Modernity in Fengtian: Association, Industry and Charity in Immigration Society
UEDA Takako (Single work)Kyoto University Press 2018/02 9784814001354 367
Within a period of about 25 years, from the New Administration of the late Qing dynasty to the Manchurian Incident, the city of Shenyang (瀋陽), formerly called “Fengtian” (奉天, the city of Mukden),experienced rapid urbanization with an increase in population from about 177,000 to 612,000. Politically during this period, Zhang Zuolin (張作霖) rose to prominence and helped to quell the confusion after the Xinhai Revolution, ultimately becoming the head of the Beiyang government. After his death, his son, Zhang Xueliang (張学良), joined the Nationalist Government in Nanjing, and then supported Chiang Kai-shek’s (蒋介石) leadership in China. This resulted in the Northeast region’s political power increasing enough to influence trends throughout the whole of China. In previous studies, attention was paid to this spectacular political situation, but in this book we will consider the transformation of Fengtian urban society, which has been largely overlooked.
At the first part, we look at the history of the Fengtian General Chamber of Commerce (奉天総商会),Secondly, in order to understand the structure of the Fengtian business circle, we analyze specific enterprises such as the The Official Bank of the Three Eastern Provinces and Fengtian Spinning Mill. At the last part, we analyze the society from the viewpoint of how Fengtian City's society treated the constant influx of immigrants.
As for understanding world history in general, a definition of what is “modern” is said to be factory-based industry established after an industrial revolution, with citizens gaining the right to participate in politics and form civil society. During this process, citizens demand political requirements through public spaces. However, in Northeast China – especially Fengtian – modern society made rapid modernization from the beginning, which required the strong leadership of administrative power. There are the executors of government programs in all aspects of society who can use government power to carry out their business. However, this strong guidance suppresses spontaneous development of the public space. In this way, modern times arrived in Fengtian that were different from other major cities in China proper.