Q. Examine the main currents within the revolution of 1911.

Would you agree that the 1911

Q. Assess the role played by any four of the following in developing the revolutionary movement of
1911 in China: (a) Bourgeoisie, (b) Gentry, (c) New Army, (d) Young women and girls, (e) Proletariat,
(f) Students and Youth.

Q. Assess the role of the various social classes and groups in the 1911 revolution with special
reference to the role of the bourgeoisie.

The 20th century was a watershed moment in the history of China because Chinese mainland was
changing & the change was apparent. The feeling of nationalism was on the rise among different
sections of population. Reforms were taking place throughout the country in the field of
administration, education & military. It was in this background that the Chinese revolution of 1911
took place. It marked a major turning point in the modern Chinese history because it led to the
overthrow of Manchu dynasty & establishment of a republic. It also brought chaos in the shape of
warlordism & left China under imperialist oppression. A new China was in making under the veil of
the revolution. Lenin was of the view that a quarter of the earth’s population was moving forward &
that hundreds of millions of men were awakening to life, light & freedom.

A paramount issue that concerned New China in the first phase of the revolution was the rise of
nationalistic feelings among the Chinese. Mary. C. Wright understood Chinese nationalism in three
dimensions: Firstly, it called for the resistance to imperialism in the reclamation of territorial
integrity. Secondly, it demanded the organisation of China as a centralized nation-state. And thirdly,
nationalism meant to overthrow the Manchus who were seen in association with the foreigners.

By the late 19th century, we see the emergence of new lexicon in China with terms like national
sovereignty & sovereign rights gaining political parlance. The internal policy differences of the
officials were buried under a wave of determination to strengthen the country and reclaim all that
had been lost. Under the blind of nationalism, Chinese state projected their anti-imperialist
sentiments by re-claiming various territories as a part of mainland China. By 1905, China was
claiming Tibet with its capital at Lhasa. This was followed by reassertion of historic claims over
Bhutan, Nepal, Sikkim & Burma. China’s claim to sovereignty over Mongolia brought them in direct
confrontation with Russia. Similarly, their assertion over the Manchurian homeland turned them
against the Japanese. These examples underline the more pronounced territorial aspect of the anti-
imperialist nationalism. The popular response to the frontier policy of state was very supportive. The
national fervour was on the rise & majority of the Chinese were thinking in national interest. Public
gatherings began to take place to deliberate on issues of national importance. Newspapers &
Journals became the source of popular opinion.

Nationalism in China also meant the triumph of nationalism over provincialism. The provincial
assemblies provided local leaders with the platform where they could develop their contacts with
various organizations throughout China. Discussion of many local issues inevitably became propelling
forces of new nationalism. According to Immanuel Hsu, the anti-Manchu sentiments of the masses
was evident in various popular uprisings, the most prominent being Taiping & Boxer rebellions.
Mary. C. Wright is of the view that the anti-Manchu strain of nationalism was the least revolutionary
of the three & that it has been “grossly exaggerated”.
Nationalism propelled the imperial government into a series of reforms that proved to be one of the
main forces behind the revolution. The reforms brought about fundamental changes in every sphere
of Chinese life & directly gave rise to a political revolution. The most important reforms were
introduced in the sector of education with the creation of a new educational system in both form &
substance. The abolition of the Examination System in 1905 and the simultaneous creation of a
Ministry of Education altered the basis of gentry’s power and the recruitment of the bureacracy. The
imperial government’s military reforms coupled with their modern training, made them highly
receptive to ideas of revolution in the name of nationalism. The third major group of imperial
reforms included general reorganization of the entire administrative apparatus of the Empire. The
fourth series of major reforms were those intended to encourage industry. These imperial reforms
faced massive resistance from the people thus adding to the growing revolutionary pressures in
society.

One of the academic debates which centred on the revolution of 1911 is regarding the role of
various groups & social classes who took part in the revolution. In New China, dynamic new groups
were developing & old social classes were transforming. The rising tide of new nationalism was
influenced & motivated by the following groups: Youth, Women, the new Military Men, Overseas
Chinese, the Working class, the Gentry, the Bourgeoisie & the Peasantry.

