Municipal Reform in GMD China (1927–1937): A First Appraisal

~unicipal Reform in GMD China (1927-1937): A First Appraisal by Christian Henriot Introduction Modernization was one of the main aims of the Nanjing decade in China. During this relatively short period, many attempts were made to transform Chinese society, economy and institutions. In this paper I shall exc.unine only the last point, the transformation of institutions, and more spec)fically the role played by municipal administrations in the proces~r of reform in large cities. Historical writing on this subject is rather scanty. The peasant revol uti on in China has exerted such a fascination that the Chinese countryside has become a major focus of research, whereas urban areas have remained to a large extent a neglected field. [1] In the last few years, however, two very similar studies have thrown some light on 'two representative cities of China under the GMD: Shanghai and Nanjing. [2] These, plus occasional references to other Chinese municipalities, will form the documehtary basis of this article. Imperial China did not develop the tradition, such as in Europe, of local autonomous administrations. Communes were unknown, city governments never had any formal existence. Urban centers, often split into two xian, were managed by delegations of the central imperial power. [3] William T. Rowe suggests that, by the end of the Qing dynasty, endogenous modernizing trends were at work in China and that one essential feature was the emergence of a new urban elite which increasingly assumed new roles in the management of city affairs.[4) In spite of this convincing case, however, it seems that the development of municipal insti tut.ions was on the whole a fairly late phenomenon largely influenced by the foreign presence in those cities where it developed. Mark Elvin has shown that, by the end of the 19th century, growing demands by local elites for more political responsibility and the necessity of reforms by the Qing Court made it possible for a few cities (i.e. Shanghai, Tianjln) to set up municipal administration. [5] After a short blooming period around the 1911 revolution, these local self-government institutions (zizhiju ,zizhizheng, etc. as they were called) were Jiterally swept away by a prohibition edict enacted by Yuan Shikai In 1914. This was a punitive sanction against those who had supported the nationalists' "second revolution " in the summer of 1913 and a measure aimed at centralizing political power at all levels. 19 After Yuan's death, China broke up into a puzzle of rival military fiefs and sank into a state of political chaos that did not permit the restoration of local self-government bodies.[6] It was not until 1927, after the GMD's victory over the northern warlords, that new institutions were established. Here, I shall examine the degree to which these new institutions can be considered as a factor of modernization and how, through their activities, they introduced substantial changes in the life of large cities. Finally , I shall study the obstacles they encountered and the limits of their action. A. The modernization of institutions The establishment of new local institutions by the GMD has its source in the experiment made in Guangzhou (Canton) from 1921 to 1926. During that period, when Canton and the surrounding area had become the Nationalists' revolutionary base and seat of government, the city was endowed with a municipal administration inspired by Western models. Its charter was written by Sun Ke (Sun Fo) who became its first mayor. Under his leadership, the municipal government successfully launched several programs for the rejuvenation of the urban infrastructure. It also served to raise money for the support of the Nationalist war effort, a major part of local taxes being channeled into the revolutionary government's treasury. In fact, the Guangzhou municipality remained highly dependent on the GMD's central leadership whose own priorities took precedence over local interests and needs. [7] These main features, i.e. imitation of Western institutions, dependence on central power, and neglect of local interests, were to be th·e essential characteristics of the GMD's later policy toward local administration. In April 1927, the Nationalists established their capital at Nanjing (Nanking) which was given a municipal government as was Shanghai. ·Two...