The Attempt to Farewell Subjects (Citizenship Awareness and Citizenship Behavior in the Late Qing and Early Republican Era)

Author: Chen Yongsen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: From holism to individuality and then to class consciousness, this is the trajectory of the development of civic consciousness during the late Qing and early Republican era, and also the unique perspective through which this book examines the history of modern Chinese thought. In the late Qing period, civic consciousness awakened. Against the backdrop of national crisis, the consciousness of "the people" was overshadowed by the consciousness of "the nation," and civic concepts exhibited a nationalistic collectivism. The May Fourth Movement emphasized the individuality of citizens, giving rise to a truly modern concept of citizenship. However, the calls for "individual liberation" and "liberalism" could not alleviate the increasingly acute class contradictions or address the basic livelihood issues of the lower classes. As a result, many intellectuals turned their attention to "the common people," and the class consciousness of citizens became prominent.