Silence and the"Public"Expression of Modern Peasants
In traditional Chinese society,ordinary villagers were extensively involved in local com-munity affairs,and the term"public"held practical significance,yet they typically did not engage in ex-ternal political matters.During the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China,political transfor-mations awakened new-style scholars and political figures,who then emphasized the populace's responsi-bilities towards the nation.As the relationship between the people and the state was redefined,the tradi-tional detachment of rural people from the government was challenged,and their accustomed silence was frequently attacked.In the early years of the Republic of China,there was an imbalance between the old and new systems;people nominally had rights but lacked substantive channels for political participation.However,when personal or community interests were threatened,they expressed their demands in various forms.After the establishment of the Nanjing government,the government increased the burden on the populace,which led to a sharp increase in conflicts between officials and the people and more intense ex-pressions of people's demands.At the same time,the Kuomintang's relationship with grassroots people was distant,but its power seeped into local communities,causing political unrest and a drastic change in the traditional public participation patterns of rural villagers.
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