本研究关注晚清以来的山东运道及其地方社会。并着重关注4个时间节点：1855年黄河改道；1901年清廷停止漕运，1912年中华民国成立，1928年南京国民政府停止祭孔。透过对运道管理的梳理，论证出学界普遍以为的近代运河归诸省际水利事务，各省间以行政区界为区隔，难以加强合作以致水利颓败的观点有失偏颇。这一时期水利失修、运河难复的障碍主要在于地理条件的恶化和国家财政库款支绌。以行政单位为区界管理运河的方式清代已有，停漕之后，国家层面也始终没有完全放弃对运河的管理以及恢复期运航机能的努力。不过运道的整体管理开始支离，不同机构分摊不同的资源或管理面向。

运河从未被放弃，因此漕运制度罢停之后，运道的附属资源也并未消解于民间。以水柜湖田为例，停漕之后柜内湖田解禁，但政府通过湖田局来把握它的分配与收益，同时日渐弱化在漕运时期将水柜湖田转作的祀田的份额，乃至最后完全充公。

黄河改道后，运河的航行机能下降，但该地区的民众仍积极于运道的修复、与铁路的连接，以融入新的贸易交通网络。但交通条件的恶化，以及该腹地可参与商贸的主要还是不同特色原材料，这难具备辐射力和整合能力。同时淤地湖荒的出现，导致了垦荒移民的增加；南部湖水的难以宣泄，又导致该地匪盗横行。总体来说，运道区域的经济沦为新商业网络的末端，鲁西南贫富差异较大，整个社会贫困动荡。

This Research is focused on the Grand Canal in Shandong Province and its local society from Late Qing Period. There are four time nodes: Yellow River changed its course in 1855, Qing government ceased its tribute grain system in 1901, the Republic of China set up in 1912, new government abandoned the sacrifice to Confucius in 1928.A review of the Grand Canal management demonstrates that the commonly held view that canals in modern times were inter-provincial water affairs, separated by administrative boundaries, making it difficult to strengthen cooperation and leading to water decay, is misguided. Canals were managed by administrative units during the Qing Dynasty, and after the cessation of canals, the state never completely abandoned the management of canals and efforts to restore their navigational functions. The main obstacles to the restoration of the canal during this period were the deterioration of geographical conditions and the lack of funds in the national treasury. The canals were never abandoned, so the resources attached to the canals did not dissolve into the people after the canal system was discontinued. For example, after the cessation of the canal, the ban on lake fields in the canal was lifted, but the government took control of its distribution and revenue through the Lake Field Bureau, while gradually weakening the share of the ritual fields converted from lake fields in the canal period, and finally confiscated them completely. After the diversion of the Yellow River, the navigation function of the canal declined, but the people of the region were still active in the restoration of the canal and the connection with the railroad to integrate into the new trade and transportation network. However, the deterioration of the transportation conditions and the fact that the hinterland could participate in trade and commerce mainly with different characteristics of raw materials made it difficult to have the ability of radiation and integration. At the same time the emergence of the silted lake wasteland led to an increase in settlement migration; the difficulty of declaring the lake water in the south led to banditry in the area. In general, the economy of the canal area was reduced to the end of the new commercial network, with a large difference between the rich and the poor in southwest Lu, and the whole society was poor and turbulent. The canal's tribute canal atmosphere did not completely dissipate either.