Beneath the Republican Revolution, Beyond Revolutionary Politics

Elite Associations and Social Transformations in Lower Yangzi Towns, 1903-1912

Bibliographic Data

ID15028002
AuthorsZhongping Chen (0000-0003-0235-1907, corresponding author)
Year2007
Volume28
Issue1
Pages92-127
Publication date2007-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueLate imperial China (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0884-3236 • E-ISSN: 1086-3257
PublisherProject MUSE (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1353/late.2007.0007
OpenAlexW2037899833
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited13

Previous studies of the 1911 Revolution have usually focused on its national and metropolitan contexts but have rarely paid attention to its local arenas, such as market towns. They also have tended to stress political and cultural changes rather than the social transformation that occurred during this revolutionary movement. The prevalent opinion in early studies is that social regress shadowed the era because social elites, especially those at the local level, used reformist organizations and the Republican Revolution to strengthen their dominance over the populace. Recent investigation of these local elite associations, including those in Lower Yangzi towns, has begun to stress the contribution of their social mobilization to the anti-Qing revolution. However, neither the township elite associations themselves nor their influence on social changes beyond revolutionary politics have received enough scrutiny. Social changes are complex and comprehensive. They can range from the social mobility of a person and the gradual evolution of a family to abrupt, violent, and fundamental transformation of the entire society, or what is called “social revolution.” Although social transformation could lead to political

Economic history · Elite · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance · Chinese history and philosophy · Gender Studies · History · Law · Vietnamese History and Culture Studies

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