Local Elites and Factional Politics in the Early Period of the Nan-jing National Government:An Example of the 1932 Anti-Opium Tax Riot in Lingbi County
From the perspective of local logic,the 1932 anti-opium tax riot in Lingbi County,Anhui Province,as an example,can be used to make a new analysis of the modern state-building of the Kuomintang regime.Since the end of the Qing Dynasty,Lingbi had formed a three-pronged power structure of"conservative faction(旧派)","Lei faction(雷派)"and"new faction(新派)".At the beginning of the Nanjing National Government,the new faction controlled the party power,military power and financial pow-er of the county,but in a series of local affairs such as taxation,the exercise of power constantly overflowed the boundary and violated the interests of the people.So under the encouragement of the conservative fac-tion,Lingbi opium farmers initiated a riot against opium tax,due to the decisive response of the county gov-ernor Wang Xiaoshan,the riot was quickly quelled.Afterwards,the new faction temporarily lost its power,the conservative faction re-emerged,and the power pattern of the county was reorganised.The example of Lingbi revealed that for the local elites at the county and district levels,both the KMT and the governmental organs became the resources and tools for factional competition,while the state was reduced to the other,and the construction of state power fell by the wayside,thus weakening the legitimacy of the KMT's rule.
local elitesfactional politicsLingbipeasants'riotsmodern state-building
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