The Power of Ancestors
Tombs and Death Practices in Late Qing China's Foreign Relations, 1845-1914
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5145879 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Song-Chuan Chen (University of Warwick), Song‐chuan Chen (0000-0001-9590-9054, University of Warwick, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2018 |
| Volume | 239 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 113-142 |
| Publication date | 2018-05-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Past & Present (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0031-2746 • E-ISSN: 1477-464X |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/pastj/gty001 |
| OpenAlex | W2777588134 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 3 |
Shanghai was among the first five treaty ports to be opened to Europeans by the Treaty of Nanking, signed after the Qing Empire (1644–1911) was defeated by the British in the First Opium War (1839–42). A wall poster from the early 1850s, currently in the collection of the Cambridge University Library, gives a rare glimpse of how people in Shanghai reacted to the arrival of foreign powers: To the households who have farmland or graves outside the North Gate of the City, on the Second and Third Land Registers: Our ancestors’ tombs and farmland are being confiscated by foreigners for road construction. The [area affected] is about ten square li, marked with concrete sticks ... Households victimized by the destruction, like mine, should take up weapons to chase out the [foreigners] and should not just sit by idly. After the tombs are destroyed, it will be too late for regret. From the first day of the second month, listen for the sound of gongs and then take action. This is to be widely advertised. After this poster is hung, in the spirit of solidarity, regardless of whether you are of Ningbo origins, Guangdong origins, or local resident, whoever helps the foreigners dig up farmland and graveyards for road building will be killed when the gongs sound.1
Ancient history · China · Economic history · Political science · Politics · Power (physics) · Solidarity · Treaty · Chinese history and philosophy · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · History · Japanese History and Culture · Law
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |