The Foreign Presence in China in the Treaty Port Era, 1840–1943
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China’s Foreign Pla ces Th e Foreign Presence in China in the Treaty Port Era, 1840–1943 Robert Nield Hong Kong University Press Th e University of Hong Kong Pokfulam Road Hong Kong www.hkupress.org © 2015 Hong Kong University Press ISBN 978-988-8139-28-6 (Hardback) All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmitt ed in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed and bound by Paramount Printing Co., Ltd., Hong Kong, China Contents Preface ix Acknowledgements xiii Timeline xv Maps xx Treaty Ports and Other Foreign Stations xxxi Principal Characters xxxvii Introduction 1 Aigun 23 Kiukiang 137 Amoy 24 Kiungchow 141 Antung 37 Kongmoon 146 Baku 39 Kowloon 147 Canton 39 Kuling 150 Changsha 49 Kwangchowwan 151 Chefoo 51 Kweilin 153 Chengtu 66 Lappa 153 Chimmo Bay 67 Lintin Island 154 Chinchew Bay 68 Lungchow 155 Chinkiang 68 Lungkow 156 Chinwangtao 73 Macao 157 Chungking 75 Mengtse 158 Chusan 80 Mokanshan 159 Cumsingmoon 82 Mukden 160 Dalny/Dairen 82 Nanking 162 Foochow 85 Nanning 164 Haichow 95 Newchwang 166 Hangchow 95 Ningpo 173 Hankow 97 Pakhoi 181 Harbin 118 Peitaiho 184 Hokow 121 Peking 186 Hong Kong 121 Port Arthur 188 Ichang 133 Port Hamilton 191 Kashkar 136 Saddle Islands 192 Contents Samshui 192 Tsingtao 252 Sanmun Bay 195 Wanhsien 258 Santuao 195 Weihaiwei 259 Shanghai 196 Wenchow 271 Shanhaikwan 209 Whampoa 277 Shasi 210 Woosung 279 Soochow 211 Wuchow 281 Swatow 213 Wuhu 283 Szemao 224 Yochow 286 Tachienlu 225 Yunnan-fu 288 Taiwan-fu 225 Russian Frontier Stations 288 Taku 229 Japanese Stations in the North-East 289 Tamsui 230 Yangtze River Ports-of-Call 291 Tengyueh 234 West River Ports-of-Call 292 Tientsin 235 Tibetan Ports 292 Tsinan 250 Appendix 295 Notes 297 Glossary of Terms 329 Bibliography 331 Index 347 viii Preface Th is book grew from an interest in the treaty ports It has been said that, as they are by defi nition on of China, an interest that developed into a fascina- the periphery, ‘most written history has treated port tion—and then an obsession. On moving to Hong cities rather shabbily’.* Indeed, surprisingly little has Kong from England in 1980 I became aware of the been written about a great many of China’s treaty very special nature of the city. While being diffi cult ports as individual places. Frances Wood’s No Dogs to fi nd on a map of the globe, this tiny place boasted and Not Many Chinese: Treaty Port Life in China the world’s tenth-largest trading economy. It was 1843–1943, published in 1997, provides an admira- an anachronism with little right to such economic ble, accessible overview. One or two ports have been status, and yet . In addition to spending all hours the subject of comprehensive histories, although of the day contributing to the continuing prosperity some of these are now not easy to fi nd. Examples of Hong Kong through my work as a public account- include O. D. Rasmussen’s Tientsin: An Illustrated ant, I started to take an interest in why it was that Outline History (1925) and William T. Rowe’s Hong Kong enjoyed such success; indeed, why it was Hankow: Commerce and Society in a Chinese City, there at all. Nor was Hong Kong alone in terms of 1796–1889 (1984). Th ere are excellent volumes on European settlements tacked on to the side of China. the history and development of Hong Kong and All of these are now Chinese towns or cities of varying Shanghai. Some books cover one particular issue size but many of them retain a trace, or rather more, in the majority of treaty ports without describing of their former foreign occupation. many of them in detail, such as P. D. Coates’s Th e My initial research focused on the European China Consuls (1988). References to some of the commercial approaches to China, starting with the more obscure ports may be found in the indexes of Portuguese in the 16th century, then the Dutch in the even more obscure books. My mission was to bring 17th. Th e British became dominant in the 18th and each place to life by providing interesting and concise 19th centuries, and that dominance led to a confl ict information not readily available elsewhere. I also that gave rise to not only the colony of Hong Kong wanted to make my entries as complete as possible, but also the fi rst fi ve treaty ports—Amoy (Xiamen), using all the sources my detection skills could iden- Canton (Guangzhou), Foochow (Fuzhou), Ningpo tify. Only the entries on Hong Kong and Shanghai (Ningbo) and Shanghai. I described these six cities, have