At the Crossroads of Empires: Middlemen, Social Networks, and State-Building in Republican Shanghai

by Nara Dillon (editor), Nara Dillon (Editor)

To a degree uncommon in among Chinese cities, Republican Shanghai had no center. Its territory was divided among three (sometimes more) municipal governments integrated into various national states and empires. No government building or religious institution gave Shanghai a “center." Yet amidst deep cleavages, the city functioned as a coherent whole. What held Shanghai together? The authors' answer is that a group of middlemen with myriad connections across political and social boundaries created networks that held Republican Shanghai together. Contributors Sei Jeong Chin, Parks Coble, Bryna Goodman, Brian Martin, Elizabeth J. Perry, Kuiyi Shen, Jeffrey Wasserstrom, and Wen-hsin Yeh

330 pages, Hardcover

First published November 29, 2007

Reviews

[Louloulou · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book asks an interesting question: what held Shanghai, a city divided by four empires, together? It seeks to answer this question by studying individuals and the social networks around them. General historical phenomenon is thus firmly connected to real people and their native connection, religious belief, lust for power, and struggle for survival in an age of turmoil. Unfortunately, it does not include any image, even in the chapter talking about the businessman and artist, Wang Yiting, and the chapter introducing the National Salvation Movement, in which many photographers, woodcut artists, and cartoon artists played an active part.