Department or Program
History
Abstract
In the first four years of the Guangxu Emperor’s reign (1876–1879), a severe famine, known as the Dingwu Famine, devastated northern China, claiming thirteen million lives. The experience and memories of the famine were far from “natural.” In my research on the memories of Dingwu Famine, I investigate how the residents of a 2,000-person village, Gulian, in Shanxi Province organized their community, tried to save themselves during a crisis brought about by both environmental and political failures, and later remembered both their trauma and achievements. What their memories reveal is the broader story of Chinese local cultural and social history, and how contemporary communities continue to engage with and narrate their past. This research engages closely with a growing body of scholarship in environmental history, the history of famine, and the history of state-society relations in late imperial China. Adopting the method of microhistory, it draws on both unpublished sources from private collections and published materials, including gazetteers, missionary journals, newspapers, and local cultural and historical records, all of which hold great narrative potential.
Level of Access
Open Access
First Advisor
Chaney, Wes
Date of Graduation
5-2025
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Recommended Citation
Wang, Weihang, "Jujubes on the Margin: Trauma, Community, and Memories of a Village in Central Shanxi" (2025). Honors Theses. 491.
https://scarab.bates.edu/honorstheses/491
Number of Pages
110
Components of Thesis
1 pdf file
