This book broadens our understanding of the culture and society of Canton, the largest metroplois in South China, in the period between the two World Wars. It redresses serious misconceptions of the extent of damage inflicted by gambling, prostitution and opium consumption on the Cantonese society and its people. There is abundant evidence that common Cantonese were more receptive to a pro-Western mentality, despite their reputation for being jingoistic and anti-foreign. Tracing the rise of Cantonese opera as a major form of mass entertainment, and the emergence among the citizens a strong sense of pride in being a part of the modern city, help us learn more about the transformation of social and cultural life in this city in the modern era.
Author(s): Virgil Ho
Year: 2006
Language: English
Pages: 520
Contents......Page 8
List of Plates......Page 9
Introduction......Page 10
1. City versus Countryside: The Growth of an Urban Identity and its Meanings in Canton......Page 18
2. The Limits of Hatred: Popular Attitudes Towards the West in Republican Canton......Page 58
3. The ‘Problem’ of Opium Smoking in Canton......Page 104
4. Gambling in Canton: Myth and Reality of a Calamity......Page 165
5. The Worlds of Prostitution in the Early Republic......Page 235
6. Cantonese Opera as a Mirror of Society......Page 328
Conclusion......Page 381
Endnotes......Page 391
Abbreviations......Page 458
Selected Western and Japanese Language References......Page 460
Selected Chinese Language References......Page 474
H......Page 497
L......Page 498
S......Page 499
Y......Page 500
A......Page 502
B......Page 503
C......Page 505
D......Page 509
E......Page 510
F......Page 511
G......Page 513
H......Page 514
I......Page 516
K......Page 517
L......Page 519
M......Page 521
N......Page 523
O......Page 524
P......Page 525
R......Page 528
S......Page 529
T......Page 533
U......Page 534
W......Page 535
Z......Page 537
