The Study Of Henan Modern Gentry Wang Xitong

This thesis, through a case study on a modern gentry Wang Xitong of Henan province, mainly discussed three issues. First, starting by taking him as a traditional scholars, this essay tries to study how could he, carried by the influence of the drastic changes in modern China, accomplish his transformation in the fundamental transfer of modern Chinese education and culture and indulged himself in the establishment of new-style local schools while timely disabuse himself of his infatuation of the old-style of education. Second, this essay tries to study he assumed the social obligations as a member of the local gentries. And he was unswervingly enthusiastic about succoring the local necessitous, fulfilling the traditional duties of gentries. Last, this essay paid painstaking efforts on the study of his life around 1909, when he turned from objecting to trading to practicing it by himself, enlarged the body of his social acquaintances with the appearance of Yuan Shikai, Zhou Xuexi, and advanced his prestige accordingly. Historic opportunity and personal efforts helped to create the success of his later life. However, what is attention-worthy is that although Wang Xitong,living at the end Qing Dynasty and the beginning of Minguo, made a moderately successful realization of his change in mind and status in society, what had not changed is his life-long stalwart adherence and practice of the school of thought Li. This perseverance, whose influence could be sufficiently substantiated, to some degree, had hindered his mental transformation and had constituted an important reason for his conservation.A specific structure of the essay is submitted below:Chapter one, preface. This part explains the aim and meaning for the choice of this subject,the academic retrospection and research ideas.Chapter two gives an brief introduction about his life of taking the old-style education and the living condition of his early teaching years. This part emphasized the analysis on his change—from trepidation to tremendous zest—toward the new-style of schools when the old-style education system was abolished. This change, however, demonstrates that his preliminary transformation has begun.Chapter three studies the public affairs he has taken part in, and the social obligations he has assumed as a local gentry.Chapter five launches an intensive analysis on his subtle relationship with Yuan Shikai, the enlargement of his body of acquaintances accompanied by the change of his role in society, and the complexity of the status of his acquaintances.Chapter four expounds on his change from objection to trading to practicing business and his contribution toward the development of the Northern Industry and his adherence to the school of thought Li.The last chapter comes to a conclusion of this thesis.