ASPIRATION FOR A NEW FUZHOU: LOCAL PRINT AND URBAN CHANGES, 1927-1937 ZHANG JING NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE 2010 ASPIRATION FOR A NEW FUZHOU: LOCAL PRINT AND URBAN CHANGES, 1927-1937 ZHANG JING (B.A. & M.A.), FUJIAN NORMAL UNIVERSITY A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE 2010 Acknowledgements Along the long road towards the completion of the thesis, many people and institutions have rendered me valuable assistance, and I am truly grateful to them all. First and foremost, I wish to thank my supervisor Associate Professor Huang Jianli. As a foreign graduate student, I faced many difficulties throughout my education at the National University of Singapore. Prof. Huang gave me his warmest encouragement, strong support, unwavering patience and helped me go through so many hard periods. I have also benefited tremendously from the help of Professor Ng Chin Keong. He provided me with sound advice on my thesis topic and helpful guidance along the way of my research. I am grateful to Associate Professor Teow See Heng for his constant encouragement and for reading the earlier drafts and making many insightful suggestions. I give my heartfelt thanks to Dr. Yang Bin. He opened me to the fantastic world of the global studies, shared his personal hardship as a foreign student in US to encourage me, provided me the most delicious Chinese foods I ever had in Singapore, and also criticized me at times when I was going on the wrong way. I am grateful to Professor Huang Guosheng. Without his generous assistance during my Masters’ studies at Fujian Normal University, I would never have chance to study abroad. I would also like to thank other professors who had taught me or kindly given me advices in the History Department: They are Associate Professor Thomas DuBois, Associate Professor Maurizio Peleggi, Associate Professor Bruce Lockhart, Dr. Maitrii Aung-Thwin and Dr. Jason Lim. I also enjoyed the warm friendship from several fellow graduate students in the History Department. My appreciations go to Chi Zhen, E Mei, Edgar Liao, Emily Chua, Fang Xiaoping, Ho Chi Tim, Jack Chia Meng Tat, Leander Seah, Minami Orihara, Mok Mei Feng, Ng Eng Ping, Pang Yang Huei, Seng Guo Quan, Shen Huifen, Shu Sheng-chi, Wang Lu Man, Wei Bingbing, Xiang Hongyan, Yamamoto Fumihito, Yang Shao-yun, Zhang Leiping. Special thanks to Jack and Sheng-chi, who gave me practical advices on my research. I am also grateful to Edgar and Eng Ping, for taking time off their busy schedule to proofread my work. During my research trip to Beijing, Xiamen, Nanjing, Hangzhou and Fuzhou from Oct 2007 to March 2008, I was greatly indebted to many people who offered generous advice and assistance. Professor Wu Xiaoan gave me kind assistance during my stay in Beijing University. Professor Wang Chaoguang in the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences provided me important index for the research of Republican China. Professor Chen Zhiping in Xiamen University generously sent me several books related to my research. Mr. Ma Zhendu, the Vice- Curator of the Second Historical Archives of China, provided me with important information and contacts. He also granted me access to invaluable archival sources. Mr. Chen Qiao in the Fujian Arts Research Institution shared with me his research experience. Mr. Lin Zhanghua in the Fujian Provincial Library had facilitated my access to the thousands of microfilm collections. I also want to thank several of my friends, Chen Jinliang, Lu Yi, Meng Qingzi, Wu Weizhen, Xu Dengpan, Xu Zhenzheng, Zhang Huiqing, Zheng Jing and Zhuang Wanting for their warm hospitality during my stays in ii Beijing, Xiamen and Nanjing. The writing of this thesis was generously sponsored by the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences through NUS Research Scholarship (2005-2009) and Field Trip Grant (2007). For the unstinting administrative guidance and support I have been receiving from the History Department, I would like to express my appreciations to Associate Professor Yong Mun Cheong, Associate Professor Albert Lau, Associate Professor Ian Gordon, Associate Professor Bruce Lockhart, Associate Professor Brian Farrell, Associate Professor Thomas DuBois and our Graduate Secretary Ms Kelly Lau. The early draft of one chapter in this thesis had been presented at the First Congress of the Asian Association of World Historians at Osaka University (May 29-31, 2009). Last but not least, to my parents for their emotional and financial support throughout my years of education. My mum sat with me in the microfilm reading room of Fujian Provincial Library and helped me hand-copy magazine and newspaper articles in a chilling winter. I am also grateful to Fengchun, for his understanding, support and endless love. All well layout maps and figures shown in this dissertation were visualized from the unbelievably messy condition by his talent as an amateur graphic designer. iii Table of Contents Acknowledgements i Table of Contents iv Summary v List of Maps, Figures, Tables and Diagrams vii