Beneath the Republican Revolution, Beyond Revolutionary Politics: Elite Associations and Social Transformations in Lower Yangzi Towns, 1903-1912

Abstract

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