Property Lawsuits on Mt. Yinna and Chengxiang County, Guangdong, in the Seventeenth Century

Late seventeenth century lawsuits over the Buddhist monastic properties of Mt Yinna demonstrate the contradictions among local gentry, lineage, Buddhist monasteries and other power groups in local society. The suits also affected the compilation of local documents, revealing the attitudes of various levels of the imperial government towards the different power groups in the locality. The outcomes of these suits enabled the imperial state to enhance its integration of local society in Chengxiang.