New Military Men

In the wake of modernisation in China, a group of new military men had been sent to Japan for
training. There, they not only received military training but were also influenced ideologically. They
became radical in their mindset. Moved by an acute sense of national humiliation, they responded
readily to the revolutionary propaganda & developed a feeling of nationalism of the modern
intellectuals. The morale of these men was good because they wanted to become national heroes &
restore China to greatness.

Youth

Mary. C. Wright has called the students, & youth in general, the most vibrant force of the nation in
the first phase of the revolution. They were courageous & intelligent in character. Moreover they
were politically aware & understood the nuances of the governance. Among the most active youth
were those who went to Japan to study. They understood the weakness of the Manchu government
& the need to overthrow it. They were tired of the old Confucius value system & were attracted to
new ideas of democracy, liberty & socialism. All this fuelled them with fervour to take up violent
revolutionary measures in national interest.

Women

The position of women in China started to improve & they played a prominent role in the
revolutionary movement. The age old practices of foot-binding started dying out & women were
increasingly seen in the public sphere. The Tatsu Maru case of 1908 brought girls & women to the
forefront of the patriotic demonstration. For instance, Chiu Chin, a young woman who was executed
for her participation in the revolution was identified as a martyr. This change in the position of
women was lasting and irreversible & can be considered as a hallmark of a major social revolution.

Overseas Chinese
The overseas Chinese emerged as an important group in the course of the revolution & acted as a
revolutionary social force. The revolutionaries & reformers sought their political & financial support
in the revolution. This does not mean that all overseas Chinese were revolutionaries but their
loyalties lied with the native Chinese, be it their family or their ancestral land. When we analyse the
revolution by focusing on Dr. Sun Yat Sen & the Revolutionary Alliance, the ability of the overseas
communities to supply funds, the influence of their newspapers and the competition for their
support emerge as central factors.

The Working Class

Another new group to enter Chinese public life was the working class who were employed in
modern industries. They were recruited not from the artisan ate but directly from the poorer
peasantry, and they maintained close ties with their villages. They became one of the channels
through which new ideas reached the Chinese peasantry in rural areas. According to V. P. Dutt, the
working class had a symbiotic relationship with the nascent bourgeoisie. They frequently held strikes
in foreigners’ owned factories which were largely political in nature rather than economic.

The emerging classes became a significant force in the revolution because they were well aware of
the Chinese state of affairs. There were several similarities between these groups. All of them had
been subject to deprivation in traditional Chinese society; all were in positions where action seemed
possible; and all of them wanted a change in the existing social setup.

Nonetheless, the Chinese establishment was vast & deeply rooted with the existence of traditional
social classes who were both receptive & sceptical to the changes. These were: the Gentry, the
Bourgeoisie & the peasants.

The Gentry

For centuries the Chinese gentry had gained access to public office through the Examination System.
They were the social class with the highest stake in the old order. However, the old social order was
undergoing significant change after 1900. The abolition of the Examination System in 1905 destroyed
the primary basis of their status. But they were adjusting to it by preparing their children for the
newly opening careers in business and the professions, and for posts in a quite different kind of
government.

The gentry were not isolated from the main currents of the time. They read newspapers and wrote
letters to the editor. They were the leaders of the local self-government associations and dominated
the provincial assemblies. Mr. Chang argues that the gentry were in fact the active constitutionalists
—the men who organized petitions and protests and made speeches. Men like Chang Ping-lin, at this
time a far more radical revolutionary than Sun Yat-sen, was a member of the gentry and maintained
his gentry connections.

The dominant theme in the ideology of the revolutionary activists was nationalism, but it was
nationalism that included a number of strains, as I have indicated: the reassertion of Chinese power
along the frontiers, anti-imperialism, China for the Chinese, modernization, and anti-Manchuism.