China’s Republican Revolution: The Case of Kwangtung, 1895–1913 (Harvard East Asian Series)

Imperialism, pernicious as it was in most respects, served as the prime catalyst for social change in China throughout the turbulent period from 1895 to 1913. Starting with this premise, Edward Rhoads traces the social, political, and economic history of the republican revolution. In his view, after the Boxer uprising, the Manchu court, usually called supine and reactionary, instituted a program of reform that was a serious, comprehensive, and often successful attempt at radical social transformation. It failed, but it politicized the Chinese people to an unprecedented degree-and it marks the entrance of China into the modern era. The post-Boxer reforms attracted many revolutionaries and defused a serious revolutionary threat. Contrary to traditional accounts, Sun Yat-sen and his Revolutionary Alliance did not move easily from success to success. On the eve of the 1911 revolution, in fact, the movement was disorganized and demoralized. Its ultimate victory came less from its own efforts than from the failure of the incumbent rulers to win the support of the nonrevolutionary elite. China's Republican Revolution - The Case of Kwangtung, 1895-1913......Page 2 ISBN 0-674-11980-0......Page 3 Contents......Page 6 THE PEARL RIVER DELTA......Page 7 KWANGTUNG PROVINCE 1895-1913......Page 8 China's Republican Revolution......Page 10 Note on Romanization......Page 11 Introduction......Page 12 1 On the Eve of Change......Page 18 The Geographical Setting......Page 19 The Western Presence......Page 25 Response to the West......Page 28 Tradition of Political Passivity......Page 34 The Menace of Imperialism......Page 40 Postwar Reforms and Reaction......Page 44 Revolutionary Efforts......Page 49 Inauguration of the Post-Boxer Reforms......Page 61 Imperialism and Nationalism......Page 70 The Revolutionary Movement......Page 76 4 Middle Years of the Post-Boxer Decade, I: Reform......Page 82 Progms of the Established Reforms......Page 83 Politicization of the Urban Elite......Page 92 Initiation of New Reforms......Page 105 The Revolutionary Alliance......Page 111 The Alliance in Kwangtung......Page 117 The Kwangtung Uprisings......Page 121 Reform and Politicization......Page 133 The Wert River Patrol Agitation......Page 140 The "Tatsu Maru" Anti-Japanese Boycott......Page 146 The "Fatshan' Controversy......Page 152 The Macao Delimitation Dispute......Page 154 The Seif-Government Society......Page 159 Formation of the Provincial Assembly......Page 164 The Provincial Assembly in Session......Page 172 Self-Government at the Local Level......Page 182 Peasant Resistance to Gentry Domination......Page 186 8 Final Years of the Post-Boxer Decade, III: Revolution......Page 191 The Revolutionaries and the Reforms......Page 192 The New Army Mutiny......Page 200 The Canton Revolt......Page 208 On the Eve of the Revolution......Page 215 The Revolution in Canton......Page 225 Elsewhere in the Province......Page 241 The Revolutionaries in Power......Page 245 Home Rule......Page 255 Cultural Transformation......Page 262 The Counterrevolution......Page 270 Conclusion......Page 277 Notes, Bibliography, Glossary, and Index......Page 290 Abbreviations used in the notes......Page 291 Introduction......Page 292 1. On the Eve of Change......Page 293 2. The Postwar Period, 1895-1900......Page 297 3. Early Year of the Post-Boxer Decade......Page 301 4. Middle Years of the Post-Boxer Decade, I: Reform......Page 304 5. Middle Years of the Post-Boxer Decade, II: Revolution......Page 309 6. Final Years of the Post-Boxer Decade, I: Nationalism......Page 312 7. Final Years of the Post-Boxer Decade, II: Constitt,tionaliJm......Page 317 8. Final Years of the Post-Boxer Decade, Ill: Revolution......Page 321 9. The Revolution in 1911......Page 324 10. Revolution and Counterrevolution......Page 329 Conclusion......Page 334 Bibliography......Page 335 Glossary......Page 360 Index......Page 368 HARVARD EAST ASIAN SERIES......Page 378 Edward J. M. Rhoads. A Revision Of The Author's Thesis, Harvard. Includes Index. Bibliography: P. [324]-348.