A Study On Yan Xiu Family (1830-1930)

This thesis is focused on the study of Yan Xiu Family's situation in 1830-1930. Through the analysis of developments among the generations of Yan Xiu Family in modern century, and the attempt to relate family with society and country, it probes the relationship between Yan Xiu Family and society and country, and thus reflects the changes of the times in terms of politics, economy, education and culture in modern society.This thesis is divided into five sections. The first section discusses the early situation of Yan Xiu Family and analyzes the background of Yan Xiu Family's movement from Ningbo to Tianjin and their developments in Tianjin; the second section, aimed at the father of Yan Xiu, Yan Kekuan, discusses his experience of embarking on salt industry activities due to the failure in Chinese imperial examination and his father's oldness and serious illness. When he accumulated wealth, he did not yet forget to make cultural communication with the local scholars, and at the same time, they also engaged in local charities together. This also reflects that Yan Kekuan, as a merchant, still wants to stand out in local social development with an image of scholar businessman; the third section talks about the brother of Yan Xiu, Yan Zhen, who was also engaged in imperial examination in his youth, but as an older brother, he was forced to give up exam to do business and bear the burden of the whole family because of his father's dearth; through the analysis of Yan Xiu, the forth section discusses how Yan Xiu, under the changing times, achieved his purposes in terms of individual success in imperial examination, education reform, children education, etc, and made the development of Yan Xiu Family adapt to the social changing environment on the basis of his personal concept on building a peaceful world and the established interpersonal relationships, which also highlighted the critical role Yan Xiu played in the development process of the family; the fifth section discusses how Yan Xiu's brothers and children realized the transformation to modern times and became a new intellectual group who were engaged in modern occupations, and thus demonstrated the transformation of Yan Xiu Family in modern times, that is from the old business group to the modern new intellectual group.In short, through several generations of discussion about Yan Xiu Family and understanding of the inheritance between them and the uniqueness formed herefrom, it discusses the relations between Yan Xiu Family who were involved in state and local, and social changes. It is no doubt that understanding these will have great significance on understanding Yan Xiu Family and modern Chinese society.