Peasantry and Gentry: An Interpretation of Chinese Social Structure and Its Changes

Peasantry and gentry form relatively rigid social classes in Chinese society. The peasants farm the gentry's land and their rents support the gentry in leisure. The function of the gentry is local administration. Since the rigors of government may always be mitigated by friendship, every peasant family hopes to educate a son into the gentry and official life and thus secure for itself a friend at court. The gentry, being educated, are the logical carriers of Western cultural innovation; but they are noncommercial and see no gain in Westernization. The innovators, in reality, are social outcasts who have lost their traditional status and lead a socially irresponsible life in the treaty ports. This class of compradors is a new element, usurping what would have been the gentry's role in acculturation.