Elite Activism in the Periphery: The Case of Southwest Henan

Elite Activism in the Periphery: The Case ofSouthwest Henan byXinZhang .~ Peripheral areas were well-known incubators of violence and disorder in early-twentieth-century China.1 Many studies indicate that such economically less developed and administratively remote areas were home to large numbers of bandits, gangs, and secret societies,2 and that local elites in these regions also commonly used military strength both to achieve and to exercise their power.3 Although itisabundantlyclearthat lifewas dangerous, stressful and insecure for many-perhaps most--0f the inhabitants of these violent and highly-militarized peripheral societies, comparatively·little is known about the precise social and political dynamics ofsuch·regions, or about how social relations and political interactions in •Peripheral areas compared to those in more closely-studied core·regions suchasJiangnan. Forexample,to whatextentwas the exercise ofpolitics in the periphery synonymous with violent conflict? How·did the highly-militarized stateofperipheral societiesaffect the nature of state-society interaction there? Did the volatile atmosphere of peripheral societies make them inhospitable environments for "state- .making" and/or privately-promoted reform initiatives? We lack definitive answers to any ofthese questions. In order to develop answers to these and many other questions,·it is essential to understand more fully the activities and outlooks of the local elites who played a variety ofsignificant roles in peripheral regions. Not surprisingly, virtually all ofthe few existing discussions : of this topic stress the importance of coercive force and the prominence of a "local strongman" model of elite behavior in peripheral regions. In addition, however, they acknowledge the complexity of . elite society and the considerable variety that existed in the mix of : activities through which elites maintained their dominant position in ;: peripheral localities. ~ Johanna Meskill' s study, for example, indicates that during the ~ late imperial period local elites in the frontier region of Taiwan i conducted various types ofcommunity activities, such as sponsoring shrines, managing local institutions, and patronizing people wit ' their communities. These activities were mostly aimed at promotin the elite's personal wealth and preying on their rivals.4 Similarl Edward McCord describes how the newly-emerged elites ofthe L family of Xingyi County in Guizhou became enthusiastically · ' volved in various community activities, particularly educatio . reforms, to enhance the family's reputation and to foster its relatio · ship with the elite members at the provincial and national level aft·. it had achieved prominence through military strength. Through the · undertakings, the head ofthe family succeeded in becoming a region I d s ;'.' war or . · In his work on the hill country ofJiangxi, Stephen Averill hal delineated a diversified and complex elite society, consisting of a "multitiered collection of people"-large landholders, merchants;'. and heads ofpowerful lineages in the upper stratum; school teachers,' village elders, and militia captains in the lower stratum.6 Powerful: upper elites often used lineage militia against other lineages or acted·, as intermediaries between the community and the government, while: some lower elites supported Communist efforts in mobilizing the •. peasantry. Many members of elite society themselves engaged in: factional conflict and inter-elite strife. Often th?' were joined by '. bandits, secret societies, and sworn brotherhoods. ': R. Keith Schoppa' s study of elites in Zhejiang provides a ', comprehensive and comparative analysis of the elite's political in- .~· stitutions and attitudes. In the counties ofZhejiang' s inner and outer periphery, he argues, the small oligarchies of power-holders from strong lineages and newly-risen families who controlled local society ' were generally conservative, politically apathetic, and slow to developmodem -style voluntaryassociations and professional institutions (fatuan). Elite institutional weakness in these areas, together with a relative lack ofalternative resources and a strong preoccupation with local security, made peripheral-zone county magistrates and the local government apparatus highly visible and significant agents ofpolitical and other refonns. Especially in the most peripheral regions, Schoppa states, "the most important person in the county was the magistrate, who initiated and promoted public v.rojects" and served as a "crucial agent" stimulating various reforms.8 68 In this essay I wish to examine the composite picture of ripheral-zone local elite behavior and state-elite relations presented ' Schoppa and the other scholars mentioned above in light of my earch on local elites in a peripheral North China area called...