Social Survey Series of the Republic of China Era. City (Workforce) Life Volume (Upper and Lower)

Author: Li Wenhai, Xia Mingfang, Huang Xingtao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-04-01
Features: Throughout the long history of thousands of years in China, the first half of the 20th century, marked by the Republic of China, although merely a fleeting moment, was undoubtedly one of the most turbulent and dramatic scenes in terms of social life. During this period, new systems coexisted with old traditions, construction walked alongside destruction, revolution clashed with reaction, internal troubles and external crises pressed in. Every aspect of Chinese society, whether political systems, economic foundations, science and technology, or ideology and cultural customs, was undergoing significant changes and transformations, ultimately laying a solid foundation for the victory of the New Democratic Revolution.
As time passed, especially with the arrival of the 21st century, the "Republic of China" gradually broke free from the framework of the history of the Chinese revolution and came to be recognized and accepted as an important historical period, parallel to the previous 26 dynasties in Chinese history. In academic circles both domestically and internationally, an increasing number of scholars have begun to study various aspects of this period from the perspective of a specific historical era. It is also worth noting that with the deepening of academic research and in response to the needs of contemporary Chinese society, the focus of research on the Republican era has gradually shifted from the dramatic historical figures, thrilling political events, and entertaining anecdotes to the economic and social life. In Marxist terms, this means "moving from the superficial political form to the depths of social life," thereby closely linking the study of the Republican era with contemporary society, which is centered on economic development.
As a result, the history of the Republic of China has not only presented its original complete form to the contemporary Chinese people, becoming a new hot spot and growth point in the study of Chinese history and even in the entire academic field, but it has also inevitably played an increasingly significant historical reference role in the economic construction and social development of contemporary China, thereby attracting broader attention from all sectors of society.
However, it is regrettable that to date, despite the extensive collection of historical materials on the Republican era, including archives, local gazettes, newspapers and magazines, official documents, private writings, and memoirs from the People's Republic period, these materials have been largely overlooked. There is another unique treasure trove of Republican-era materials—massive social surveys conducted by major political forces and factions at the time, local governments, academic organizations, schools, and individual scholars, particularly rural social surveys. Compared to other already compiled materials, these surveys hold unique and irreplaceable academic and collection value.
This is not only because the surveys covered an extremely broad scope, encompassing natural environments and social life in nearly all provinces, including urban and rural areas, but also primarily because these surveys were largely completed using modern scientific methods such as modern economics, anthropology, sociology, and other approaches, with survey reports or academic papers as the final output. This approach preserved a vast amount of survey data and original materials while also consolidating the analyses, insights, and solutions proposed by intellectuals of the time to address various natural, social, political, and economic issues. These surveys hold significant practical reference value and are invaluable first-hand original materials for in-depth research and understanding of urban and rural social issues in old China. They are also an extremely rare intellectual repository for contemporary socioeconomic construction.
In fact, the survey materials from the Republican era have already moved beyond the confines of historical studies and have attracted the attention of scholars in other disciplines. Thanks to the foresight and strong support of Fujian Education Press, we now have the opportunity to jointly undertake this historical responsibility. However, given the diverse and vast number of social surveys from this period, as well as their scattered and sometimes even lost overseas, it would be impossible and impractical to aim for completeness. Therefore, we have decided to adopt the format of a "series" and publish them in stages.
The series includes a total of 193 documents, broadly categorized into 10 volumes based on their survey content, including marriage and family, social security, social organizations, religion and folklore, marginalized societies, urban labor life, rural society, population, cultural and educational institutions, and ethnic minorities. These volumes include both books published at the time and papers scattered across various newspapers and magazines, as well as some manuscripts and mimeographed materials that have yet to be publicly published. Works such as the Ding County Social Survey, which were reprinted after the liberation and became widely circulated, are temporarily excluded from this collection.