Old Shanghai. Pulling the stereoscope

Author: Hu Genxi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-04-01
Features: In the late 19th century, various exotic lifestyles from foreign countries influenced the lives of Shanghai residents. What seemed distorted and like a "foreign film" at the time became a folk custom in Shanghai within a few decades, shaping the culture of the old Shanghai and also impacting the new Shanghai.
Excerpt: Xiao Tokyo, located on the northern bank of the Suzhou Creek and in the northern part of Shanghai's city center, is an administrative district covering an area of 234,800 square meters with a population of about 800,000. It was a renowned political, economic, and cultural hub of old Shanghai. Named after the Hongkou Creek, it was once a place where Japanese people concentrated their settlement and also the location of the headquarters of the Shanghai Expeditionary Force of the Japanese Imperial Army. Even today, remnants of the past can be found in the ruins of Japanese-style two-story buildings with corridor balconies in Lu Xun Park (formerly Hongkou Park, renamed in 1980), Shanyin Road, and Liyang Road. In 1862, the same year as the second year of the Japanese Bunroku era, the Japanese government sent the "Chisen Maru" ship to Shanghai, marking the beginning of modern Sino-Japanese exchanges. Before this, there had been no diplomatic relations between China and Japan, so visiting Japanese officials had to be accompanied by the Dutch consul to meet the Shanghai Governor and request the establishment of trade relations between Japan and China. Historical records show that the Japanese side submitted a letter to the Shanghai Governor with a humble tone, stating: "Now in Shanghai, we wish to follow the example of Western countries without treaties, daring not to request the establishment of a treaty, but only to seek trade in Shanghai and request the establishment of a consulate to handle customs matters." (See The Eastern Military Affairs Chronicle of 1897). Upon seeing such a humble request, the officials of the Qing government felt as if they weighed no more than four taels of silver. Yes! Since the Second Opium War, the Great Qing had lost territory, paid indemnities, and ceded sovereignty, acting as the "grandson-in-law" of the foreigners. Now, the visitors from the East were so humble in front of the Qing officials—wasn't this making them the "masters"? After achieving a "Qiu Qing"-style spiritual victory, the request of the Japanese side was approved by Xue Huan, the Jiangsu Provincial Governor overseeing Shanghai, in 1867. From then on, the history of bilateral Sino-Japanese trade in modern times began.
In September 1870, Japanese envoy Motohiko Yanagihara and deputy envoy Yoshizumi Fujiwara arrived in Shanghai with a delegation, formally signing the Sino-Japanese Official Mail Steamship Treaty with the Shanghai Governor Xu Zongying. They also chose to build a mail steamship wharf in Hongkou, facing the Huangpu River, which is now the Fenggong Road Wharf. From then on, trade between China and Japan gradually increased. Government trade activities also fostered exchanges between the people, and the number of Japanese residents in Shanghai grew. At its peak, more than 20,000 Japanese residents lived in areas such as Wusong Road, Liyang Road, Dabaihui Road (now Dongdaming Road), and Dongwuqiang Road in Hongkou.
On July 13, 1871, a Japanese delegation led by the Minister of Finance Inada Munashige and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Motohiko Yanagihara arrived in Shanghai to participate in and preside over the opening ceremony of the Japanese Consulate in Shanghai, which was located on the west side of the mail steamship wharf (now near the Daming Cinema). On February 20, 1872, the first Japanese Consul to Shanghai, Tadao Shinかわ, officially took office. In 1875, Japan established a letter apartment within the consulate to handle the delivery of official and private correspondence between China and Japan. In 1885, the Tokyo-based Japanese Mail Steamship Company set up a branch in Shanghai. Soon after, it also established the Japanese Postal Office (located at the corner of Linzhuang Road and Changzhi Road, now the Shanghai Computer Typewriter Factory). With the large influx of Japanese residents and intermarriages, Japanese-style buildings sprang up like mushrooms in Hongkou. The Japanese residents generally followed Chinese Buddhism. In 1876, the Japanese built the Hongkou Branch of the Hongwanji Temple in Shanghai—Dong Hongwanji—on Dongwuqiang Road and Zhapu Road. Thus, the area became not only a religious center for Japanese residents but also a hub for meetings and discussions. By the end of 1928, the Japanese converted the Sunao Hospital, which was run by Japanese people and located on Zhapu Road, into the Nishi Hongwanji Temple. The southern part of the temple served as a place to store the remains of Japanese residents, while the northern part was used for Shinto worship. Originally a Buddhist institution in Japan, the Hongwanji Temple became a place for Japanese monks to hold memorials for soldiers who died in the invasion of China during the two Sino-Japanese Wars of 1932 ("January 28th Incident") and 1937 ("August 13th Incident").
The increase in Japanese residents also brought the issue of their children's education. In 1888, Dong Hongwanji established the first Japanese school in Shanghai—Kaikai Primary School—in the area. In 1906, the school moved to a new location near the Hangu Bridge on Sichuan Road North and built a new campus. In 1907, after the establishment of the "Shanghai Japanese Settlement Association" (located at No. 309 Tangqiu Road, now within the Shanghai Pujiang Electric Meter Factory), the school came under the management of the association and was renamed "Japanese Normal and Higher Primary School." Later, it was renamed "Japanese Northern Primary School." In 1937, just before the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War of 1937 ("August 13th Incident"), the area became a gathering place for Japanese residents in Hongkou. Hongkou was once known as "Little Tokyo." Rent here was 75% lower than in the French and British concessions, and prices were also cheaper. From 1939 to 1942, the monthly rent for a modern courtyard house was only 100 to 150 yuan. At that time, a six-course Russian lunch on Xifeng Road (now Huaihai Middle Road) cost 1 yuan in Chinese currency, equivalent to 15 cents, while in Hongkou, it was much cheaper. Therefore, Hongkou was also a paradise for Japanese residents.
Perhaps the Japanese did not establish a concession in Shanghai like the British, Americans, and French, but from the perspective of the long history of Japanese business, military aggression, and settlement in Hongkou, some people calling Hongkou a "Japanese concession" still has some justification.