East Asian History NUMBER 3

.

JUNE 1992

THE CONTINUATION OF

Papers on Far Eastern History

Institute of Advanced Studies Australian National University

Editor

Geremie Barme

Assistant Editor

Helen 1.0

Editorial Board

John Clark Igor de Rachewiltz Mark Elvin (Convenor) Helen Hardacre John Fincher Colin Jeffcott W.J.F. Jenner 1.0 Hui-min Gavan McCormack David Marr Tessa Morris-Suzuki Michael Underdown

Business Manager Production Design Printed by

Marion Weeks Oahn Collins & Samson Rivers Maureen MacKenzie, Em Squared Typographic Design Goanna Print, Fyshwick, ACT This is the second issue of East Asian History in the series previously entitled Papers on Far Eastern History. The journal is published twice a year.

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iii

�

1

CONTENTS

Politics and Power in the Tokugawa Period

Dani

33

V.

Botsman

Shanghai Before Nationalism

YeXiaoqing

53

'The Luck of a Chinaman' : Images of the Chinese

in Popular Australian Sayings

Lachlan Strahan

77

The Interactionistic Epistemology of Chang Tung-sun

Yap Key-chong

121

Deconstructing Japan'

Amino Yoshthtko -translated by Gavan McCormack

iv

���Il/I, Tang calligrapher and statesman

Cover calligraphy

Yan Zhenqing

Cover illustration

Kazai *" -a punishment for arson Sasama Yoshihiko ,*rm��, Zusetsu Edo no shihOlkeisatsu jiten [;RJIDtU.f' q) 1lJ�¥�r*lI! [An illustrated guide to the justice/police system of the Edo period)

(Tokyo: Hanawa Shooo, 1980), p.242

SHANGHAI BEFORE NATIONALISM

.Jt

Ye Xiaoqing

IJt�W

A number of important anti-foreign riots and movements occurred in Shanghai during the twentieth century, and Shanghai is regarded by some scholars as a very politically-conscious city, the most nationalistic city in China.1 While nationalism has its origins in nineteenth-century Europe, in China it is essentially a twentieth-century phenomenon. 2 The fact that there was no modem nationalism in nineteenth-century China does not mean that there was no anti-foreignism. A survey of the popular press, novels, contemporary writings and memoirs, however, reveals that there was no discemable sense of anti-foreignism in Shanghai before the twentieth century. Quite the opposite. Shanghainese were very keen to accept Western culture-Western material culture in the first instance. Nationalism began to develop around the tum of the century amongst certain new social elite groups as a reaction against foreign power and abuse of privilege, rather than as a resistance to foreign culture per se.

1.

1 Joseph Fewsmith, Party, state and local elites in Republican China (Honolulu: Uni­ versity of Hawaii Press, 1985), p.13: "Shanghai was undoubtedly, across classes, the most politically conscious city in China. Its labour movement was the largest and, with the possible exception that of Guangzhou (Canton), the best organised in China. Its students were at least as active, if not so well known, as those of Peking. Its merchants were the most nationalistic and progressive in the nation."

2 Nicholas R. Clifford, Shanghai, 1925:

urban nationalism and the defenseof foreign privilege (Ann Arlx>r: Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan, 1979) p.xi; J. V. Davidson-Houston, Yellow creek, the story of Shanghai (London: Putnam & Co., 1%2), pp.127-38.

The Lack ofNational and Political Consciousness

Despite the fact that there was a good deal of contact of one type or another between Chinese and Westerners in Shanghai, there were no large-scale conflicts because of differences in race and culture before the twentieth century. There were, admittedly, some clashes between Chinese and foreigners in Shanghai during the nineteenth century, but these were a result of real clashes of interest. The first of these was the Qingpu Incident of 1848, which involved Cantonese and Fukienese sailors and boatmen resident in Shanghai, who, according to some references, "were not peaceably disposed towards the natives of the place."3 The Battle of Muddy Flat, in 1854, was

