"Xiaoqun Xu makes a compelling and original contribution to the study of modern China with this book on the rise of professional associations in the Republican era. Xu focuses on their origins and political and sociocultural milieu in Shanghai, the center of their professional activities. This book is rich in detail about the key professional figures and organizations in Shanghai and fills an important gap in the city's social history.

This book illuminates the complexity of modernization and nationalism in twentieth-century China and provides a concrete case for comparative studies of professionalization and class formation across cultures."--BOOK JACKET.