中央研究院 Logo

Speaker:

Dr. Laurent Chircop-Reyes

Researcher, French Center for Research on Contemporary China (CEFC)法國現代中國研究中心

主辦單位：

中研院史語所制度與社會研究室，法國遠東學院台北中心

Organized by the EFEO Taipei Center and the Institutions and Society Research Center, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica

❈此為英文演講，不須報名

The talk will be given in English. Registration is not required.

❈配合防疫：1.全程配戴口罩，2.量測體溫，3.消毒手部，4.填寫健康紀錄表（所外人士），5.採梅花座。

Abstract:

In the 18th century, merchants in Shanxi Province, who were victims of the brigandage that was rampant in the steppes of Northern China, sought protection from local martial arts masters. From the interaction between these two worlds a new profession emerged, the “escort-master” (biaoshi 鏢師). Initially in charge of the protection of caravans' goods during their journeys, mainly money, salt and tea, the companies of escort-masters (biaoju 鏢局) gradually specialised in the late 19th century in the convoying of banks' funds and the guarding of merchants’ residences (kanjia huyuan 看家護院). Today, the phenomenon is best known for its connection with the development of martial arts, which are still transmitted locally. By highlighting a cryptolect called the “dark language” (heihua 黑話), this presentation will put into question the role of martial arts in this phenomenon. Intended in particular to avoid the use of violence, the “dark language” reveals the forms of social regulation at work in areas inadequately controlled by the state and the continuum existing between the world of ancient merchants and the borders of "rivers and lakes" (jianghu 江湖).