China's Intelligentsia in the Late 19th to Early 20th Centuries

The Emergence of New Forms of Publications and New Modes of Intellectual Engagement

Qing Zhang, Xiaoqin Zhang

• Publisher: De Gruyter Oldenbourg
• Year: 2023
• eBook ISBN: 9783110657227
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: 19th Century History
• Index: History

Intelligentsia has been a widely used term in the studies of history and society to describe intellectual, academic, educational and publishing circles. Zhang Qing analyses the formation of Chinese intelligentsia in the context of modern China, more specifically the late Qing dynasty and Republic of China, and addresses topics such as the expansion of newspaper distributions, the relationship between newspapers and academia, the impact of newspapers on society, the change of readers' expressions and scholars' social mobility.

The emergence of the intelligentsia and other circles in the early twentieth century is an epitome of the drastic changes in Chinese society at the time, indicative both of a new state-society relation and of Chinese scholars' efforts to find new roles and identities for themselves after bidding farewell to imperial examinations. The author shows how both the emergence of new-type publications and new roles in academia had a profound influence on modern China. The formation of the intelligentsia at the turn of the twentieth century was not only a key to grasping modern Chinese history, but also a mirror for examining the future society.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction The Intelligentsia as a Field: New-type Publications and Scholars
• Chapter One A Desire for Group Affiliation: Background of the Formation of the Intelligentsia
• Chapter Two The Emergence of the Intelligentsia: The Subcultural World amid Social Restructuring
• Chapter Three The Intelligentsia from Background to Foreground: Expansion of the Ideological Map
• Chapter Four The Multiple Colors of the Intelligentsia: Newspapers and Academics
• Chapter Five The Multiple “Colors” of the Intelligentsia: Newspapers and Politics
• Chapter Six Book Publishers, Newspaper Publishers, and Scholars: Shared Commercial Interest
• Chapter Seven The Other Side of the Intelligentsia: The Change in the Way of Expression of Scholars
• Chapter Eight Reading Newspapers: “Ladder of Social Mobility” for Scholars
• Conclusion The Intelligentsia: Public Opinion of the Late-Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China Period
• Index