In the last two decades, the world has witnessed the rise of China as an economic and military power and the emergence of a new class of Chinese transnational elites. What may seem like a new phenomenon actually marks the revival of a trend—the deep transformation of elites—initiated at the end of the Qing dynasty in 1912. The redistribution of power, wealth, and knowledge among newly formed elites matured during the Republican period (1912–49)...