Gentry Rule In Late Qing Dynasty: The Disintegration And Attempts At Reconstruction On Its Foundation Of Legitimacy

In the Ming and Qing Dynasty,refer to the circumstances that “monarchical power being never extended to the county” in the local politics,a blank of power has been appeared in the local management,and its were the gentry who made it up,a tradition of gentry rule than being gradually formed.To the gentry rule,on the one hand,the emperors of the Ming and Qing have both been built a stele which prevented the gentry from the politics and local officials,for this reason,gentry's power in local society was considered to be “unofficial” and“lack of authorization and legality”.But on the other hand,gentry rule was continuously carrying on the whole Ming and Qing Dynasty,commoners regarded gentry as “the hope of the rural”,and local officials also treated gentry “love and respect”,moreover,the central government itself has to rely the gentry to the local management and control.Both“illegitimate” and “allowable” lead the gentry rule seems strange and contradiction.How to understand the legal character of the gentry rule,is as the first question that this article try to examines.Through the research about the traditional Chinese political thought,a kind of way which linked moral character to the political power was appeared.The gentry,as the confucian intellectuals therefore gained the political power legally,with their moral knowledge and social prestige,it is also brings the gentry rule legitimacy foundation from the legal origin.Next,the second question that this article try to examines is: why the gentry rule was gradually broken up in the late Qing Dynasty,and further became a decayed institution in the Republic of China? In this situation,the change of the legitimacy foundation can also provide an understand.A series of political and social reform has been carried out in the1898-1911 A.D.,which were fundamentally impacted confucian orthodoxy's authoritative as the mainstream political thought,and slowly ruined the connection between“morality-politics” and “knowledge-power”,traditional gentry rule's legitimacy foundation thus facing the disintegration.Although a new legitimacy foundation that based on law and institution has been gradually built,it was eventually ended with an undesirable result.The article consists of three parts except the introduction and conclusion:The first part discussed an issue that,there lies a legal basis that allowed to intellectuals access to the political power.In the situation of gentry rule,the gentry were exactly the people who have the moral knowledge and the social prestige,which allowed them obtained thepolitical power legally.In the process of managing local society,refer to the promotion of confucian orthodoxy and the effective local management,the gentry were strengthened confucian orthodoxy both in theory and practise,and their actions in turn defended the legitimacy foundation of their power in the local management.It makes gentry rule formed a virtuous circle in the traditional politics.The second part mainly discussed the disintegration process of gentry rule in the late Qing Dynasty.Firstly,the Qing monarch as “the gentiles” were still bothered with plenty of troubles,as they were unable to established the confucian orthodoxy firmly neither in the politics nor the society,this thus makes the later disintegration reasonable and considerable.Secondly,in the period of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement,because of the unreasonable expand of fame,gentry were gradually corrupt and losing the position of moral authority,it also affected their function of maintain the confucian orthodoxy.At last,the imperial examination system been criticized to abolished,which either destroyed the earth that confucian orthodoxy depend on,or ended the connection between the moral knowledge and political power.Traditional legitimacy foundation of gentry rule thus cannot be relied on.The third part is begins with the local self-government practise in Hunan province at the WU XU period,this part is focus on several local self-government actives that happened in WU XU to the New Deal Reform,which were referred the thought of“civil right” and the parliamentary system from the western country.In this actives,many of enlightened gentry planning with courage,joining with enthusiasm,as they finally obtained the political power,which were official,overt and been protected by the law and institution,in the modern administration and the newly built local parliamentary.This is the restructure attemption of gentry rule's legitimacy foundation.Although it was a very short process,it bought deep influence for the local development and the local management mode in the modern time,therefore this question is worth reviewing and studying even nowadays.