A Preliminary Study on Urban Pollution and Modern Shanghai Society

Lu, Ye East-Asian Society for Urban History 2020 Journal of east-asian urban history Vol.2 No.1

Urban pollution has been a problem in China since ancient times. In modern times, pollution was aggravated by industrialization and urbanization and became closely related to people's lives. Shanghai was the industrial center and the most urbanized place of modern China. As a price, it needed to face extremely serious urban pollution, and the treatment of this problem involved all aspects of social life. Noise pollution let foreigners to interpret the Chinese people and the city of Shanghai from a cultural perspective, and let Chinese residents to understand Shanghai and the nation from a civilized perspective. Pollution regulation made Shanghai the first city in modern China to implement overall pollution control and levy environmental protection fees. It also enabled the Chinese to gradually fight for their rights in urban governance. Urban pollution also brought business opportunities; in the highly commercial city of Shanghai, it promoted the development of some industries. The experience of urban pollution and its treatment prompted the people of Shanghai to rethink and re-recognize modern civilization, and also promoted the formation of Shanghai urban community.

Public Space, Urban Culture and Modernity: Cafes in Modern Shanghai (1900-1949)

Jiang, Wenjun East-Asian Society for Urban History 2020 Journal of east-asian urban history Vol.2 No.1

The emergence of coffee shops and other public spaces in modern Shanghai shows the appearance of the "mass" centered on the middle class. Furthermore, we can further explore the different development paths of the publicity of modern Chinese urban society. The emergence of new public leisure spaces, such as cafes, provides a model of modern life style and a stage of daily publicity for the middle class in Shanghai. With the convenience provided by this kind of public space, people are able to clean up their old opinions and be better at accepting new ideas. A more sensitive and flexible public opinion of Enlightenment has gradually formed in urban life.

Urban History and 'Geohistory' of E. W. Soja

Hong, Yong-Jin East-Asian Society for Urban History 2020 Journal of east-asian urban history Vol.2 No.1

This paper aims to introduce and understand critically the work of Edward Soja, mainly the First part of the <Postmetropolis> which develops his own concepts, such as 'synekism', 'trialectics of space', 'regionality' and 'geohistory'. Most of all, in explaining Geohistory, he emphasizes three 'Urban revolutions': First Urban revolutions in Jericho and ÇatalHüyük, which shows first synekism as proto urban society, Second in Ur and other Sumerian cities where appeared a concentrated power of central government and its transcendental ideologies, and Third in Manchester and in Chicago, typical capitalist cities. These three urban revolutions don't correspond to the established historical periodization. In order to understand these revolutions, it is necessary to comprehend the concept of 'machine' of G. Deleuze and F. Guattari, inspired, in fact, by Lewis Mumford - Primitive Territorial machine, Barbaric Despotic machine, and Civilized Capitalist machine. However, these periodization and concepts of E. Soja have to be applied very cautiously in accordance with concrete historical sources, avoiding theoretical distortion on positivity of historical facts.

Change of the Old City by the Modernization

Nakagawa, Osamu East-Asian Society for Urban History 2019 Journal of east-asian urban history Vol.1 No.-

Kyoto, which was Japan's political and cultural capital for more than a millennium before the dawn of the modern era, shows distinctive characteristics formed in the process of urban modernization. A citizen plaza perfectly fit to a modern city is lying on the east side, but a delayed urban reconstruction in the city center due to a strong conservative self-government awareness, as well as a delayed modernization of tax system, caused disorderly urban sprawl to appear in the suburbs. Thanks to the enactment of urban planning law enacted in 1919 by the government (Ministry of Internal Affairs) and an increasing awareness about the necessity and rationality of urban planning projects, urban renovation took place at a rapid pace. In the meantime, new ways of urban design were sought for and experimented to conserve it as a historical city against the city' quickly changing landscape.

