THE INTELLIGENTSIA IN CHANGING CHINA

In: Foreign affairs, Band 36, Heft 2, S. 315-329

Abstract

The cardinal feature of traditional Confucian society was the division of the populace into a literary elite & the illiterate mass of peasants. It could be maintained only if adherence to the rules was nearly universal & if the pattern of life remained constant. Progress was frowned on. When the regime collapsed after meeting the superior technology of the West, an era of indiscriminate imitation of the West set in. The most far-reaching reform was in educ. The new intellectual class which emerged stood in contrast to the old literati in almost every respect; they were no longer acquainted with China's cultural background; they knew nothing of peasant problems; there was little inter-group mobility. This new class had a definite impact on the Chinese body politic & on local politics. Local gov deteriorated in the mid-1930's, due to the absence of educated men in Ru areas. By adapting themselves to the situation the Communists became invincible & a ready substitute for the traditional Confucian faith. They grasped China's tradition more than China's intellectuals in their pilgrimage to the West. IPSA.