The Transformation of Knowledge and Institutional Systems in the Late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China

This paper is an introduction to the forth coming book series“The Transformation of Knowledge and Institution System in Modern China”. During the periods of the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, important changes took place in Chinese knowledge and institutional systems, which completely altered the spirits and behavioral criteria of the Chinese people. Only when the various aspects of this important change are understood, and the evolution, transplantation, alteration and adaption of the systems in the background of conflicts and fusion of Chinese and foreign cultures are deeply explored, can one gain the key of understanding the tradition,the present and the future.