been given a diff erent treatment. Th eir inclusion and the historical background to the treaty port in the same manner as the others would have created system, in my book Th e China Coast: Trade and the a volume many times the size of this one. Instead, I First Treaty Ports, published in 2010. My next step have provided a concise history of these two cities was obvious—to describe each of the former treaty over the relevant period without attempting to make ports of China individually in a new book. Th is was those histories complete. last done in 1867, when Mayers, Dennys and King Places that served solely as missionary stations produced their monumental Th e Treaty Ports of have been excluded, fi rstly because they have been China and Japan. My update would include not only extensively documented elsewhere (for examples, see treaty ports, but the many other foreign commercial Cohen’s China and Christianity [1963] and Carlson’s settlements in China, large and small. * Osterhammel, 277. Preface Th e Foochow Missionaries [1974]); and, secondly, information about specifi c ports I have listed these because my chief interest is in commercial activity. in a ‘Further reading’ note at the end of the relevant What is left is a comprehensive summary of the many entry. Furthermore, the Bibliography at the end of Chinese places that at one stage came under foreign the book has been made as comprehensive as possible, administration to a greater or lesser degree during the to encourage further reading and research and be of Treaty Port Era, roughly 1840 to 1943. Most entries use to other scholars. start with a brief background history, in order to put Initially, my goal was to visit all the places that the place in context. Similarly, I have assumed some merited an entry in this book. Th ese good intentions knowledge of events happening on the Chinese and faltered in the face of harsh realities, for instance world stages on the part of my readers, so as to con- the inadvisability of poking about areas close to the centrate on matters at the local level in each of the North Korean border, and logistical diffi culties such places covered. For example, the individual stages of as tramping through Manchuria looking for remote the Second Opium War are not explicated, but the former Japanese and Russian outposts. Nor would vis- entry on Canton describes that confl ict to the extent iting a place that only existed for one or two years as a it had a direct bearing on the city. treaty port a hundred years ago necessarily add value Each entry is intended to stand alone (although to a written description of its brief role. Nevertheless the option to read the book cover to cover is, of I have travelled extensively in China gathering infor- course, available). Th is requires some degree of rep- mation and impressions. Th e 69 places I visited are etition, although I have ensured that where this listed in the Appendix. Eff ort was required to over- happens—the story of tea, for example—there is a come signifi cant diffi culties in establishing exact loca- diff erent yet relevant and complete treatment in each tions and present place names for each place included of the entries aff ected. Continuing the example, I in the book. Landing stages on the West River and have not attempted to research and write about the Russian trading posts in Manchuria presented special subject of tea per se, but I have included the mate- challenges. A combination of Google Earth satellite rial I found while researching, in this case, Hankow imagery and as many maps, new and old, as could be (Hankou) and Foochow. Although there is very little found allowed most location puzzles to be solved. to be said about some of the smallest places covered, During my travels I was frequently impressed by the length of each entry does not necessarily refl ect the interest ordinary Chinese people took in what I its subject’s relative importance. Rather, length has was doing. Taxi drivers happily took over the respon- tended to be determined by the amount of interesting sibility for fi nding some of the more remote places, source material available. and then accompanied me round them. Security men In most cases a separate entry for each of the asked for copies of my old photographs of the build- ports and other places covered has been given. Taku ings they were guarding. People in the street asked (Dagu), for example, had a history and existence why I was examining what appeared, to them, a crum- that was independent of Tientsin (Tianjin), its bling old building.