Weights, Measures and Currencies viii I. Introduction 1 Pre-modern Fuzhou and Weak Local Administration 1 Neglect of Fuzhou in Chinese Urban Studies 6 Emergence of Vibrant Local Publications 23 Local Print and Urban Changes 33 II. Yearning for a Modern Fuzhou 41 Early Administrative Reforms and Onset of Kuomintang Rule 42 Abortive Campaign for City Construction 51 Utopian Urban Planning 58 III. Building a New Urban Infrastructure 72 Engaging the Issue of Road Modernity 73 Mediating between Tradition and Modernity 86 Negotiating between Public Welfare and Commercial Interest 97 IV. Moulding a “Civilized” Community 111 Displacing Superstition and Tradition 113 Advocating Hygienic Modernity 125 Cultivating “Good Citizenship” 136 V. Scripting Fuzhou Women 145 Rescuing Servant Girls 147 Desiring Marriage Freedom 161 VI. Relating to the “Outside” 176 Presenting “Nanyang” to the Local Community 177 Surveying Overseas Chinese during the Great Depression 186 Shaping Public Attitude towards the Fuzhou Diaspora 196 VII. Conclusion: Aspiration for a New Fuzhou 207 Rescuing a City from Stagnancy 208 Role of Local Print in Fuzhou’s Modernity 211 Glossary 216 Bibliography 221 iv Summary This study examines the interactions between local print and urban changes in the city of Fuzhou during the Nanjing Decade (1927-1937) of modern Chinese history. Specifically, it explores how local print sought to promote and implement a wide range of urban reforms. In doing so, these local publications played a crucial and multi-faceted role as propagator, coordinator and overall facilitator in the urban transformation of Fuzhou. The “local print” in this thesis follows the practice as used in the scholarly works of Barbara Mittler and Joan Judge to refer to “Western-style” publications which had emerged in the locality and which came to play the role of a “middle realm” between the power holder and the masses. However, the “print” here will not be confined exclusively to the newspapers and will instead be extended to cover periodicals, private publications, and a small number of government gazettes. During the Republican era, Fuzhou’s local print appears to have succeeded in breaking the firm hold of centralized government agencies over the Chinese public sphere and become a channel for Fuzhounese to express their independent voices. The administrative chaos of Fuzhou had posed serious obstacles to urban development in this city during the Nanjing Decade. With the failure of early Republican municipal reforms and of attempts at establishing an independent municipal government, local print took up the responsibility and burden of drawing comprehensive blueprints for the urbanization of Fuzhou. Despite the impracticality of some of their utopian visions, they nevertheless provided new directions for urban v reforms in the city. The twin pillars of these urbanization blueprints were the reorganization of urban space and the reforming of urban culture. The former entailed the construction of modern roads and launching of public facilities, while the latter involved campaigns and movements embedded within the broader trend of building a new, modern Chinese nation, such as the anti-superstition movement, the launch of “Hygienic Modernity” and the promotion of a “civilized community” in the city. In conjunction with the newly painted visions for the city, Fuzhou’s local print also advocated the emancipation and liberation of women. Moreover, they tapped into Fuzhou’s long history of migration by emphasizing how Fuzhou’s longstanding overseas connections with the Chinese diasporic community could bring enormous benefits to its urban development. By demonstrating how local print in Fuzhou became an influential voice in the urban transformation of the city, this dissertation highlights the emergence of new-style print as a significant force in the shaping of China’s urban modernity. Local print functioned as a platform for uniting the wisdom and passion of citizens from various segments of society and turning their aspirations for the new city into reality. Moreover, this case study on Fuzhou will hopefully serve as an effort in shifting the attention of history scholarship on urban modernization in China away from its overt focus on great metropolises to the smaller cities. Exploring the developmental experiences of these smaller cities will help in bringing about a fuller picture of historical urban development in Modern China. vi List of Maps, Figures, Tables and Diagrams Maps Map 1: Evolution of Walled Fuzhou (908-1371) 18 Map 2: Administrative Map of Fuzhou (1945) 44 Map 3: Road Constructions in Fujian (1917-1927) 85 Map 4: Road Constructions in Fujian (1927-1937) 86 Figures Figure 1: Figures for Fuzhounese 112 Figure 2: Mahjong Gambling 113 Figure 3: Rite for the Birthday of Gods 118 Figure 4: Scenes on the Street 131 Tables Table 1: Administrative Division in Fuzhou area (Eve of the Republic era-1946) 43 Table 2: Statistics for Road Constructions in Fuzhou (1927-June 1935) 84 Table 3: Fuzhou Electricity Company: Annual Total Capital Balance (Mar.