Is 1911 Revolution Inevitable?

"Is 1911 Revolution Inevitable?"

by Dr. Daren RUANA

Lecture followed by discussion

Oct 6, 2011. Thursday. 7-- 8:30 p.m.

Room 209, Nitery Building in Old Union, Stanford (Map)

Working Language: Chinese

Soft drinks and refreshments will be provided.

Lecture Abstract:
In view of the Han vs. Manchu discord, the 1911 Revolution is a nationalistic revolution of the Han people against Manchu rule. But had the Qing Dynasty been a Han Chinese regime, then would the 1911 Revolution still break out? To what extent and in what sense, we can regard the 1911 Revolution as a “historical accident”? Still, toward the end of the Qing era, China was facing a crucial situation of drastic change unprecedented in three thousand years. The backward and malfunctioning Qing political system no longer satisfied the new needs of Chinese society and failed to resolve the socioeconomic contradictions triggered by the transformation from an agrarian to an industrial society. As such, was the 1911 Revolution one of the inevitable milestones of great historical change? What is the real historical meaning to the new Chinese elites of the current age? Now 100 years after the 1911 Revolution, has the China of today already accomplished this great historical transformation? Or rather, is contemporary Chinese society approaching another critical juncture in the great historical transformation, not unlike a century ago? The lecture will last an hour, to be followed by Dr. Ruan’s discussion with the audience on the causes and contemporary relevance of the 1911 revolution.


Speaker Bio:
Daren Ruan, after B.S. graduation from National Taiwan University, came to the United States in 1965. He received his Ph.D. in Mathematics from Notre Dame University, MBA from University of Wisconsin-Madison, and M.S. in Computer Science from Stanford. He taught at various universities, and also worked in the Silicon Valley high-tech sector and also in banking. Dr. Ruan belongs to a prominent family of Kuomingtang elite. His grandfather witnessed the 1911 Revolution as a Tongmenghui (Revolutionary Alliance) member. Buttressed with his family background and wide-ranging interests, Dr. Ruan has devoted himself to the study of the republican era Chinese history, with particular expertise in the leading personalities and their anecdotes. He has been a long-term contributor to the Biographic Literature published in Taipei. A vivid public speaker with superb command of historical sources and collaborative references, Dr. Ruan is held in high regard by specialists in modern Chinese history who often rely on his knowledge and always enjoy his company.

各位朋友，Chinarains 诚邀您参加 “百年中国革命”系列活动。10月6日週四晚7時，我們將在Old Union的 Nitery Room 209 舉辦 ”百年中國革命“ 的第一講：
阮大仁博士主講 “辛亥革命的必然性與偶然性”

該講演為中文

講座提要：
因為有滿漢之分，辛亥革命是漢人反抗滿清統治的民族革命。但如果清朝是一個漢人統治的政權，那辛亥革命是否還會發生？在何種程度上，我們可以認為辛亥革命只是歷史的偶然？然而，清末中國面臨三千年未遇之大變局，滿清落後的政治體制不能符合新的社會要求，無法解決中國由農業社會向工商社會轉型所產生的社會矛盾，那辛亥革命是否只是大歷史變遷的必然的里程碑之一呢？對於現在新一代的中國精英而言，辛亥革命的歷史又意味著甚麼？辛亥百年之後的當代中國，是否已經完成了歷史的大轉型？抑或，今天的中國社會，是否又一次走到了大歷史的轉折關頭呢？

講演約一小時，此後阮先生將與聽眾共同討論辛亥革命的緣起及當代意義。

主講人介紹 ：
阮大仁，1965年臺大畢業後來美，先後獲得 聖母大學博士，威斯康星大學MBA，斯坦福電腦工程碩士。曾在多所大學任教，又曾服務於銀行及硅谷高科技屆。阮先生出身於國民黨世家，其祖父為親歷辛亥革命之老同盟會員。阮先生家學淵藪，學識廣博，專研國史，尤其數稔民國掌故，長期為台灣《傳記文學》撰稿。阮先生精於講演，其講史旁徵博引，深入淺出，為眾多近代史專家所推崇。