Colonialism, China and the Chinese: Amidst Empires

Description

This book explores the place of China and the Chinese during the age of imperialism. Focusing not only on the state but also on the vitality of Chinese culture and the Chinese diaspora, it examines the seeming contradictions of a period in which China came under immense pressure from imperial expansion while remaining a major political, cultural and demographic force in its own right. Where histories of China commonly highlight episodes of conflict and subjugation in China’s relations with the West, the contributions to this volume explore the complex spaces where empires and their peoples did not merely collide but also became entangled. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Acknowledgements List of contributors Chapter 1 Amidst empires: Colonialism, China and the Chinese Notes Part I Imperial exchanges Chapter 2 Chinese dreams of national strength and global belonging: “Iron and Blood” and the forces of evolution, 1895–1918 The “Iron Chancellor” and his policies The “struggle for survival” and the rise of Germany “Iron and Blood” and the salvation of China Conclusion: China in the world Notes Chapter 3 “Learning to walk”: Qing constitutional reform and Britain’s imperial pedagogy, 1901–11 I II III IV V Notes Chapter 4 Colonial pathways to international education: Chinese students in White Australia in the 1920s Introduction The “Unequal Treaties” and equality The treaties in Australia The case for student visas Operating and monitoring the student visa system Conclusion Notes Chapter 5 The legacies of European imperialism: Modern art for modern China Historical background Art reform Conceptual change regarding art and art practice Professionalisation of art practice and art education The market and individual initiatives Art exhibitions Print media, art revolution and artist communities Conclusion: Modern art and colonial modernity Notes Part II Diasporic entanglements Chapter 6 Anti-colonial boycotts and diasporic activism linking interwar China and colonial Indonesia: The Xiao case Notes Chapter 7 Between empire and nation(s): The Peranakan Chinese of the Straits Settlements, 1890–1948 A brief history and historiography of the Peranakan up to the nineteenth century A delicate balancing act Straits Chinese, British subjects, imperial citizens The Second World War, the Japanese Occupation and post-war developments Conclusion Notes Chapter 8 Lowe Kong Meng and the fluidity of nineteenth century geopolitical affinity British ascendency The scale of Lowe Kong Meng’s imports to Victoria The international gold trade Active in colonial elite society in Victoria International “British” banking Civil society in Victoria Welcoming British royalty The prestige of Chinese merchants Qing Empire rank awards Qing emissaries and consular representation Hardening boundaries – Resurgence of anti-Chinese racism Notes Part III Modes of alterity Chapter 9 Constructing Chinese alterity for Germany’s youth (1897–1902) Notes China and Japan in the discourse of civilisation in the nineteenth century Chapter 10 Who are the barbarians?: The Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895 in the discourse of civilisation China and Japan in the discourse of civilisation in the nineteenth century The discourse of civilisation in Japan’s propaganda during the First Sino-Japanese War The Port Arthur Massacre and the discourse of civilisation Conclusion and reflection Notes Chapter 11 Missionaries and Chinese women: The representation and exploitation of vulnerability in British missionary writing Chinese women, infanticide and footbinding How England Saved China Conclusion Notes Chapter 12 Peripheries of empire: G.E. Morrison’s An Australian in China Shanghai to Rangoon Peripheries of empire Conclusions Notes Index