清末民初的地方自治是中国早期资产阶级和封建统治阶级的双向选择 ,也是中国早期政治现代化历程的重要一环。中国半殖民地半封建社会的特殊形态 ,决定了中国近代地方自治呈现出它的独特之处。概括而言 ,其具有时代性、过渡性和不平衡性三个基本特点。同时又具有削弱封建主义专制政治、促进民主宪政的发展、增进国民的自主意识和启动城市化进程等重要而深远的历史作用 Local autonomy from the late Qing Dynasty to the early Republic was a bidirectional choice between the early bourgeoisie and the feudal ruling class in China. It was also an important part of China’s early political modernization. The special shape of the semi-colonial and semi-feudal society in China determines the uniqueness of modern Chinese local autonomy. In a nutshell, it has three basic characteristics of the times, transitionalities and imbalances. At the same time, it has the important and far-reaching historical role of undermining the feudal autocratic politics, promoting the development of democratic constitutional government, enhancing the self-awareness of the people and starting the process of urbanization