In the early years of the Tongzhi reign,apower structure characterized by prominent families took shape in Changshu.During the Wuxu Coup of 1898,these families became involved in the power struggles at court.Weng Tonghe and others became political opponents of Gang Yi,a trusted follower of Empress Dowager Cixi.After the coup,Gang Yi reorganized the land tax,and took the opportunity to launch political attacks on the gentry of Changshu.Young men among the Changshu gentry,dissatisfied with the local power structure,organized a Zhongxi Xueshe(Chinese and Western learning society),competing for local funds controlled by the prominent families.They were also unhappy about Gang Yi’s political attacks.Shen Peng published a draft memorial impeaching Gang Yi and others in Guowen Bao(National News),shocking both the court and the localities.Xu Zhaowei put forward the theory of shiqi(spirit of the gentry),arguing that the gentry should take responsibility for levying the land tax,participate in local affairs,and promote the rights of the people.Reflecting the prevailing view among theyoung gentry of Changshu,this approach came from the tradition of pragmatic statecraft in the thought of the Jiangnan region;it was also influenced by Western ideas of civil rights.After the Gengzi Reform in the late Qing dynasty,the young gentry in Changshu who accepted the shiqi theory became dominant in local politics,creating a new local power structure.