UCLA

This paper examines the evolution of the Liyuan Guild (Guild of Pear Garden) over the 18th and 19th centuries, centered on Beijing’s Jingzhong Temple (Jingzhongmiao 精忠廟), analyzing the transformation of actor communities from marginalized sojourners into an organized professional guild. Beginning with the establishment of a charitable cemetery in 1732, actors gradually developed a complex institutional framework that integrated religious belief, mutual aid, and industry regulation around the worship of a patron god. This study traces three key phases of guild development: early community building through shared religious practices such as temple renovations, festival celebrations, and charitable activities; institutional evolutions marked by the establishment of regulatory troupe registration mechanisms; and political integration achieved through collaboration with the Qing court during the 1860s. The guild’s distinctive features included its “temple adjudication,” a system of informal dispute resolution, and the maintenance of industry order through the Liyuan family regulations. By the Tongzhi era, the Jingzhongmiao had evolved into an effective intermediary between the imperial court and the commercial opera world, serving simultaneously as a religious center, regulatory body, and protective institution for the actor community. This study reveals a unique path for traditional guilds in late imperial China, where complex organizational strategies emerged to balance spiritual practices, administrative functions, and political imperatives. This development resulted from both the guild’s historical traditions and its accommodation with imperial authority.