Ha'erbin xun gen (review)

Harbin, a frontier city in Northeast China, has an extraordinary history. A fishing village in the late nineteenth century, it rapidly developed into a modern city early in the twentieth century. The construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway (CER) made Harbin a communications hub, and it soon developed into an international city, coming to be known as both the Moscow and the Paris of the Orient. It became a focal point of foreign immigration, particularly from Russia. China regained sovereignty over the city in 1927, but, following the Japanese seizure of Manchuria in 1931, it was under Japanese colonial rule until 1945. In the ensuing civil war, Harbin was one of the cities vital to the victory of the Chinese Communist revolution in 1949. Thus, the city has long been of interest to scholars, and among the recent publications on it, Ji Fenghui's Seeking Roots in Harbincertainly should not be overlooked.

An important feature of this book is its complete treatment of the early history of the city. In tracing its evolution, Ji closely examines the major events and figures of the period from 1900 to 1930. He discusses the roles played by both Chinese and Russians, covers the early treaties that sanctioned the building of the CER and the formation of the Russian quarter, and effectively employs illustrations that show Harbin's historical heritage. Reading this book, one actually feels as if one is walking down the streets, window-shopping among the stores, praying in the churches, meditating in the temples, staying at the hotels, dining in the restaurants, or taking in the scenes along the Sungari River. Truly, it is a challenge to write on such a young city, yet Ji does a notably good job.

Another significant feature of the book is the new light it casts on the city's name. For decades scholars have debated its meaning and origin, and until recently the most authoritative interpretation has been Guan Chenghe's hypothesis of some twenty years ago that the word Harbinoriginated in the Jurchen (Nüzhen) language and meant "glory and honor." Other scholars have offered different meanings such as "fishing ground," "flat land," "tombs," "friendly," "swan," "black riverbank," and "fisherman's village." They see the origins of the name in any of the local languages: Chinese, Manchurian, Jurchen, East Turkish, Xibo, Dawoer, Mongolian, and Russian. But Ji offers a new explanation: the word comes from the Manchurian meaning "oblate island." Ji supplies evidence from Qing dynasty archives and century-old official documents, and buttresses his argument by probing into Harbin's historical environment, ethnic ecology, geographical surroundings, and linguistic setting.

The transformation of Harbin from village to city is vividly portrayed by Ji. He describes the establishment of modern industries, companies, firms, railway stations, private residential areas, and other parts of the urban infrastructure. He also discusses the newly evolved local customs and the provincial culture that came to be centered in Harbin. Indeed, one of the valuable contributions of the book is its coverage of foreign immigrants, including the Russians, the Jews, the Poles, the Americans, and the French, all of whom added to the multicultural life of this Chinese city. Ji especially focuses on the Russians, pointing to the construction of the CER as a Sino-Russian joint venture. He regards Xu Jingcheng, the Chinese signer of the treaty for the construction of the railway, as the founding father of Harbin. Thus, Ji takes June 9, 1898—when the CER headquarters was built in Harbin—as the date marking the beginning of the city.

Seeking Roots in Harbinis not a perfect book. The language tends to be florid and often unduly exclamatory in some paragraphs. Some parts lack insight and depth of analysis and are inclined to be overly narrative in character. The book itself might best be placed in the category of popular literature. It conveys basic facts and important episodes in the evolution of the city without offering a fully...