Abstract:

Taking the establishment of the Pingxiang Coal Mines as a case study, this paper explores the specific mechanisms through which modern industry took root in late Qing China. A definitive feature of Chinese society at the time was the central position occupied by the gentry class within its social structure, coupled with the absence of modern legal systems and a functioning state apparatus. This constituted a major divergence between China's social environment and those of Western Europe and Japan during the introduction of modern industry. The impact of this divergence on China's modern industrialisation was complex: some attempts to introduce industrial enterprises failed due to opposition from the gentry, while others succeeded. This paper examines the Pingxiang Coal Mines as one such relatively successful case. It argues that the stratification and internal connections within the gentry class played a crucial role in integrating the enterprise into local society. Upper-tier gentry figures such as Wen Tingshi served a dual role as both state bureaucrats and local elites. The ethical and interest tensions inherent in these identities fostered a persuasive transmission process from self-strengthening bureaucrats to upper gentry and further to lower-tier elites. Local gentry, drawing upon existing gentry networks, formed an intermediary group that facilitated communication between enterprises and local communities, promoting the alignment of interests between the two. As a result, the Pingxiang Coal Mines achieved large-scale acquisition of local industries and the initiation of modern industrial production, thereby driving much broader social transformation. This paper suggests that, under specific historical conditions, the collision between China's traditional social environment and modern industry may have configured to forge a unique development trajectory, generating a new power-interest structure between enterprises and local society, triggering industrial transformation and comprehensive social change. The paper reveals the intrinsic connection between China's industrial development and social transformation, providing a reference point for understanding contemporary relations between enterprises and society.

Key words: gentry, modern industry, social transformation, localism, Pingxiang Coal Mines