From the History of Political Thought to the History of Social Thought: Understanding the Possible Paths of Social Change in Modern China

In the field of humanities and social sciences research,the study of the intellectual history has always occupied an important place,explanations and interpretations of classical thought help us to understand the ideological foundations of modern society and its theoretical composition.However,there are also tensions inherent in research within the context of the intellectual history,that is,the extent to which abstract ideological texts shape and influence concrete social formations and practices,and how do the ideas of a small intellectual-political elite translate into social thinking that can influence the general public? What subtle changes have occurred during this transition.Through the reinterpretation of classic research traditions and the combination of specific research cases,this paper points out that in the historical sociological study of social change in modern China,the appropriate introduction of the research perspective of the history of social trends can help researchers to establish an organic link between thought and action,between the elite and the masses,and thus to understand the modernisation process of Chinese society at the beginning of the twentieth century in a holistic manner.