This is the first detailed study in English of the city of Canton
(Guangzhou), the cradle of the Chinese revolution, in the first quarter
of the twentieth century. In retracing various fragments of the city's
history in this period, the book argues that modernist politics as
practiced by the Nationalists and Communists represented a specific
political rationality embedded in the context of a novel conception of
the social realm.
Modern governments invariably base their claim to legitimacy on the
support of "society" or "the people." The mobilization of hitherto
disenfranchised constituents into the political process is thus a
central component of the nation-state. Modern governments also produce
schemes for categorizing and organizing these same constituents to
ensure social unity and their base of support. The author analyzes this
apparent paradox of modern governance--emancipation and discipline--as
shown in the discourse and practice of Canton elites and the lives of
the city's inhabitants.
Canton, which witnessed the modernization of both its physical and
social structures in the early twentieth century, was the site of the
first modernist government in Chinese history. The new governing elites,
the Nationalists and Communists, attempted to dissect and classify their
constituents into different classes or segments and to transform them
into disciplined members of a new body social. Contrary to their
expectations, extensive organizational work, though empowering the newly
mobilized, did not lead to the formation of a well-ordered society.
Instead, it brought into sharp focus the heterogeneity of Canton society
and highlighted the impossibility of its analysis and management as a
totality. To the dismay of the modernizers, social discipline could be
restored only through violence.
