清末铁路：社会嬗变的推进器

铁路作为“历史上最具革命性的工具”，它在中国的起步经历了一个艰难曲折的过程，然而，它的出现对中国近代社会的影响是巨大的，主要表现在，铁路加快了人口流动，促进了沿线地区经济的发展，推动了近代中国城市化的进程，加强了各地区之间的联系，加快了地区间信息传递的速度，扩大了地域间的文化交流，转变了人们的意识形态。可见，铁路是一种先进的生产力，大大推动了社会的发展进程，是社会嬗变的推进器。

The Propeller of Social Transmutation:Railways in Late Qing Dynasty

Although railway as the most revolutionary tool in history met with difficult labor in China, its appearance exerts tremendous influence on modem Chinese society--it speeds up population movement, promotes the economic development in areas along the railway, accelerates the urbanization of modem China, enhances exchanges among people from different areas, increases speed of information transmission, broadens cultural exchanges between different regions and spurs changes in ideology. In a word, railway, as an advanced productive force, boosts social development and is thus the propeller of social transmutation.