英文摘要 |
This article analyses the increasing importance of the seaside and sea-bathing to the leisure culture of Chinese urban elites and common people through a close study of Beidaihe. The most renowned seaside resort in North China, Beidaihe began to gain an iconic status in the late 1890s thanks to the newly-developed railway system. Attracted by its beautiful scenery and excellent qualities as a sea-bathing site, Westerners living in Tianjin and Beijing turned Beidaihe into an ideal seaside resort for escaping the summer heat. The nameless seaside “space” was gradually transformed into a “place” endowed with a distinct cultural identity, and attracted some Chinese urban elites to come and seek control over the area. They founded the Beidaihe Seaside Welfare Association in 1918 under the leadership of Zhu Qiqian, which managed to establish control in western Beidaihe and imbued the Western-style landscape of Beidaihe with Chinese cultural elements. Guidebooks and travel writings further popularized the image of Beidaihe as an ideal seaside resort among the Chinese population. This article argues that the changes in the spatial configurations and the sense of place of Beidaihe reflected the changing power relationships between the Chinese and Westerners, and helped shape the class and national identities of urban elites in Republican China. |