EACS-2016. Book of Abstracts

Modern History 21st Biennial Conference of the European Association for Chinese Studies 136 the 19th century. The history of human-animal relations in China, on the other hand, still remains poorly studied and the emergence of the first organized animal protection efforts in Republican China is rarely acknowledged. This paper will therefore look at the case of the Chinese Society for the Protection ofAnimals (Zhongguo baohu dongwu hui) that was founded in 1934 to investigate the social, political, and intellectual factors that gave rise to an awareness for animal protection in Republican China. The founding of the society resulted from a number of intersecting factors. Firstly, the Republican Period saw an upsurge in civic engagement due to widening legal spaces provided under the newly promulgated constitution. Secondly, the violence of WWI led many Chinese intellectuals to rethink their perception of “Western material modernity”, leading to a strengthened interest in indigenous intellectual resources and a critique of social Darwinist theories. Building on established Buddhist concepts such as “the protection of life” (husheng), Buddhist activists were vital in relating this critique to the realm of animal protection. And thirdly, newly introduced models from the European animal protection movement facilitated the insti- tutionalization of the emerging sphere of animal protection in China. By addressing the factors mentioned above in more detail, this paper will compare the animal protection movement in Republican China with the larger movement in East Asia and beyond. This will allow for a more contextualized and nuanced understanding of animal protection during this period but also lead to a better understanding of the dynamics behind the global dissemination and eventual localization of ideas about animal protection in modern history. Sonoda Setsuko (University of Hyogo) Trans-Pacific Political Channels and Community Activities of Chinese Merchants on the North American Pacific Coast from the 1930s to the 1960s Key words: overseas Chinese policy, Chinese overseas, merchants, North America, Chinese Nation- alist Party (KMT party) In looking at China from the perspective of Chinese overseas, this study argues that China was a trans- Pacific nation state that provided political clues to overseas Chinese for their empowerment or promotion in Chinatown communities in the 20th century. To clarify the relationship between Chinese overseas and the Chinese government during the 20th century, comprehensive archival collections on China-born respected community leaders in Chinatown in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Canada were analyzed. Focusing on the case of a successful Chinese immigrant merchant in Vancouver, the ways in which immigrant lead- ers viewed, responded to, and built political channels with the Chinese government from the 1930s to the 1960s is also discussed. Despite facing rampant racism, Chinese merchants on the Canadian Pacific coast had been developing trans-Pacific trade between North America and the Guangdong region since the late 19th century. Unlike business activities, social mobility among Chinese immigrant merchants in the 20th century was associated with stronger political ties to the Chinese government. Chinese immigrant merchants with anti- Japanese sentiments joined the Chinese Nationalist Party in championing for national salvation during the Sino-Japanese War of 1937–1945. These ties were reinforced during the Chinese Civil War of 1945–1949 and the Cold War through the granting of titles from local and central Chinese governments. Merchants appointed as commissioners of the Overseas Chinese Affairs of the Republic of China were particularly active in overseas Chinese education and the promotion of Chinese culture in Vancouver Chinatown from the 1930s to the 1970s. Although the 20th century is often viewed as an era of nation-states that oppressed the individual, the social mobility seen among China-born self-employed businessmen in Vancouver sug- gests that individuals utilized the approach of the nation-state for success in the new world. Taylor Jeremy (University of Nottingham) Space and Landscape in RNG Collaborationist Nationalism Key words: landscape, space, Wang Jingwei, collaborationism, nationalism