Navigating Semi-C olonialism Harvard East Asian Monographs 410 Navigating Semi- Colonialism Shipping, Sovereignty, and Nation- Building in China, 1860–1937 Anne Reinhardt Published by the Harvard University Asia Center Distributed by Harvard University Press Cambridge (Mas sa chu setts) and London 2018 © 2018 by The President and Fellows of Harvard College Printed in the United States of Amer i ca The Harvard University Asia Center publishes a monograph series and, in coordination with the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, the K orea Institute, the Reischauer Institute of Japa nese Stud- ies, and other facilities and institutes, administers research proj ects designed to further scholarly understanding of China, Japan, Vietnam, K orea, and other Asian countries. The Center also spon- sors proj ects addressing multidisciplinary and regional issues in Asia. Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University The Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute of Columbia University were inaugurated in 1962 to bring to a wider public the results of significant new research on modern and con temporary East Asia. Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Names: Reinhardt, Anne, 1968– author. Title: Navigating semi- colonialism : shipping, sovereignty, and nation- building in China, 1860–1937 / Anne Reinhardt. Other titles: Harvard East Asian monographs ; 410. Description: Cambridge, Mas sa chu setts : Published by the Harvard University Asia Center, 2018. | Series: Harvard East Asian monographs ; 410 | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2017029371 | ISBN 9780674983847 (hardcover : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Steamboat lines— China— Yangtze River— History. | Shipping— Government owner ship— China— History—20th  century. | China— Foreign relations. | Colonial companies— China— History—19th century. | Colonial companies— China— History— 20th c entury. | China— History—1861–1912. | China— History— Republic, 1912–1949. Classification: LCC HE894 .R45 2018 | DDC 386/.350951209034— dc23 LC rec ord available at https:// lccn.loc . gov / 2017029371 Index by the author Printed on acid- free paper Last figure below indicates year of this printing 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 To My F amily Contents Maps, T ables, and Figures ix Acknowl edgments xi Introduction 1 1 Sovereign Concerns: The Formation of a Semi- Colonial Steam Transport Network, 1860–1911 21 2 Aligning Capital and Flag: The Steam Shipping Business, 1860–82 63 3 The Shipping Conference as Collaboration, 1882–1913 94 4 The Steamship as Social Space, 1860–1925 133 5 Shipping Nationalism: The Politics and Business of Shipping in China’s Early Republic, 1912–27 179 6 Nanjing and Chongqing: The Return of the State to Shipping, 1927–37 217 7 The “New Steamship”: Transformations of Social Space, 1925–37 253 Conclusion: Decolonizing the Steamship Network, 1937–56 295 viii Contents List of Chinese and Japa nese Characters 309 Abbreviations in Notes 313 Notes 315 Works Cited 353 Index 371 Maps, T ables, and Figures Maps 1.1 Open Treaty Ports, 1860–77 36 1.2 Open Treaty Ports, 1911 57 2.1 Major Steamship Routes of the Yangzi River and Coast, 1870s 88 3.1 Treaty Ports on the Yangzi River, ca. 1911 120 6.1 Area of Minsheng Industrial Com pany’s Ser vices, 1935 240 Table 5.1 Lower Yangzi River (Shanghai– Hankou) Fleets, 1927 193 Figures 4.1 China Navigation Com pany ship Wusueh 151 4.2 Steerage Accommodation, Wusueh 151 4.3 Saloon Accommodation, Wusueh 152 4.4 Evacuation of Tianjin during the Boxer Uprising 173 7.1 Minsheng Com pany Teaboy, 1937 273 7.2 Minsheng Com pany Sailors’ Singing Group, 1937 290 7.3 Minsheng Com pany Advertisement, 1937 294