Shanghai Splendor

About this book

"Rich with the details of everyday life, this multifaceted social and cultural history offers a kaleidoscopic view of Shanghai as the major site of Chinese modernization. Engaging the entire span of Shanghai's modern history from the Opium War to the eve of the Communist takeover in 1949, Wen-hsin Yeh traces the evolution of a dazzling urban culture that was alternately isolated from and intertwined with China's tumultuous history. Looking in particular at Shanghai's leading banks, publishing enterprises, and department stores, she follows the rise of a new maritime and capitalist economic culture among the city's middle class - a class of urbanites whose quest for social legitimacy and moral respectability set in motion the dynamics that would fashion modern China. Making extensive use of urban tales and visual representations, Yeh captures these urban voices as she examines the sociocultural forces that shaped the people and their politics. Even as Shanghai today emerges as a glamorous global destination, this stellar history shows how the city's century-long history of colonialism and socialist revolution gave birth to Chinese communism and how its people's aspirations and memories continue to vie for a place in Shanghai's present and future."--Jacket.