Tianzifang: a Case Study of a Creative District in Shanghai
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TIANZIFANG: A CASE STUDY OF A CREATIVE DISTRICT IN SHANGHAI BY YU-TSU CHEN DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Art Education in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2015 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Professor Michael Parsons, Chair Professor Liora Bresler Professor Amita Sinha Assistant Professor Laura Hetrick ABSTRACT Influenced by the ideas of Richard Florida and other Western theorists, China has recently been enthusiastically establishing creative districts in response to its booming, creative economy. Tianzifang, a 70-year-old Shikumen neighborhood and factory area located in downtown Shanghai, is such a creative district. However, because the contemporary ideas of creative milieux, creative cities, and the creative class have been primarily derived from the West, how do they apply in an Asian Communist society? How do they differ from the West? Do Western theories hold true for Shanghai? Through participant observation and in-depth interviews with over 40 participants from the creative class, administrators, and local residents, I investigate Tianzifang by exploring its development through history, the sense of space/place, the attraction for the creative class, and the dominant creativity production systems. I argue that China has developed new adaptations based on its unique cultural and political environment that makes it differ from Western theories in three ways. First, creativity is usually viewed as a personal endeavor rather than a social interactive production. Creative people in Tianzifang remain in minimal contact with others, which makes its production systems independent and irrelevant. Second, job and business opportunities such as the Chen Yifei Effect are the major drivers for the creative class when making a location decision. This challenges Florida’s idea that creative people decide where they would like to live before considering jobs. Third, due to its limited freedom of expression and censorship, the creative class tends to avoid sensitive social issues and instead strives to pursue harmony and inner peace in their works. Lastly, I raise issues pertaining to Tianzifang that need serious attention in order to establish future creative districts: without a well-considered plan, the high-sounding talk of establishing creative districts can cause social downsides such as inequality to be ignored and disguised; and over-promoted tourism can cause commercialization and gentrification, changes that would threaten the artists and lead to the expulsion the creative talent. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Foremost, I would like to offer my sincere gratitude to my advisor Dr. Michael Parsons. Thanks for his guidance, patience, and cultivation of my intellectual life. He led me to the field of creativity studies when I was a first year PhD student and helped me to form an effective study and writing routine. Without him and his guidance, my dissertation could not have been completed. I would also like to thank my doctoral committee: Dr. Liora Bresler, Dr. Amita Sinha, and Dr. Laura Hetrick. They are brilliant and well-respected scholars and mentors who always provided me insightful comments, which are precious to me. Thanks to the Freeman Fellows Program of the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign and Fudan University in Shanghai for awarding me a research grant. This was a great encouragement and it made it possible for me to do the study outside of the United States. I also thank Dr. Yuan Ren and Dr. Hai Yu at school of social development and public policy, Fudan University, for offering me academic advice and introducing me to significant informants in Tianzifang when I was doing fieldwork. I acknowledge the assistance of the over 40 participants. They were all strangers to me at the beginning but finally became my friends. They were so generous to open their mind and share their thoughts. My dissertation is about their stories and life. Last but not least, I appreciate my family for their continued support. My husband Chia- Ching Lin accompanied me during the stressful moments while he was also pursuing his PhD degree. My little girl Olivia arrived right after my defense, who gave me joy and confidence to face the challenge in the future. She is the best gift for my graduation! iii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 1 From “Made in China” to “Created in China” ........................................................................ 1 Creative Districts in Shanghai................................................................................................. 2 Current Issues and Research Questions .................................................................................. 3 Definitions of Terms ............................................................................................................... 7 Significance of the Study ........................................................................................................ 8 Limitations of the Study.......................................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.................................................................................. 10 Creativity in Contemporary Context ..................................................................................... 10 The Creative Class ................................................................................................................ 15 Creative Milieux ................................................................................................................... 22 The Meaning of Spaces and Places ....................................................................................... 31 Creative Districts in Shanghai............................................................................................... 33 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ..................................................................... 38 Getting Close to the Culture: A Case Study Inspired by Ethnography................................. 38 The Location ......................................................................................................................... 41 The Participants..................................................................................................................... 43 Data Collection ..................................................................................................................... 44 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................................ 52 CHAPTER 4: A DAY OF TIANZIFANG ................................................................................ 56 The Evening .......................................................................................................................... 56 The Morning ......................................................................................................................... 59 The Afternoon ....................................................................................................................... 64 CHAPTER 5: HOW IT ALL BEGAN ...................................................................................... 68 Shanghai Needs a SoHo ........................................................................................................ 68 A Brief History of Tianzifang ............................................................................................... 69 Gentrification and the Attitude of the Government .............................................................. 76 Gentrification, Land Ownership and Real Estate.................................................................. 78 CHAPTER 6: WHOSE CULTURE? WHOSE TIANZIFANG? ........................................... 81 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 81 Some Facts about Tianzifang ................................................................................................ 82 The Meaning of Place: A Creative and Exotic Spectacle ..................................................... 89 The Meaning of Place: Our Shikumen versus Their Tianzifang .......................................... 94 Discussion ........................................................................................................................... 120 CHAPTER 7: THE ATTRACTIONS OF PLACE FOR CREATIVE PEOPLE ............... 124 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 124 Theory and Concepts of Place Attraction ........................................................................... 125 Tianzifang’s Attraction on the City Level .......................................................................... 127 Tianzifang’s Attraction on District Level ........................................................................... 138 Discussion ........................................................................................................................... 152 CHAPTER 8: THE CREATIVE CLASS AND THEIR PRODUCTION SYSTEM .......... 160 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 160