Current Issue :
2020 Vol 2 No 1
J East-Asian Urban His. 2020, 2(1): 27-63
DOI: J East-Asian Urban His. 2020, 2(1): 27-63
Public Space, Urban Culture and Modernity: Cafes in Modern Shanghai (1900-1949)
Jiang Wenjun
- Received2020-01-24
- Accepted2020-04-30
- Published Online2020-06-30
Abstract
The emergence of coffee shops and other public spaces in modern Shanghai shows the appearance of the “mass” centered on the middle class. Furthermore, we can further explore the different development paths of the publicity of modern Chinese urban society. The emergence of new public leisure spaces, such as cafes, provides a model of modern life style and a stage of daily publicity for the middle class in Shanghai. With the convenience provided by this kind of public space, people are able to clean up their old opinions and be better at accepting new ideas. A more sensitive and flexible public opinion of Enlightenment has gradually formed in urban life.
Key Words: Cafe, Public Space, Modernity, Shanghai, Urban Culture
The emergence of coffee shops and other public spaces in modern Shanghai shows the appearance of the “mass” centered on the middle class. Furthermore, we can further explore the different development paths of the publicity of modern Chinese urban society. The emergence of new public leisure spaces, such as cafes, provides a model of modern life style and a stage of daily publicity for the middle class in Shanghai. With the convenience provided by this kind of public space, people are able to clean up their old opinions and be better at accepting new ideas. A more sensitive and flexible public opinion of Enlightenment has gradually formed in urban life.
Key Words: Cafe, Public Space, Modernity, Shanghai, Urban Culture