Street culture in Chengdu : public space, urban commoners, and local politics, 1870-1930

Winner of the Urban History Association's 2005 Best Book in Non-North American Urban History Award. In traditional Chinese cities, a lively street culture was an important part of popular culture, and street life was central to the daily lives of city dwellers, especially the lower classes. This book examines street culture in Chengdu, an under-studied inland city, during the transformative decades between 1870 and 1930, in order to explore various topics: the relationship between urban commoners and public space; the role that community and neighborhood played in public life; how the reform movement and the Republican revolution changed everyday life; and how popular culture and local politics interacted. Drawing on a rich array of Chinese and Western sources--including archives, local newspapers, gazetteers, personal records, folk literature, and field investigation--the author argues that life in public spaces was radically transformed in Chengdu during these eventful years With The Passing Of The Friendship Generation And The Increase In (mostly Negative) Societal Participation In The Late 1980s, The Governments Of China And Japan Have Found It Increasingly Difficult To Navigate Between The Constraints And Possibilities In Their Relationship. Based On Ten Years' Research In The United States, China, And Japan, This Book Argues That The Relationship Is Politically Now Dispute-prone, Cyclical, And Downward-trending But Manageable; Militarily Uncertain; Economically Integrating; Psychologically Closer In People-to-people Contact Yet More Distant. The Author Develops Measures Of Political Interaction, Trade, Foreign Direct Investment, Tourism, And Student Exchanges, And Casts Doubt On Many Prevailing Assumptions About Sino-japanese Relations.--publisher Description. Introduction: Studying Sino-japanese Relations -- Part I: Patterns And Trends -- Political And Security Interactions -- Economic And Sociocultural Interactions -- Part Ii: Explanations -- The 1972 System -- Objectives And Approaches -- Players, Emotions, And National Identity -- The United States, Japan, And China -- Systemic Explanations -- Part Iii: Cases -- Koizumi's Visits To The Yasukuni Shrine -- Adjustment Of Official Development Assistance Policy -- The Shenyang Incident -- The Sino-japanese Redress Movement -- Part Iv: Conclusion -- An Emerging Sino-japanese Rivalry. Ming Wan. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 347-455) And Index. "This book examines street culture in Chengdu, an under-studied inland city, during the transformative decades between 1870 and 1930, in order to explore various topics: the relationship between urban commoners and public space; the role that community and neighborhood played in public life; how the reform movement and the Republican revolution changed everyday life; and how popular culture and local politics interacted." "Drawing on a rich array of Chinese and Western sources - including archives, local newspapers, gazetteers, personal records, folk literature, and field investigation - the author argues that life in public spaces was radically transformed in Chengdu in the early twentieth century. This transformation resulted in the reconstruction of urban public space, the re-creation of people's public roles, and the redefinition of the relations between ordinary people, local elites, and the state. Urban residents, especially the poor, used the street as shared space for everyday commercial, recreational, and ceremonial activities. With the onset of social change, Western-influenced reformers in Chengdu sought to regulate the use of public space, and commoners had to struggle to maintain their claim to the street. The net impact of this study is to open a new way of understanding Chinese urban society and culture during these transformative years."--Jacket. A study of the lively street culture in Chengdu from 1870 to 1930, this book explores the relationship between urban commoners and public space, the role of community and neighborhood in public life, and how the reform movement and Republican revolution transformed everyday life in this inland city.