Scythe and the City: A Social History of Death in Shanghai (Stanford UP, 2016)

The issue of death has loomed large in Chinese cities in the modern era. Throughout the Republican period, Shanghai swallowed up lives by the thousands. Exposed bodies strewn around in public spaces were a threat to social order as well as to public health. In a place where every group had its own beliefs and set of death and funeral practices, how did they adapt to a modern, urbanized environment? How did the interactions of social organizations and state authorities manage these new ways of thinking and acting? Recent historiography has almost completely ignored the ways in which death created such immense social change in China. Now, Scythe and the City corrects this problem. Christian Henriot's pioneering and original study of Shanghai between 1865 and 1965 offers new insights into this crucial aspect of modern society in a global commercial hub and guides readers through this tumultuous era that radically redefined the Chinese relationship with death. Christian Henriot is Professor of Modern History at Aix-Marseille University and the author of numerous books on modern Chinese history, including Prostitution and Sexuality in Shanghai: A Social History, 1849–1949 (2001). He is also Project Director of Virtual Shanghai (virtualshanghai.net). The Issue Of Death Has Loomed Large In Chinese Cities In The Modern Era. Throughout The Republican Period, Shanghai Swallowed Up Lives By The Thousands. Exposed Bodies Strewn Around In Public Spaces Were A Threat To Social Order As Well As To Public Health. In A Place Where Every Group Had Its Own Beliefs And Set Of Death And Funeral Practices, How Did They Adapt To A Modern, Urbanised Environment? How Did The Interactions Of Social Organisations And State Authorities Manage These New Ways Of Thinking And Acting? Christian Henriot's Pioneering And Original Study Of Shanghai Between 1865 And 1965 Gives New Insights Into This Crucial Aspect Of Modern Society In A Global Commercial Hub And Guides Readers Through This Tumultuous Era That Radically Redefined The Chinese Relationship With Death. Scythe And The City : The Measure Of Death -- Guilds, Charities, And The Community Management Of Death -- Funeral Companies And The Commoditization Of The Dead Body -- A Final Resting Place : From Burial Grounds To Modern Cemeteries -- Foreign Cemeteries And The Colonial Space Of Death -- Invisible Deaths, Silent Deaths -- Funerals And The Price Of Death -- The Cremated Body : From Social Curse To Political Rule -- The Management Of Death Under Socialism. Christian Henriot. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Death, despite its intrinsic importance in any society and its particular importance in the historical experience of Chinese cities, is basically absent from the field of Chinese urban history. How did death practices adapt to a modern, urbanized environment, and how did the interactions of social organizations and state authorities manage them? Scythe and the City offers pioneering and original research on this crucial aspect of modern society and takes the reader through the tumultuous era that radically redefined the relationship of the Chinese with death