The factors that have had a great influence on modern social life include: the change of economic system and the improvement of economic development level; Changes in the political system; The influence of scientific revolution on people's material life and spirit.

With the Opium War as the turning point, China was forced to give up the policy of "closing the door to the outside world" and began to be influenced by western material civilization and ideological culture. In 1841, Britain, which had completed the industrial revolution, deliberately launched the Opium War of invading China to meet the needs of capitalist production development and seek to open up China's market and raw material producing areas, and China was defeated. The Qing government was forced to sign the treaty of nanking, the first unequal treaty in China's history. On this basis, China's territorial sovereignty, trade sovereignty, tariff sovereignty and a series of other sovereignty were destroyed. Western countries, represented by Britain, began large-scale commodity aggression and capital aggression, and western production methods, lifestyles and social customs were also introduced into China. The people of insight who first realized China's backwardness were the landlords' resistance represented by Lin Zexu and Wei Yuan. They put forward the idea of "learning from foreigners to control foreigners" and set off a new trend of thought of "learning from the West". Subsequently, the landlord westernization school, the bourgeois reformists, the bourgeois revolutionaries and the radical democrats successively learned advanced science and technology, political system and ideological culture from the West through the Westernization Movement, the Reform Movement of 1898, the Revolution of 1911 and the New Culture Movement, so that Chinese people could further understand the western material culture and ideological culture. China's social life has also undergone tremendous changes from many levels, especially in some big cities.

From the aspect of "clothes", people's clothes basically reflect the economic development and aesthetic value orientation of a country or region. First, foreign-made clothes at trading ports gradually entered the lives of urban residents. Secondly, during the Revolution of 1911, young students took the lead in cutting off the braid symbolizing the Qing Dynasty. Express their determination to oppose feudal autocracy. The reformed tunic suit was welcomed by the reformers. Third, in the 1921s and 1931s, clothing changed greatly. In the clothing changes, wearing foreign dresses was a big fashion, which could not be simply attributed to the tendency of worshipping foreign countries. The establishment of democracy inspired people to yearn for the western democratic society. People were fascinated by the idea of freedom and equality and natural human rights, and thought that the lifestyle established by this idea represented the direction of society. Dress is a symbol of civilization, which is loved by people. As a result of social practice, the popularity of dress in China has not replaced China's clothing, but promoted the improvement of China's clothing. The appearance of Zhongshan suit is the product of the combination of Chinese and Western. It takes a suit as a model, changes its lapel into a stand-up, four patch pockets and five buttons. Women's clothing has been changed into a wide, straight and full dress, and cut according to the curvaceous beauty of the western body. It has evolved into today's cheongsam. These are all new clothes created by following the aesthetic and value concepts of western-style clothes and combining with some traditional forms in China. It can be said that what to wear and what not to wear are personal behaviors. Some advanced thinkers regard the freedom of personal arrangement as an inseparable part of individual freedom and an inviolable personal right. The call for personality liberation and the development of commodity economy have stimulated people's desire for life. Pursuing novelty and seeking novelty in dressing, wearing suits, gowns and mandarin jackets, has really started the era of free clothing. In the drastic social changes, clothing has changed before the general trend, which sensitively shows the trend of cultural climate.

From the aspect of "food", people take food as the first priority, and the diet is influenced by the natural environment, production level and mode, and at the same time it has strong ethnic and regional characteristics. China has a rich variety of diets. Different production methods and crop types in the south and the north lead to obvious regional differences. Rice is the main food in the south, while pasta meat is the main food in the north. As the capital of Beijing, besides palace cuisine, major cuisines have flooded into the capital, especially Shandong cuisine has almost become the representative of Beijing cuisine. The Eight Buildings and old shops with Beijing characteristics, such as Quanjude Roast Duck and Donglaishun instant-boiled mutton, are well-known in the capital. In addition, a wide variety of snacks with rich tastes have penetrated into the daily life of the people. Some of them have been passed down to this day and are still loved by the people. After the Opium War, western-style catering became the consumption fashion in big cities. Western-style restaurants appeared, and western-style snacks, drinks and sweets were also accepted by the public. For example, in cities such as Shanghai, the first western restaurant operated by Chinese people appeared-"Yipin Xiang". The introduction of western food has changed the traditional diet structure of China people.

From the aspect of "living", the houses in the north and south of China have formed their own characteristics, such as quadrangles in Beijing, alleys in Shanghai, houses in the south of the Yangtze River, etc. With the opening of trading ports, embassies, consulates, foreign firms, warehouses, banks, modern factories and so on have been set up in some cities from coastal to inland. Accordingly, various foreign houses with western architectural features have emerged for foreigners to live in. Some officials and wealthy businessmen have also built European-style foreign houses or luxury houses combining Chinese and Western styles. With the appearance of electric lighting in cities, the housing pattern, living facilities and decorative styles have changed greatly. Shanghai, Guangzhou and Qingdao have become typical representatives of modern cities in China. The textbooks have selected photos of traditional quadrangles and newly-built foreign houses in Beijing. Teachers can compare and analyze the differences between them. Feel the change of living conditions. You can also further explore the deep-seated reasons for the formation of this architectural feature, such as the hierarchical feudal ruling order, the traditional moral concept of orderly aging, the ideal realm of rich and auspicious life, and the peaceful and tranquil taste of daily life, thus feeling the close relationship between people and the environment.

From the aspect of "customs", after the Opium War, people felt that China was weak because the people's wisdom was not open. In order to enlighten the people's wisdom, we must first get rid of the stereotypes and bad habits in society. Opium and foot-binding are two major phenomena. Modern social customs are influenced by western democratic thoughts. During the Reform Movement of 1898, the reformists advocated "breaking hair and changing clothes" and "abolishing foot-binding" and advocated reforming the marriage system. With the rise of the Revolution of 1911, democracy and ideas were deeply rooted in people's hearts, and people regarded breaking hair and changing clothes as opposing feudal autocracy. The direct struggle for democracy and civilization. During the Republic of China, the government issued a decree to cut braids and change clothes and abolish foot binding. Breaking hair and changing clothes was a custom improvement under the guidance of anti-feudal thought, which was different from the change of clothes in previous dynasties. The shape of changing clothes in history was unchanged by ethics and hierarchy. The "Service System" promulgated in the early Republic of China stipulated that officials should make big dresses with western-style coats and tuxedos regardless of rank. It is a complete denial of the feudal hierarchy of clothing styles. Sun Yat-sen also put forward the guiding ideology of improving clothing, which is "suitable for hygiene, easy to move, suitable for economy and strong for appearance". The implementation of this clothing concept in China, which is in line with modern civilization, has made everyone's clothing inseparable for a moment, completely getting rid of the norms of feudal ethics and developing in the direction of practicality, economy, hygiene and beauty. This is an important turning point in the history of clothing. In fact, women's foot-binding is a concrete manifestation of the idea that men are superior to women in China feudal society. Women are in a subordinate and dependent position to men. The size of foot-binding has become an abnormal measure for men to evaluate women's beauty, which has not only been widely recognized in society, but also been described and publicized by literati. This kind of destruction of women's bodies has become the characteristics of women in China feudal society. However, it advocates breaking hair and opposing foot-binding as a pure personal behavior. In the process of China's opposition to feudalism, it became the forerunner of ideological enlightenment.

The changes in modern society are mainly reflected in modern urban life, and there are still old-fashioned production and living customs in the vast rural areas, which are in a backward and feudal state.