论清前期中国社会的近代化趋势

On the Trend Towards Social Modernization in China During the Early Qing Dynasty

如何衡量清前期中国社会发展方向 ,是清史研究的一个基本课题。本文在对近代化理论和方法做出自己的解释的基础上 ,分析了清前期中国社会转型的三个特征 :政府对基层社会政治控制的松弛化 ,以及普通百姓人身自由的扩大 ;商品经济繁荣和资本主义萌芽 ;与上述变化相适应的反传统观念的兴起与传播。作者认为 ,清前期的中国社会在事实上已经形成了从传统向近代转型的态势。研究中国近代化史 ,不能置鸦片战争以前的发展成就于不顾 ,不能将 1 84 0年前后的中国历史截然割裂。和西方社会比起来 ,清前期中国社会的变革是缓慢的 ,但并未止步不前 ;是凝重的 ,但充满了希望。持续而不间断的进步 ,正是我们民族历史独有的特色和风貌。

One of the basic problems in the study of Qing history is how to assess social development in China during the early Qing dynasty. Based on his own interpretation of the theory and method of modernization, the author analyses three aspects of the social transformation in early Qing China: (1) The loosening of government control over grass-roots society and the expansion of the personal freedom of the common people; (2) The prospering commodity economy and the budding of capitalism; and, (3) The emergence and spread of anti-traditional concepts. The author suggests that conditions existed for Chinese society to transform from tradition to modernity. In studies on recent Chinese history, no hard and fast line can be drawn between the two periods before and after the Opium War without taking into consideration the achievements made prior to 1840. In comparison with the West, Chinese society progressed slowly in the early Qing, but not stop developing altogether. It was full of hope but not dynamic. Steady progress is an important feature of Chinese history.