民国时期天山北麓东路城市多民族居民生活的变化

Although the Republican era of China did not last very long, it was a significant period in which China transformed from an agricul-tural to an industrial era, and from a traditional so-ciety to a modern one. During this period, not only did the politics and economics change dramatical-ly, but also the lives of urban residents. Although Xinjiang is located in the western frontier area of inland China, since the Qing dynasty, its politi-cal, economic and cultural connections with inland China gradually increased. Xinjiang is not an iso-lated region, it actually is located in the central ar-ea of Asia. So, its openness is very pronounced. Even though during the Republican era, inland China was gripped in the chaos of war, Xinjiang’s political, economic and cultural connections with the inland were never broken. Although sometimes the central government’s control in Xinjiang was not so strong, the central government’s policies had always impacted strongly on Xinjiang. In addition, due to the continuous migration of the inland popu-lation ( especially intellectuals, and political and military people) into urban areas, such as Dihua in Xinjiang during the Republic era of China, the politics, economics and culture of inland China had a big impact on the lives of Xinjiang urban res-idents. Moreover, Xijiang is neighbors with Rus-sia. Since the middle of the 19th century, Russia, whose industrialization and modernization occurred earlier and faster than China’s, often made political and military invasions, as well as cultural infiltra-tion, into Xinjiang. After the founding of the Sovi-et Union, its influence on the cities of Xijiang gradually increased. Especially during the period when Sheng Shicai managed Xinjiang, the influ-ence of the Soviet Union on Xinjiang was the stron-gest. In addition to political influence, economic and cultural influences became more pronounced, and numerous industrial and cultural products made in the Soviet Union were imported into Xin-jiang. This had a dramatic impact on the urban residents of Xinjiang. As a political, economic and cultural center of Xinjiang, Dihua was alive with many Russians who engaged in political, economic and cultural activities. Hence, their direct or indi-rect influence on the lives of Dihua residents was stronger than in other cities. At present, the research on Xinjiang during the Republican era of China mainly focuses on the political and economic domains , and less attention is paid to its urban life. However, the changes of modernization are not only reflected in the aspects of politics and economics, but also in the field of social life. Hence, to strengthen the research on the changes in social life in urban areas of Xinjiang during the Republican era of China is significant. The Republican era of China was an important pe-riod for Xinjiang society. Although if we compare it with the urban areas along the eastern coastal ar-ea of China, the impact of western culture on the lives of urban residents in Xinjiang during this pe-riod was not so strong, and the changes in social life also reflected multi - ethnic characteristics. The changes in urban life in Xinjiang were also an important part of the changes following China’s modernization. It reflected a both generalization and a diversity of the urban changes created by China’s modernization. In addition, one should note the impact of the changes in Xinjiang’s urban life during the Republican era on that of Xinjiang during the latter half of the 20th century. Thus, it is very necessary to conduct a research on the lives of Xinjiang’s urban residents during the Republican era of China. Xinjiang has been a multi-ethnic area since ancient times, a fact which contributes the ethnic diversity that characterizes the social life of Xin-jiang cities. During the Republican era, the mate-rial life of the various ethnic groups living in Xinjiang’s cities changed successively due to the impact of external cultures, and the wave of mod-ernization. However the changes to the material lives of the various ethnic groups were different. The content of material life is very broad. General-ly speaking, it comprises people’s daily life, inclu-ding clothing, food, shelter and transportation, all of which are regarded as basic essentials for peo-ple. In a period of scarcity of goods and materials, material life became the most important thing for most of the public. Hence, changes with regard to material life, to a large extent, is reflected in the changes in the social lives of urban residents. Generally speaking, compared with the situa-tion in the Qing dynasty, the clothing in Xinjiang cities such as Dihua exhibited a big change. How-ever , this change displayed multi-ethnic and diver-sified characteristics. Concerning the food culture of Dihua urban residents during the