The Evolution Of Grass-roots Social Organization And Governance In Tianshui From The Early Qing Dynasty To The Period Of The Republic Of China

In the traditional period of China,the operation of the grass-roots society below the county could reflect the relationship between the state and society,so it has become an important content of regional social history research.The state’s governance of grass-roots society is often carried out by setting up grass-roots organizations below the county level.This kind of grass-roots organization mainly includes two types:the village organization with registered permanent residence and taxes as the core and the county government district with region as the core.Therefore,the establishment and operation of grass-roots political districts and organizations have become a good angle to see the relationship between the state and society.Due to the vast territory of our country,the geographical environment varies greatly between different regions,and historically has created different economic,social and production methods.This has led to large differences in grass-roots social organization and governance between different geographical units at any time.At present,research on grass-roots social governance in China is still concentrated on national research results.In recent years,with the "downward looking" trend of Chinese historical research some research results on grassroots social governance have appeared in the region,but most of them are in the eastern and southern regions,and there are few research results in the vast central and western regions.Therefore,it is necessary to select the western region unit to study the grass-roots social organization and governance in its specific historical period.This article takes the Tianshui area of Gansu Province as the research area,and combs the evolution process of grass-roots social organization and governance in this area from the early Qing Dynasty to the founding of New China.The whole evolution process is summarized into four stages of the early Qing Dynasty,the middle and late Qing Dynasty,the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China,and the period of the Nanjing National Government’s rule.The characteristics of the grass-roots society in Tianshui,the reasons behind these changes,and the relationship with the geographical environment of Tianshui.This paper argues that the transformation of grass-roots social organizations and governance in Tianshui area during this historical period often took the forefront of the Longxi region and even the entire Gansu region,and was emulated by other regions of Gansu;meanwhile,compared with other parts of the country,especially the eastern region The reform of grass-roots social organizations is often a "slow half-beat",showing conservative and stagnant characteristics in the nationwide reform.The reason for this difference is closely related to the natural and social conditions in Tianshui area.