The power of position : Beijing University, intellectuals, and Chinese political culture, 1898-1929 / Timothy B. Weston.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Weston, Timothy B., 1964-

Series:

Berkeley series in interdisciplinary studies of China ; 3.

Berkeley series in interdisciplinary studies of China ; 3

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Beijing da xue--History.

Beijing da xue.

Higher education and state--China--History.

Higher education and state.

Political culture--China--History.

Political culture.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 325 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, 2004.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Throughout the twentieth century, Beijing University (or Beida) has been at the center of China's greatest political and cultural upheavals-from the May Fourth Movement of 1919 to the Cultural Revolution of the 1960's to the tragic events in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Why this should be-how Beida's historical importance has come to transcend that of a mere institution of higher learning--is a question at the heart of this book. A study of intellectuals and political culture during the past century's tumultuous early decades, The Power of Position is the first to focus on Beida, China's oldest and best-known national university. Timothy B. Weston portrays the university as a key locus used by intellectuals to increase their influence in society. Weston analyzes the links between intellectuals' political and cultural commitments and their specific manner of living. He also compares Beijing's intellectual culture with that of the rising metropolis of Shanghai. What emerges is a remarkably nuanced and complex picture of life at China's leading university, especially in the decades leading up to the May Fourth Movement.

Contents:

Schools, politics, and reform in the nineteenth century

The imperial university and late-Qing Beijing

Instability and redefinition : the national university in the wake of the 1911 revolution

Between the old culture and the new

The insistent pull of politics

Tensions within the May Fourth Movement

National university under siege

Epilogue : upholding the "Beida spirit".

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

ISBN:

9786612357077

9781282357075

1282357077

9780520929906

052092990X

9781597348287

1597348287

OCLC:

56028854