Gentry Research In Modem Shanxi Rural Social Change

The purpose of this paper is that through the study of modern Shanxi gentry LiuDapeng this case, to catch a glimpse of the inland rural gentry in the societytransformation at late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China. The paper isdivided into five chapters. The introduction explains the purpose and significance of thetopic, the academic history and research ideas and so on. The first chapter is theintroduction of Shanxi rural modernization and the analysis of the effect on the ruralgentry. The second chapter mainly studies the historical change of Shanxi rural gentryLiu Dapeng that the individual making the historical change in response tomodernization in the background of social changes in modern. In the late Qing Dynasty,China was under the invasion of Western powers. After experiencing severe pains ofwars, the traditional Chinese society began to move towards the process of entering themodern industrial civilization. At this time, Shanxi gentry Liu Dapeng vaguely felt therural social changes but still stuck to his reading officialdom road. To the end of theQing Dynasty, state reform, enforce of new policy, the abolition of imperialexamination and the rise of schools under the pushing of modernization process madeLiu Dapeng’s life suffer an unprecedented blow. Because the government neglectedConfucianism after the Xin Hai Revolution, Liu Dapeng had to abandon Confucianism,began to engage in commerce and participate in political activities with the historicalstress. To the1920s and1930s, rural society is a ruined scene. Liu Dapeng was notinterested in personal livelihood and current political situation, so he turned to the localsocial affairs. The third chapter begins with the belief of Confucianism of Liu Dapeng,then discusses his response to the modern social change. Finally is the conclusion, basedon the analysis of Liu Dapeng’s individual destiny changes and the stick toConfucianism, summarizes the historical factors of the difficulties encountered by theinland rural gentry in the process of modernization.