Water Supply and Samurai Residence in the Castle Towns during the Edo Period: The Creation of the Modern Urban Dwellers

Satoshi, Fujimura East-Asian Society for Urban History 2021 Journal of east-asian urban history Vol.3 No.1

This article analyzes the publicness of early modern cities and the character of samurai residences as urban dwellers through the water supply and use of the Edo period in Japan. Firstly, in Edo, a megacity with a population of about one million, the Shogunate organized samurai residences (mainly those of feudal lords, Daimyo) into geographical organizations, and samurai residences paid for the repair of water facility and the water fee, just the same as the townspeople. Next, in Fukui (provincial castle town), samurai residence (Daimyo's vassal) organization for waterway didn't exist. The samurai residences were relieved of the burden of maintaining the waterways due to poverty. And, before the later Edo period, samurai vassals were not punished for violating the rules on water use, but they were eventually included in the punishment. The gap in feudal status between samurai and townspeople narrowed. It was a process of creating a modern urban society composed of equal dwellers. Although Edo and Fukui belonged to the same category as castle towns, the urban publicness and the position of samurai residences were different due to their dissimilar political positions as the Shogunate capital city and the Daimyo's provincial castle town.

The Verandah: Hong Kong's Contribution to a Southeast Asian and China-coast Urban Design

Faure, David East-Asian Society for Urban History 2021 Journal of east-asian urban history Vol.3 No.1

The verandah was a common feature of Chinese multi-storeyed houses in Southeast Asia and China. This paper argues that while an earlier version of a narrow walkway might have had its origin in Singapore, the building of an extension on the upper floors encroaching the airspace over the road skirting the building was an arrangement allowed by the colonial Hong Kong government in compensation to landlords for space devoted to ventilation. As the introduction of reinforced concrete allowed buildings to become taller, the more attractive it was to developers to incorporate the verandah design.

Newchwang before Newchwang, c1368-1863

Chan, Kai Yiu East-Asian Society for Urban History 2021 Journal of east-asian urban history Vol.3 No.1

Though known for its connections with maritime trade at varying degrees before the rise of the Manchus and their Qing Empire, Newchwang as a fortress did not become a populous urban settlement in the nineteenth century when the Euro-American observers arrived. Through examining the history of this trade-related locale in the Qing Empire, this article explores the broader historical context, especially the Eight Banners System of the Manchus, which prevented Newchwang from developing into a port-city, and the implications behind.

Social Structures, State Policies, and Negotiation in the Making of Urbanity: East and Southeast Asia in Comparative Historical Perspectives

Chan, Kai Yiu East-Asian Society for Urban History 2021 Journal of east-asian urban history Vol.3 No.1

The Modern Cities of East Asia Arnold J. Toynbee Had Seen in 1929

Lee, Young-Suk East-Asian Society for Urban History 2019 Journal of east-asian urban history Vol.1 No.-

A. J. Toynbee published a book called Travel to China(1931) after traveling around the Asian continent in 1929. The book mostly focuses on Japan, China and the relationship between the two countries. Toynbee visited major cities in Japan and China by train. Most of the Japanese cities he saw were turning into modern cities in the process of spontaneous modernization mixed with its tradition. On the other hand, Chinese cities that he visited showed him various characteristics, including traditional, colonial, or semi-colonial cities. The modern cities of Japan and China in the late 1920s were transformed into various aspects under the influence of tradition, spontaneous modernization, colonial or anti-colonial modernization. How did Toynbee look at cities in East Asia? How did he recognize the relationship between tradition, modernization and colonization while visiting this area? Toynbee emphasizes the weight and influence of tradition especially in the development of modern cities in Japan and China. So, are modern European cities born out of their own traditions? Modern cities everywhere in the East and West were newly developed under the influence of tradition. Toynbee's attitude, which emphasizes especially its tradition in the modern cities of East Asia, seems to reflect his Orientalistic view.

The Cultural Difference between Beijing and Shanghai and Its Influence on New Culture Movement

Yuezhi, Xiong East-Asian Society for Urban History 2019 Journal of east-asian urban history Vol.1 No.-

The New Culture Movement marked the dawning of a turbulent era in China. By the time of May Fourth Movement, the cultural contradiction and confliction grew into an extensive and enduring social movement extending deep and far-reaching influence on the Chinese society. The huge difference and contradiction existing between the Beijing and Shanghai cultures contributed to the outbreak of this social movement. To be specific, there was an active human and information exchange involving the two leading Chinese cities and at the same time the old and new cultures, thoughts and moralities constantly acted upon each other.