Chasing the Dragon in Shanghai: Canada’s Early Relations with China 1858–1952 by John D. Meehan (review)

Canada’s first tentative contacts with China took place under the friendly umbrella of the British Empire. Canadians enjoyed the special privileges, which Britain won from the Middle Kingdom in the mid-nineteenth century through unequal treaties. From the late nineteenth century, Canadian missionaries could be found scattered from the Pearl River delta in the south, to the North China plain, and from Taiwan in the east to Sichuan in the west. Canadian trade commissioners, directed by Ottawa, were established in Hong Kong, in Shanghai, and (briefly) in Tianjin. Immigration Acts, passed in Ottawa but in harmony with international agreements undertaken by Britain, controlled immigration from China. From 1929 to 1942 Canada watched China through its embassy in Tokyo. It was not until after Pearl Harbor, however, that Canada and China, now wartime allies, exchanged ambassadors, and the privileges under the unequal treaties were cancelled.

Most but not all Canadians involved in relations with China prior to 1942, and later from 1945 to 1952 when Canada ceased to be officially represented in China, entered through the treaty port of Shanghai. In this study, John D. Meehan gives us a picture of early Canadian-Chinese relations seen through the prism of Shanghai, along with extended glimpses of Shanghai life. Thousands of Canadians passed through or lived in Shanghai. They are all here: from the young and ambitious Mackenzie King in China to attend an opium conference; the charming rogue Morris ‘Two-Gun’ Cohen, hired as a bodyguard to Sun Yat-sen; the dedicated Communist and doctor Norman Bethune, on his way to tend to Chinese soldiers defending their country against the growing incursion by the Japanese; Jim Endicott, Canadian missionary and former adviser to Chiang Kai-shek turned Chinese Communist Party propagandist at the behest of Zhou Enlai; and, at the close of the period, a young, bearded Pierre Elliott Trudeau passing through Shanghai as the People’s Liberation Army was consolidating Mao’s control over China. Of course there were many others, including hosts of Catholic and Protestant missionaries whose influence on Canada’s relations with the changing regimes of China is deftly handled by Meehan. Canadian commercial interests, including Sun Life Insurance and Canadian Pacific, all have their place as well, along with major personalities such as the dapper Lt. Col. Lawrence Moore Cosgrave, Canada’s long-serving Trade Commissioner.

During most of this period Shanghai was divided into foreign concessions – international (including British, American, and Japanese interests) and French – each with different administrative approaches, plumbing, and electrical wiring. Shanghai was an exciting place for foreigners, be they missionaries or adventurers, but it was much less so for ordinary Chinese, who suffered discrimination and hardship, which was often reinforced by the well-to-do Chinese families making their fortunes in the city.

Meehan’s work provides an excellent introduction to the origins and early years of Canada-China relations. Canadians intending to spend a prolonged period in China to engage in business, study, or employment should read Meehan’s work. It would be greatly to their benefit. For those who intend to spend time in Shanghai it is essential. The portrait Meehan paints of Canada-China relations is excellent, and although it concentrates on Shanghai, its reach is broader and extends to Canadian activities in other centres like Hong Kong (which most Chinese emigrants to Canada passed through), Tianjin, and Taiwan. The text is complemented by eighteen pages of exceptional photographs, a full list of Canadians imprisoned in Shanghai by the Japanese during the Pacific War, and an excellent bibliographic discussion.