33

3 Alexander Michie, The Englishman in China (15XlO; reprint ed., Taipei: Ch'eng­ wen Publishing Co., 1966), p.129. Cf. also G.l.anning and S. Couling, The History of Shanghai (Shanghai: Kelly & Walsh, 1921), pp.2%-303; F. 1. Hawks Pott, A short his­

tory of Shanghai; being an account of the growth and development of the International Settlement(Hong Kong and Singapore: Kelly & Walsh, 1928\ p.22-3;J. K. Fairbank, Trade and diplomacy on the China coast: lOVER

34

YEXIAOQING

/the opening of the treaty ports, 1842-1854, 2 vols (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1%4/19(9), 2: 407.

foreigners in Shanghai during the nineteenth century, but these were based

4 C.A. Montalto de Jesus, Historic Shanghai (Shanghai: Shanghai Mercury lJd, 1m), p.42.

5 Shen Bao, 4 May 1874. 6 Pot!, Historyo!Shangha� pp.95--8, 128-9; Montalto de Jesus, Historic Shanghai, pp.240-4; Ge Enyuan, ed., Shanghaisiming gongsuo da shi ji [A record of major events relating to the Ningbo Guildhall incident] (Shanghai:Juzhen Fangsong Yinshuju, 1920); Minguo Shanghai xianzhi [Supplementary Gazetteer of Shanghai county during the Republic], reprint ed. (Taiwan: Ch'eng-wen Publishing Co., 1975), vol.3,juan 14, pp.2&9; Kuai Shixun, Shanghai gonggong zujie shigao [A draft history of the Shanghai settlements], reprint ed. (Shanghai: Renmin Chubanshe, 1980), pp.432-3; Sun Baoxuan, Wangshanlu riji [Diary of the Master of Wangshan Studio] (Shanghai: Guji Chuban­ she, 1983), p.86.

7 Elizabeth Perry, "Tax revolt in late Qing China: the Small Swords of Shanghai and Liu Depei of Shandong," Late Imperial China, vol.6, no.l Oune 1985} 83-11l.

8 Richard W. Rigby, The May 30th move­ m ent: events and themes (Canberra: Australian National University Press, 1980), p.l9.

9 Shanghai Tongshe, ed., Shanghai nianbiao [A chronology of Shanghai], unpublished MS, Shanghai Library; cf. also Pot!, Historyo! Shanghai, p.124. 10 Michie, Englishman in China, p.l24. 11

Pott, History o! Shanghai, pp.21-2.

on real clashes of interest. The first of these was the Qingpu Incident of 1848, which involved Cantonese and Fukienese sailors and boatmen resident in Shanghai, who according to some references "were not peaceably disposed towards the natives of the place."3 The Battle of Muddy Flat, in 1854, was purely a military clash, and in any case was with troops from the Imperial forces which had been sent to Shanghai to suppress the Small Swords, not with the local people.4 There were two major clashes between foreigners and Chinese in the last two decades of the nineteenth century: the Ningbo Guild Incident and the Wheelbarrow Pullers' Anti-Tax Riot. These two incidents were based on real clashes of interest rather than anti-foreignism as such.The Ningbo Guild InCident, for example, was directed against the French, and specifically not against the British.5 The Wheelbarrow Pullers' Anti-Tax Riot was directed against the Municipal Council, and was instigated by an increase in the wheelbarrow tax levy.6 It could be considered rather a type of tax revolt, similar to those discussed by Elizabeth Perry.7 In general, as Richard Rigby has noted, "During the first sixty years of the International Settlement, the Chinese on the whole submitted passively to foreign rule. What occasional riots or disturbances there were, were only quarrels over particular matters, with no deep seated causes or wider significance."s During 1891, several anti-missionary incidents, including the destruction of churches and the killing of misSionaries, occurred in Nanjing, Wuhu, Yangzhou and other areas near Shanghai. Anti-foreign leaflets were distrib­ uted in the streets of Shanghai, including Xujiahui. Uu Kunyi XlJbfi-, the Governor-General of Uang-Jiang Qiangsu, Jiangxi and Anhui), ordered the

daotat of Shanghai to protect missionaries. Orders to this effect were issued, and armed troops were posted near churches and missionary property. It was clearly a tense time for foreigners in Shanghai, but no anti-foreign activity occurred.

