Abstract:

This thesis questions the widespread consensus that the participation of Guangdong peasants in the Xinhai Revolution was motivated solely by economic hardship. While acknowledging that economic conditions were a contributing factor, this study argues that this was not the only reason and that the extent of the peasants' hardship prior to the revolution has been exaggerated. The study also disputes the claim of widespread popular support evidenced by the Huanghuagang Uprising and questions the conventional view that the Guangdong People’s Army was composed primarily of peasants.

The study identifies four sources of recruitment for the People’s Army, including Triad members, incited villagers, ad hoc recruits, and spontaneous joiners. It concludes that the main reason for peasant participation was a combination of a low degree of risk and a desire to exploit disorder, rather than a wish to rebel against the dynasty. It also assesses the responses of peasants who did not participate in the revolution, as well as the claim by revolutionaries of enthusiastic support from villagers.

The thesis argues that Marxist theories of class struggle oversimplify the causes of the Xinhai Revolution and that peasants did not necessarily join the revolution to rebel against their oppressors, but rather to act opportunistically. The disbanding of the People’s Army did not necessarily lead to the fall of the revolutionaries since the majority of the peasants did not thoroughly trust and support the revolutionaries even prior to the revolution. The main reason for their downfall was the inability of the revolutionaries, just like their imperial predecessors, to sustain rural stability. The Xinhai Revolution brought chaos and unrest to the countryside; it was not as significant to the Cantonese peasants at the time as it has been perceived to be today.