Educators and Power Brokers: Political Mobilization and Violence in Wannian County, Jiangxi Province, 1926–1935

Abstract

This article examines the actions, politicization, and mobilization of Guomindang (GMD) revolutionary local elites of the late Qing generation, with attention to the changing roots of their power. It tackles the rapid demotion of local elites into “evil gentry,” how and why well-educated and respected individuals central to local education became enmeshed in violence, and how, in turn, this affected GMD assertion of control. This case study of upper-stratum elites in Wannian County in northeast Jiangxi between 1926 and 1935 challenges existing literature that centers only on the Communist revolution, the May Fourth generation of revolutionaries, local elites’ identification with traditional power holders, and the GMD’s local restoration of power. A focus on indigenous dynamics and GMD impact on local politics brings to light the importance of the diversity of local elites, the dynamic of power reconfiguration among them, and the fierce competition among elite groups over sources of power such as local schools.