A few years later the Boxer movement spread throughout China, but there is no evidence of any support for the Boxers in Shanghai. There were probably two reasons for this lack of anti-foreign sentiment. Foreigners in Shanghai at that time regarded the native Shanghainese as peaceful and friendly by nature. In describing the earliest days of Shanghai, Alexander Michie noted: " ... the consul maintained good relations with the native authorities and no hostile feeling existed between the foreign and native communities. The circumstances of the place were favourable to all this: the for�ign residents were not, as at Canton, confined to a narrow space ... . The people of that part of the country are of a peaceable and rather timid disposition."l0 Similar comments can also be found in Pott's

A Short HtstoryojShanghat: "Compared with the life in the factories of Canton where the merchants were confined in a small circumscribed area, the residents of

Shanghai enjoyed considerable freedom, but they were not allowed to penetrate into the country around the settlement so far that they could not return to Shanghai the same day. As the shooting was excellent, and the villagers friendly, these expeditions into the country were most enjoyable." 1 1

35

SHANGHAI BEFORE NAT IONAL ISM

In Canton, Westerners even avoided going to the city so as to avoid stirring up any violent dashes.12 Not long after the Treaty of Nanjing (1842), Qi Ying

"!�, the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, wrote: " ... the nature of the Cantonese is fierce and violent ... there is indeed implacable enmity between the people and the barbarians ... so

if the matter of their entering the city

is raised, there is great public outrage. The people want to eat their flesh and sleep on their skins. Even

if you try to convince them with great sincerity,

they will certainly not compromise. 13 Lanning and Couling tried to analyse ..

the reasons for this difference in attitude: "There was good reason why the Shanghai people as a whole appeared as friendly as they really were ... it was very soon discovered that the Shanghai native belonged to practically a different race from the Cantonese with whom alone visitors to China during the previous century had been intimately acquainted. Most Shanghai residents were blissfully ignorant of the history of the Kingdom of Wu, but they soon saw the difference between the men of Wu and those of the Nanyiieh, the Cantonese. Not only were the two languages as wide apart as two European tongues, but the native characteristics were equally separated. Where the Cantonese was aggressive, his Shanghai contemporary was peacefully complaisant. The southerner was a radical: the native of Wu a conservative. Shanghai had long since been reconciled to the

de/acto native

government: Canton was ever ready to intrigue and rebel. As against the foreigner, the Cantonese was stand-offish at best, and had on many occasions shown active antipathy, particularly since the war, while the Shanghai man, though not impulsively pro-foreign, was at least willing to meet friendly

12 H.B. Morse, The international relations of the Chinese empire, 3 vols (London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1910-18), 1: pp.367--87. 13 Chou ban yiwu shimo (Daoguang chao vol.6, p.3170), quoted in Yuan Jicheng, JindaiZhongguozujieshigao IAdraft hist0IY of foreign settlements in modern China] (Beijing: Zhongguo C a izheng J ingji Chubanshe, 1988), p.9. Generally speaking, the Shang-hainese were not aggressive, nor did they appreciate such behaviour. In 1888 the Dianshizhai (see n.l5 below) reported on the case of a certain Liu Guilu jlJtt. from Jiangbei, who suddenly went mad: one clay in the early morning he grabbed a knife and rushed out into the streets, slashing at whomever he came upon. In all he wounded fif-teen people. The remarkable thing was that when he was arrested and asked why he wanted to kill people, "Liu laughed loudly and said, 'I wanted to kill foreigners'." Then eveIYone knew he was mad." (Mao 21). 14 Lanning and Couling, History of Shanghai, pp.295-6. 15 The Dianshizhai was a pictorial maga­ Zine distributed with the Shen Bao from 1884 to 1898. For a description of the /OVFIl.

advances half way. When, therefore, we find most of the early troubles with Figure 1

