ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the use of historical fieldwork for historians of premodern China, using examples from the author’s own research into the military history of the Ming dynasty. Fieldwork for premodern historians involves the collection and analysis of local documents and texts, including genealogies, inscriptions, land deeds and ritual texts. Sometimes these documents confirm or elaborate on narratives in official sources; often they contradict or complicate them, requiring the historian to reconcile or explain the differences. Thus using documents collected through fieldwork is not entirely distinctive from working with more traditional sources. However, the greater role that living people play in historical research involving fieldwork raises challenges and questions that the fieldworker does well to think carefully about.
