Origins of the Modern Chinese State

by Philip A. Kuhn

What is “Chinese” about China’s modern state? This book proposes that the state we see today has developed over the past two centuries largely as a response to internal challenges emerging from the late empire. Well before the Opium War, Chinese confronted such constitutional questions as: How does the scope of political participation affect state power? How is the state to secure a share of society’s wealth? In response to the changing demands of the age, this agenda has been expressed in changing language. Yet, because the underlying pattern remains recognizable, the modernization of the state in response to foreign aggression can be studied in longer perspective.

The author offers three concrete studies to illustrate the constitutional agenda in action: how the early nineteenth-century scholar-activist Wei Yuan confronted the relation between broadened political participation and authoritarian state power; how the reformist proposals of the influential scholar Feng Guifen were received by mainstream bureaucrats during the 1898 reform movement; and how fiscal problems of the late empire formed a backdrop to agricultural collectivization in the 1950s. In each case, the author presents the “modern” constitutional solution as only the most recent answer to old Chinese questions. The book concludes by describing the transformation of the constitutional agenda over the course of the modern period.

Genres: China, History, Politics, Nonfiction, Political Science

174 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Philip A. Kuhn (Chinese name: simplified Chinese: 孔飞力, 孔复礼; traditional Chinese: 孔飛力, 孔復禮; born September 9, 1933) was an American academic, sinologist and the Francis Lee Higginson Professor of History and of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Emeritus, at Harvard University.

Reviews

[Hzz15743]

中國現代國家的起源.pdf
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[Cpen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Modern political system is generally thought to be brought to China by westerners. However the author tapped into writings of Chinese intellects in late Qing to explore the ‘Chinese root’ of subsequent modernisation efforts by the Republic and the People’s Republic. Although the account was unconvincing in terms of establishing a Chinese origins of modern Chinese state, it did however illustrate attempts of literati, who prioritised national interests, on addressing problems of their era and how did these proposals reconcile with western political ideas.

One surprising thing about the book is it shed lights on the plight of literati under the framework of civil service examination. The author mentioned there were a lot of literati who failed to secure a job in government. Huge amount of intellects, who share same culture status with officials but possess a much inferior position in power gradient. It is foreseeable that unemployment and social instability will be the consequences between this huge mismatch between vacancies offered by government and the competition. Would be interesting to read a book that probe deeper into this issue!

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Philip Kuhn short essay on Chinese government is a excellent short read. He is a Qing expert and he begins with the problems of the late Qianlong period on onwards to the example of Wei Yuan in the 19th century.

He has a detailed discussion of the elite of the Qing period, the literati as well as the relationship to the clerks.

[Socrates · Rating 4 out of 5]

还是不能接受把国家作一体行动者分析，三大矛盾和不少细节论断，都很难说是条分缕析的上升到了国家层面的普遍化；及，为什么那三大矛盾是唯三的、“根本”的？孔飞力评论“魏源将诠释《诗经》当作发表政治评论的手段”（35/36），我有点怀疑孔飞力也将诠释晚清史料当成了阐发西方现代性的手段，虽然我读着非常有启发。他自觉抵制西方现代性的学理霸权，但他的概念框架、理论关怀皆出自那一套学术训练。我觉得，无根据的崇拜或敌视西方现代性，自煎于这些西方话语体系下的宏大议题，不如反刍文化焦虑/政治焦虑的来源（我没这焦虑，但见过有的人），或“我所处的这个社群有哪些微观问题”，解决问题的途上，如果西方现代性恰巧是良药，那就吃，不是就不吃。能否秉这种思路，运本土概念理论写根本性议程的历史？比较历史分析的手法可堪把玩。

[Emily Yang · Rating 5 out of 5]

导读可以不看。最末一章对比魏源和梁启超改革主张的异同高屋建瓴，他们各自的主张里各自的局限，就是这个大国一百多年的现代化之路如此泥泞不堪的原因吧

[Harry Toube · Rating 5 out of 5]

An essential work for any reader seriously interested in Chinese history or politics. Radically original and utterly brilliant. Will be reading much more Kuhn in the future!

[peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

i like kuhn a lot. this is one of those end of a career academic works synthesizing a lifetime of research.

[Jessica Zu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally love Kuhn analysis of Chinese governmentality--with an incisive view on the key constitutional issues of big China from late Qing till Mao's era.

[ggarlic · Rating 4 out of 5]

讲建制性议程的

[Tianxiao · Rating 5 out of 5]

现代国家在中国的诞生，这个说起来有点拗口的问题，孔飞力通过四篇文章阐述其特点、过程以及根源问题。个别地方的翻译略生硬，但总体可读性还是较高的。