Republican era of China, it reflected more open, inclusive and mutually influential features. In other words, the existence of a diversified food culture and diverse development was an important characteristic of the time. Concerning shelter during this period, a big change in Dihua’s urban style was that some mod-ern buildings co-appeared alongside traditional style buildings, no matter whether it was in the pri-vate space or public space. Moreover, the trans-portation mechanisms also changed during this pe-riod. Roads for cars appeared in Dihua, which opened the gate for Xinjiang’s automobile age. During the Republican era of China, most ur-ban residents in Xijiang’s cities, such as Dihua, kept their traditional customs. However, there were also some changes due to the influence of ex-ternal cultures—these changes were presented as the characteristics of pluralism, diversity and a mixture of the old and new. Multiple ethnic groups concentrated in an area in the eastern zone line of the northern foot of Mount Tianshan. During the process of history, the different ethnic groups formed their own cultures and religious beliefs. In the Republican era of China, the various ethnic groups lived in harmony most of time, and the plu-ralism and inclusiveness of cultures gradually in-creased. Generally speaking, the lives and cus-toms of the Han in Xinjiang cities, such as Dihua during the Republican era of China, were almost same as those of the Han in inland China. On one hand, they kept many of their traditional customs;yet, on the other hand, they also gradually accept-ed some new ones from external cultures. The eth-nic minorities, such as the Uygur and Hui, were deeply influenced by Islamic religious culture. Their religious cultural life exhibited almost no change during the Republican era of China, and they, for the most part, maintained their tradi-tions. During this period, in keeping with the gradual consciousness of ethnic equality, although various ethnic groups kept their own traditions, and they did not reject each others’ traditions, and instead, there was some mutual exchanges among them. This made the urban culture more diversi-fied . Not only were the festivals of the Uyghur pop-ular among themselves, the Han were also invited to participate in them. Moreover, the Han’s festi-vals, especially the Spring Festival, Lantern Festi-val and others, were also gradually accepted by other ethnic groups, and, for example, the Uy-ghur, Hui, Mongolian and Kazakhs, and others all participated in these festivals. In the middle and latter period of the Republican era, the urban cul-ture of Xinjiang exhibited a sense of openness. Within the basis of maintaining their own ethnic cultural traditions, each ethnic group showed an opened attitude to new cultures, and, hence, ur-ban culture became more diversified and rich. During the time when agriculture was more dominant , traditional cities lacked of public cultur-al spaces. Hence, Buddhist monasteries, Taoist temples and mosques became the sites for organi-zing public cultural activities in the urban areas. Since modern times, the public cultural spaces in urban areas have experienced a great change. Parks, as a new mode of public space, began to appear successively in some important cities. At the end of the Republican era of China, the public cultural space of Dihua had been further expand-ed. In 1948, there were four such kind of public cultural sites in Dihua, such as Zhongshan Park, Hongyan Lake, Shuimo River, and Wulabai. In addition to these, the cinema also played a very important role in the new entertainment life of the urban residents of Dihua. In 1944, Dihua had three movie theaters which were run respectively by the government, a businessman and a Russian. Movies had a very direct impact on the residents’ vision and mind, especially on the youth. A new movie sometimes would change some people’s view of life or the rules of their behavior. In short, the Republican era was a dramatic period of change during which China transformed from a traditional agricultural society to a modern industrial one. Following the changes in politics, economics and culture, people’s material life and cultural life were also changed. Due to the vast territory, and uneven political and economic devel-opment of China, the changes differed in various regions. Xinjiang is a frontier area in western Chi-na. Its communication with the outside world was not so convenient. Hence, compared with the east-ern coastal region, the degree of change in Xin-jiang was lower, and the speed of change was also relatively slower. However, this kind of change ac-cumulated over several decades, so, with time, the changes also became very noticeable. Howev-er , due to the uneven regional development in Xin-jiang, the changes in some cities were slow while in some they were