaries public) of the common law is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with general financial transactions, estates, deeds, powers- ...
Notes
References
{{Qing dynasty topics
Government of the Qing dynasty
Eight Banners