民国初年广东的民间武器

Private Weapons in Guangdong Province in the Early Republican Period

民国初年,广东民间有大量武器,这是晚清以来社会动乱、政府控制力减弱的结果。民国以来历届广东政府都力图对民间武器加以管制,但收效甚微。商团事变发生后,政府颁布一系列加强管理的法规,但未能从根本上改变民间武器泛滥的情况。民间武器的大量存在使广东的盗匪问题更加严重,使地方社会进一步武力化。这个问题为我们认识民国初年广东以至中国社会提供了一个特别的视角。

A large amount of private weapons existed in Guangdong province in the early Republican period, as a result of the social disorder and weakened government from the late Qing on. After the foundation of the Republic, a succession of provincial governments attempted to control these weapons, to little effect. Soon after the Merchant Volunteer Corps Incident in 1924, the provincial government issued a series of regulations aimed at strengthening their control. However, this made little fundamental difference to the wide prevalence of private weapons. The existence of large quantities of private weapons worsened the problems of banditry and violence in Guangdong, militarizing local society. This issue gives us a particular perspective on Guangdong and on Chinese society in the early Republican period.