DCAM "Beyond the Music" Lecture Series | Duan Zhiqiang: Exploring Ancient Chinese Mutual Aid Organizations through the Dunhuang "Women's Society" Document
On April 12th, the inaugural lecture of the "Beyond the Music" series at the Dunhuang Contemporary Art Museum was successfully held. Dr. Duan Zhiqiang from the Institute of Humanities and History at Fudan University used a Dunhuang "Women's Society" document to analyze the mutual aid mechanisms in ancient Chinese society, revealing the little-known landscape of folk organizations in Dunhuang and showcasing the vitality and creativity of traditional communities.
Community Villages - The Grassroots Autonomy Network of Medieval Society
"Community Villages" were not unique to Dunhuang. As recorded in the "Tang Dynasty Imperial Edicts Collection," "private communities were commonly found among households," indicating their widespread presence in both urban and rural areas. Dr. Duan noted that the core functions of these communities included mutual aid in life and death, agricultural cooperation, public construction (such as canal repair and bridge building), and religious activities. Taking the "Canal Community" as an example, members were required to work on river dredging according to notices, and those who were late would be punished with seven strokes of the cane. Such strict rules ensured the efficiency of water conservancy projects. Additionally, communities undertook economic roles like lending and disaster relief and even possessed independent assets (such as land rent and money). Some communities endured for centuries, becoming the invisible pillars of grassroots society.
The Spiritual Bonds Sustaining Community Villages
The rise of Dunhuang's community villages was closely linked to Buddhist beliefs. Their mutual aid traditions reflected both the spontaneous public spirit of the folk and the monastic community's care for the people. Bai Juyi's "Huayan Sutra Community Stone Inscription" records that Monk Nancan from Hangzhou vowed to organize ten thousand people to chant the Huayan Sutra and established farmland to support Buddhist activities. The "Yici Hui Stone Pillar" from Hebei records the charitable deeds of monastic communities during the Northern Wei period amidst chaos—they not only buried the nameless dead but also provided relief to disaster victims through alms, embodying the Buddhist spirit of compassion. Dr. Duan also emphasized that the Buddhist concept of the "Seven Fields of Merit" (such as bridge building, medicine distribution, and tree planting) provided spiritual motivation for civilian philanthropy. The compassion of Buddhism is indeed the core value that sustains the cohesion of community villages.
From Community Villages to "Assemblies": The Secular Transformation
After the Song Dynasty, community villages gradually declined, replaced by the more secular "assemblies." Using the Huizhou "Record-Keeping Assembly" as an example, Dr. Duan explained that during the Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns, six Cheng family members pooled funds to build a bridge, creating a "fund" model with a 2% monthly interest rate. This allowed the initial principal of one tael of silver to grow to over twenty taels, with additional income from land rents. This demonstrates the rational and wise side of civilian self-governance. In stark contrast, the "Green Shoots Society" in northern China during the Qing Dynasty had a more violent character—villagers contributed money to hire guards to protect their crops, established private courts to punish theft, and were even absorbed into semi-official organizations by the government. These cases reveal that ancient mutual aid organizations were not only the crystallization of civilian wisdom but also the product of the struggle between state power and local autonomy.
Conclusion: Re-understanding the "other side" of Chinese society
Teacher Duan Zhiqiang concluded that Dunhuang documents and local archives have opened a window for us: ancient society is not a binary structure of "imperial power-family", but a dynamic network full of spontaneous organizations. From the warmth of the Women's Society to the tenacity of the Green Seed Society, folk associations have built "small communities" in the dimensions of life and death, economy, and faith, becoming the capillaries that maintain the operation of society. This historical experience is of enlightenment significance for understanding the governance logic of traditional China and the organizational innovation of modern society.
About the "Beyond the Music" Lecture Series
The "Beyond the Music" lecture series is organized by the Dunhuang Contemporary Art Museum and jointly planned with the Ideal Vision platform. The series consists of four parts and will continue until March 2026. With four major sections, the series explores the rich tapestry of Dunhuang culture from historical, Buddhist, literary, and architectural perspectives. We plan to hold one specialized lecture each month, totaling twelve lectures a year, focusing on a cultural cross-section each month to piece together the vast cultural landscape of Dunhuang. The next lecture is in preparation, and we welcome your continued attention for the latest schedule. For offline registration, please sign up through the Dunhuang Contemporary Art Museum mini-program, and we look forward to the active participation of the public！