Abstract:

There are always considerable tensions between the state building and the reproduction of elite families. Clarifying the basic strategies and changes in the cooperation of elite family organizations in the early state power expansion is crucial to understanding the interaction between state governance and social structure. This research uses exponential random graph model(ERGM) and the Song Dynasty dataset from the China Biographical Database (CBDB) to examine the two marriage logics of elite families based on status matching and sheltered sharing, as well as the impact of the Xining Reform on the "matching by status" and "long-standing alliance" marriage modes under these two logics. The research finds that in the early stage of transition from a traditional to a modern state, social mobility increases but state power remains relatively limited. Elite families exhibit low risk preference and conservative behavior patterns. Their marriage strategies are mainly manifested as negative matching based on ascribed status and positive matching based on achieved status from the perspective of individual traits, as well as the continuation of hereditary patronage relationships and the suppression of oppressive patronage relationships from the perspective of relational structure. As the nation building process accelerates, the expansion of state power dominated by utilitarianism, centralization and institutionalization influences the reproduction strategies of the elite by adjusting the social redistribution mechanism, prompting them to adopt more open and risk-taking marriage strategies: on the one hand, increased social openness reduces homogeneous marriages among elite families based on positive status matching, and on the other hand, the expansion of state power strengthens the external pressure and internal demand for elite families to focus on clans, hence promoting the positive influence of sheltered relationships among previous generations on the intermarriages of subsequent generations. The research findings reveal the complex picture of the interaction, coordination, and integration between the "state" and the "family" in the early state building process in China.

Key words: elite family, marriage, state building, Song Dynasty, exponential random graph model