The Wandering Mentors: The Precarious Life of Private Tutors in the Late Ming

 

The Wandering Mentors: The Precarious Life of Private Tutors in the Late Ming

The Late Ming Dynasty was a period of intense social and economic flux, a reality reflected poignantly in the lives of private tutors, known as shushi. These educators, often unsuccessful candidates in the imperial examinations, navigated a professional landscape defined by "覓館" (miguan—the search for a teaching post) and the inherent instability of short-term employment¹.

Finding a position was rarely a matter of public advertisement; instead, it relied heavily on a complex web of social credit². Tutors depended on "social credit relationships" such as kinship, lineage, master-disciple bonds, and geographical ties to secure a place in a household³. These intermediaries acted as guarantors for the tutor’s character and scholarly competence⁴. However, as the era progressed and competition intensified, the cost of securing these roles rose significantly, while their stability plummeted⁵.

This precarious existence led to a common life cycle of "finding a post, losing it, and seeking another"⁶. Such instability fundamentally altered the professional spirit of the tutor class⁷. Rather than a path for self-actualization or the lofty pursuit of "the Way," teaching became a survival strategy—a means to "support one's studies through teaching"⁸. This shift contributed to the perceived decline of "the Way of the Teacher" (shidao) during the Late Ming, as the tutor became a wandering laborer of the intellect rather than a permanent fixture of moral authority⁹. Ultimately, unlike other emerging professional groups of the time, private tutors failed to form a cohesive professional identity, remaining fragmented by their constant struggle for economic security¹⁰.