清末民初“军绅政权”的形成及危机

The Emergence of “Military-gentry Regimes” and the Crisis during Period of Late Qing and Early Republic

清末民初中国政坛出现了武夫当国、军阀割据的局面,从前把持权力的传统士绅集团不得不屈从于新兴的职业军人集团。新式职业军人集团之所以能够顺利把持政权,并非传统士绅阶层的实力因社会动荡而遭到削弱。相反,士绅手中的权力在时局动荡中不断加强,但士绅权力的急剧扩大却最终导致了武夫的上台。这种颠覆性的结局是传统中国社会和新时代各种新旧因素复合的产物。然而,军绅政权的建立并没有完成救亡图存、推进国家现代化的历史使命,反而使国家和民族深陷到更大的危机之中。

During the period of late Qing and early Republic,there emerged warlord regimes in China.Consequently,the traditional gentry was forced to succumb to the rising warlords.The reason why the warlords could take power so smoothly is somewhat mysterious because the traditional gentry was never weakened by the social turmoil.On the contrary,the gentry became more and more powerful in the social turmoil,resulting in the establishment of the military-gentry regimes whose government was composed of warlords and gentry.This dramatic situation could be contributed to a variety of factors conflicting with each other,among which there were both the elements of the traditional Chinese society and those of the new era.However,the military-gentry regimes could not save the nation from subjugation and ensure its survival,nor did they fulfil the historical mission of advancing modernization.Due to the malfunction of military-gentry regimes,China was caught in a more severe crisis.