The search for a new republic: a study on thoughts and activities of Zhang Dongsun at his early age (1886-1932)

Abstract

intellectual history. In addition to modern Chinese magistrates as a group, the author also examines individuals at high, middle, and lower ranks within the judicial system, such as Tang Xuan, Huang Zunsan, Shen Jiaben, Yu Shaosong, Xie Jian, Dong Kang, and Xu Shiying. By integrating individuals with groups, he responds to the problem of the disappearance of the individual caused by trends towards making historical studies more scientific, and he explores how to return the individual to our studies of legal history and modern history. The discussion in this book focuses on the “old” and the “new” approaches to cultivating modern Chinese magistrates, the institutional reforms in the late Qing period and magistrates as a group, Shen Jiaben’s experience and feelings in the first year of the Republican period, the division and reorganization of magistrate groups after the Revolution of 1911, the connections within legal circles during the Beijing government years, and the period of change and the choices made by legal professionals. Different chapters are well integrated in this book, though each of them uses important historical documents to focus on a particular topic. Hence this book offers in-depth discussions of various issues and yet maintains the unity and integrity of an academic monograph. In theory, magistrates as a group were supposed to function as a stabilizing force in modern China, and this was supposedly reflected in the stability of the group itself. In fact, this was seldom the case. The magistrates lived in a time of change, and their role was not necessarily to resolve social disputes and maintain the existing social order. Instead, many of them also became reformers striving for a modern nation-state. The author mentions that in modern Chinese history, magistrates actually played multiple roles. They were involved in constructing a modern nation-state, changing the social customs, and maintaining the existing social order. By using specific cases, he demonstrates not only the difficulty of balancing these roles, but also the contradictions they entailed and the serious conflicts that ensued, a situation that created many legal and judicial problems. In this period of change, construction and transformation were absolute, and the maintenance of what was left unchanged was relative. Modern Chinese magistrates can be perceived as “reformers maintaining the order.” (226) It should be mentioned that this book does not pay enough attention to the judicial work of the magistrates, and consequently, there is still room for further research. Future research should attach importance to judicial documents, such as decisions and indictments.