The Origins of a Chinese Public Sphere. Local Elites and Community Affairs in the Late Imperial Period

An intermediate public sphere emerged between state and society in early seventeenth-century China. This sphere is analogous to the public sphere described by Jiirgen Habermas for western Europe. However, it took a different local and managerial form, and was related to commercial and demographic growth and the rise of gentry-merchant society rather than capitalism and a bourgeoisie. The growth of the sphere was reflected in an expansion of the meaning of public (gong) through association with extrabureaucratic activities and by its connection to terms indicating cooperative community action and voluntary efforts separate from the state. Its steady expansion institutionalized local elite public roles, increased organizational capacities, and added to the public space for meeting and discussion. The slow alteration of the balance between state and society prepared the way for more transformative changes after the Taiping rebellion. organizational capacities, and added to the public space for meeting and discussion. The slow alteration of the balance between state and society prepared the way for more transformative changes after the Taiping re¬ bellion.