This book uncovers the history of civil society activism in China through the development of late 19th century study societies in China against the context of the decline of the Qing government and its controlling power on ideological production, widespread social unrest by Western imperialist states. The study societies in Shanghai, Beijing and Hunan were organized around the goal of promoting and defending the Confucian religion and represent a facet of the civil society that emerged in China in reaction to the import of Christianity and nationalist state formation.