At the Crossroads of Empires

Middlemen, Social Networks, and State-Building in Republican Shanghai

Jean C Oi editor Nara Dillon editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Stanford University Press

Published:29th Nov '07

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

At the Crossroads of Empires cover

To a degree uncommon in among Chinese cities, Republican Shanghai had no center. Its territory was divided among three (sometimes more) municipal governments integrated into various national states and empires. No government building or religious institution gave Shanghai a “center." Yet amidst deep cleavages, the city functioned as a coherent whole. What held Shanghai together? The authors' answer is that a group of middlemen with myriad connections across political and social boundaries created networks that held Republican Shanghai together.

Contributors Include: Sei Jeong Chin, Parks Coble, Bryna Goodman, Brian Martin, Elizabeth J. Perry, Kuiyi Shen, Jeffrey Wasserstrom, and Wen-hsin Yeh

"One can only admire the patience and the attention to detail that the author applies to reassembling the pieces of the puzzle. . . Offers a precise and concrete illustration of the realities."—Marie-Claire Bergère, Chinese Perspectives

ISBN: 9780804756198

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 576g

328 pages