A Study Of Shanghai Gentry Li Pingshu

Li Pingshu was an important character in Shanghai modern history, and also well-known in Chinese modern history. He lived in the late Qing dynasty and the early years of the Republic of China. At that time there is full of collision, conflict and amalgamation between sino-foreign in China. Li PingShu participated in many historical events, even could be regarded as a representative and key character in those events. He participated in the boundary demarcation event of SuiXi county in Guangdong province, leading Shanghai local autonomy and involved in the Shanghai Xinhai Revolution. He was born and grew up in Shanghai. His main activities were also in Shanghai. He stepped into the officialdom, the business circles and the academia. Based on the analysis of Li PingShu’s thought and activities, we can better understand the times he lived in, and make deep understanding of modern Shanghai society and a gentry’s complex life in this social transformation period.This dissertation was divided into four chapters:The first chapter is on "Li PingShu in Longmen Academy". Longmen Academy was a college for classical learning, which was founded in 1862 by Ding Richang, who was a local government official at that time. Li Pingshu had been a student in this famous academy in 1874-1885. This experience in Longmen Academy had deeply effect on his life. This chapter also elaborated his family background to outline the image of a traditional gentry.The second chapter is on "the ten years in Guangdong province". In 1894-1896, Li Pingshu had been the magistrate of Lufeng and Xinning counties of Guangdong province. In 1899-1900, he was recommend to the head of Suixi county. In Lufeng county, he had been rewarded by the emperor for his diligent work, and in the time in Guangdong province he earned his reputation as an able person. But he was dismissed the magistrate in SuiXi county in 1900, for he had tried to protect the local villages from being attacked by French invaders, which called the boundary demarcation event of SuiXi.The third chapter is on "Li Pingshu in the local autonomy period". While Li Pingshu returned to shanghai in 1903, he started the local autonomy movement which was a era outcomes in such a special city of Shanghai supported and gathered by various conditions, such as good opportunity, favorable geographical location and supported from local people. Li pingshu was a key leader in this movement. Through expounding the relationship between local autonomy and Li pingshu, this chapter affirms his pioneering achievements in the movement. Shanghai weekly, a mouthpiece of local autonomy, was established by Li PingShu in 1907.In foreword to the periodical, "about the past of Shanghai, today’s Shanghai, and the future of Shanghai", Li pingshu mapped out a figure of blueprint, which were achieved about 90 percents in next ten years. When Shanghai recovered local autonomy in 1923-1927, Li PingShu returned as a leader of the city administration from February 1924 to December 1927 till his death. Generally, beside his master plan on local autonomy, he was also good at discovering able people and selecting them at suitable position. He had good coordination capability as well. All of above helped him made the remarkable achievements in municipal engineering, municipal facilities and traditional Chinese medicine. At the same time, he was an officer in famous Jiangnan General Manufacturing Bureau. T’ung-meng Hui was a Bourgeois Revolutionary Party founded by Sun Yatsen in Tokyo in August of 1905. Chen Qimei was a key leader of the Central Section of T’ung-meng Hui. After the Wuchang Uprising on 10th October in 1911, Chen successful persuaded Li Pingshu to be his copartners. Shanghai recovery was quite successful because of the good cooperation between shanghai local authorities represented by Li pingshu and revolutionary parties represented by Chen Qimei. The alliance of both was drived by the condition and the times, although both of them had own position and interest. T’ung-meng Hui pursued objective of revolutionary and local authorities pursued local smooth transition in the revolutionary.After Shanghai recovery, Chen Qimei, as the governor of shanghai temporary military government, released a statement that his duties was limited in military and the local autonomy institution as the administrative organization was responsible for local civil affair. This was the result of cooperation and game playing between local authorities and revolutionary party, which also revealed revolutionary party respected the strength of the local influence. Li Pingshu was nominated as the chief officer of Bureau of Civil Affairs in Shanghai military government and the premier of Jiangnan General Manufacturing Bureau by ChenQimei. He was also selected as the chief officer of Secretary for Civil Affairs in JiangSu province. He dropped out these duties in half a year. In 1913, Li PingShu still supported Chen Qimei’s revolutionary party to counterattack Yuan Shikai. Because of the defeat of the revolution, Li Pingshu refuged in Japan in 1913-1916.Because of the revolutionary goals, revolutionary party obviously act as the leading role of the cooperation in 1911. Although local authorities displayed their conservatived interests and abandoned revolution to some extent in 1913, as the goal of protecting the local interests for social stability was concerned, their choice was succession as in 1911. After 1917 Li Pingshu lived in Wintersweet Garden in Kunshan county, which was designed by himself.The fourth chapter is on "Collection and Appreciation of painting and calligraphy ". Li PingShu was famous for his collection and appreciation of painting and calligraphy in the Republic of China. This chapter discussed his contribution to organize activities in appreciation of painting and calligraphy, and to carry forward the quintessence of Chinese culture.Li Pingshu objected to keep secret of the works of painting and calligraphy. He promoted to organize exhibition and communication of the works of painting and calligraphy in conjunction with his artist friends. For the same purpose, he went to Tokyo to attend the exhibition for painting and calligraphy in 1913. He also invited technicians to print painting and calligraphy in Miro style for several times. He spent his last years in plum garden he built himself in Kun Shan to continue to communication the works of painting and calligraphy. When plum blooming, many artist friends gathered in plum garden to enjoy the beauty of the plum and his collection. Both of them revealed his extraordinary aesthetic accomplishment, life interest and moral pursuit.Finally, through the comparison the dissertation summarize the characteristics of the Shanghai gentry, Li pingshu.