Inside the Yipingxiang Restaurant, a Western establishment run by Chinese. Men with queues and women with bound feet can be seen eating with knives and forks. They are all ordinary people, probably fairly well off. The sketch refers to a husband who went to the Yipingxiang with his lover, and his wife who also happened to go to the the Yipingxiang at the same time

36 IDianshizhai and an analysis of the types of migrants to Shanghai, see Ye Xiaoqing,"Dian­ shizhaiHuabao zhong de Shanghai pingmin wenhua" [Shanghai popular culture in the Dianshizhai Pictorial ], Ershiyi shift 1: 3647). References to the Dianshizhai in this article are to the forty-four volume edition republished in 1983 by Guangdong Renmin Chubanshe.

16 Yao Gonghe, Shanghai xianhua [Chats on Shanghai] (Shanghai: Shangwu Yinshu­ guan, 1917), p.l43.

17 Lanning and Couling, History of Shang­ hai, p.487. 18 Yao, Shanghai xianhua, p.5. 19 Wang Tieyai, ed., Zhongwaijiuyuezhang huibia n [Collection of treaties between China and foreign countries in former times] (Beijing: Sanlian Shudian, 1957), voU, p.l 02. 20 Guo Tingyi, Jindai Zhongguo shishi rizhi [Daily record of current affairs in modern Chinese history](Taiwan: ZhengzhongShuju, 1%3), p.927.

YEXIAOQING

natives in or about the settlements in the early days arising from Fokien men or Cantonese." 14 The second reason is simple but very significant: immigrants to Shanghai had gone there in search of opportunities lacking elsewhere. Such people had no strong anti-foreign feelings, otherwise they would not have gone to Shanghai at all. There may have been some exceptions, of course, but such was the general rule. 1 5 An example of such an exception was the scholar resident in the Chinese City of Shanghai who prided himself on the fact that he had never set foot inside the foreign settlements. 1 6 For these two reasons, the residents of Shanghai before the twentieth century did not have any particular feelings of antipathy towards foreigners. This was reflected in even minor aspects ofeveryday life. All Chinese dialects have various derogatory terms for foreigners. "The Cantonese pronunciation of the characters 'It;l, meaning foreign devils, is used as an insulting epithet. The corresponding term in the North is if.Jl=f Yang Kuei Tzu." 1 7 In Shang­ hainese , however, the normal expression is nga-kok nyung ��� A, a neutral

term with no derogator y overtones. Yao Gonghe noted: "At that time they called foreigners yangguizt if.Jl=f or ytren �A. In the inner parts of China that was the case everywhere. Only in Shanghai did women and

21 Cf. Xianggang Xiandai Chuban Gongsi ed., Shili yangchang hua Shanghai [Ten Ii

children, young and old, from ancient times to the present day, call foreigners waiguoren ��� A." 18 Chinese officials during the Qing generally referred to

of foreign territory: talks on Shanghai] (Hongkong, 1976), voU, pp.30-1; Hua ye

of Tianjin of 1858, Clause 51 reads: "From now on, in all official documents,

Westerners as yi

-'i, usually translated 'barbarians'. In the Sino-British Treaty whether in the capital or the provinces, in

Figure 2 1890: A roller-coaster. The sketch shows men, women and children queuing up for a ride, and more people outside awaiting their turn. Sikh and Chinese policemen are maintaining order

any reference to Great Britain, the character

� 'barbarian' should never be used." 19 Even as late as 1895, the Court had to reiterate that the word 'barbarian' was not to be used in memorials. 2o In the 1860s, the Shanghainese referred to the Inter­ national Settlement as the 'barbarian

quarter' , yichang ��. 21 In 1873, the Shen

Bao published an editorial "In defense of the character yi"m in which they argued that the term was not derogatory-or at least its founder, Ernest Major, was con­ vinced that that was the case. In 1874 he published a letter in the North-China

Herald, arguing that yiwas "a refined term for foreigner." He went on: "The Chinese have been the subject of much obl