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Shanghai flora: the politics of urban greening in Maoist China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 December 2017

HANCHAO LU
HANCHAO LU*
Affiliation:
221 Bobby Dodd Way, Atlanta, GA 30332-0225, USA
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Abstract:

Verdurization (lühua), a term coined in Japan and adopted into the Chinese vocabulary in the early twentieth century, was an emotive concept and relentless practice in Mao's China. The Chinese state used various verdurization campaigns as part of its project of building a socialist state and as a way of exercising ideological control, particularly in cities. At the same time, ordinary citizens had their own ideas about the role of vegetation in their daily lives – ideas that were often different from, and sometimes counter to, those of the state. The article takes Shanghai as a case-study to examine the politics of urban greening along the spectrum of state, society and everyday life in the early years of the People's Republic.

Type
Research Article
Information
Urban History , Volume 45 , Issue 4 , November 2018 , pp. 660 - 681
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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References

1 Japanese scholar Sanetou Keishuu (1896–1985) has done remarkable research on the Japanese influence on the modern Chinese vocabulary. On the term lühua, see Huixiu, Shitun (Sanetou Keishuu), Zhongguoren liuxue Riben shi (A history of Chinese study-abroad in Japan) (Beijing, 2012), 282Google Scholar.

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40 Christian Henriot, ‘Shanghai zujie gongmu yanjiu, 1844–1949’ (The colonial space of death in Shanghai), www.virtualshanghai.net/Texts/Articles?ID=81. The weight of the tael varied considerably in China, but in most cases was equivalent to 1.3 ounces of silver.

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42 Jing'an Temple was known among westerners as Bubbling Well Temple. The temple's origins can be traced back to AD 247, but much of its structure was destroyed during the Taiping Rebellion in 1860. It was rebuilt in 1880–81 with donations from merchant Hu Xueyan (1823–85) and others and survived to Mao's time.

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45 By 2003, of the total of 133 parks in Shanghai, 90 were admission-free; Renmin ribao, 18 Apr. 2003, 13.

46 The monthly pass was not valid for Xijiao Park, which was a zoo and charged 10 cents for single-entry admission.

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