fast. Compared with other places of Xinjiang, the changes along the eastern line of the northern foot of Mount Tianshan, and taking Dihua as the center, were faster and more obvious in the Republican era. On one hand, Di-hua was more strongly influenced by the politics, economics and culture of inland China; and, on the other hand, Dihua was also influenced more di-rectly by the politics, economics and culture of the Soviet Union With the combined role played by the both sources, the material life of the urban resi-dents of Dihua, including clothing, food, shelter and transportation, as well as the customs, and cultural entertainments, changed dramatically. This change was not only similar to that of inland cities, but it also reflected regional characteristics of Xinjiang—the characteristics of ethnicity and di-versity wee more pronounced. In addition, com-pared with Tibet which is also in the western fron-tier of China, the changes brought by the urban modernization in Xinjiang was more dramatic. This was directly connected with Xinjiang’s geographical location, natural climatic conditions, as well as its political, economic and cultural development. Al-though Xinjiang lies in the western frontier of Chi-na, its transportation connections with inland Chi-na and the outside world were more convenient than those in Tibet. During the Republican era, the railways, highways and aviation routes devel-oped relatively well, the Xinjiang’s economic, and cultural connections with both inland China and the Soviet Union were also relatively close. In addi-tion, an important natural condition which also created good conditions for the opening up of Xin-jiang is that the elevation of most areas of Xinjiang is not high—the average elevation is around 1000 meters. Hence, the natural geographical conditions promoted a population flow between Xinjiang and inland China, as well as between Xinjiang and the Soviet Union. Moreover, after the settling of Xin-jiang province at the end of the Qing dynasty, the feeldings and unity with inland China were ensured from an institutional aspect. It was just under such kind of background that the lives of the urban resi-dents living in the eastern zone of the northern foot of Mount Tianshan experienced a dramatic change, and presented a characteristic of ethnic diversity, pluralism and mixture of old and new.

Changes in the Urban Lives of the Various Ethnic Groups Living in the Eastern Area of the Northern Foot of Mount Tianshan during Republican Era China

Although the Republican era of China did not last very long, it was a significant period in which China transformed from an agricul-tural to an industrial era, and from a traditional so-ciety to a modern one. During this period, not only did the politics and economics change dramatical-ly, but also the lives of urban residents. Although Xinjiang is located in the western frontier area of inland China, since the Qing dynasty, its politi-cal, economic and cultural connections with inland China gradually increased. Xinjiang is not an iso-lated region, it actually is located in the central ar-ea of Asia. So, its openness is very pronounced. Even though during the Republican era, inland China was gripped in the chaos of war, Xinjiang’s political, economic and cultural connections with the inland were never broken. Although sometimes the central government’s control in Xinjiang was not so strong, the central government’s policies had always impacted strongly on Xinjiang. In addition, due to the continuous migration of the inland popu-lation ( especially intellectuals, and political and military people) into urban areas, such as Dihua in Xinjiang during the Republic era of China, the politics, economics and culture of inland China had a big impact on the lives of Xinjiang urban res-idents. Moreover, Xijiang is neighbors with Rus-sia. Since the middle of the 19th century, Russia, whose industrialization and modernization occurred earlier and faster than China’s, often made political and military invasions, as well as cultural infiltra-tion, into Xinjiang. After the founding of the Sovi-et Union, its influence on the cities of Xijiang gradually increased. Especially during the period when Sheng Shicai managed Xinjiang, the influ-ence of the Soviet Union on Xinjiang was the stron-gest. In addition to political influence, economic and cultural influences became more pronounced, and numerous industrial and cultural products made in the Soviet Union were imported into Xin-jiang. This had a dramatic impact on the urban residents of Xinjiang. As a political, economic and cultural center of Xinjiang, Dihua was alive with many Russians who engaged in political, economic and cultural activities. Hence, their direct or indi-rect influence on the lives of Dihua residents was stronger than in other cities. At present, the research on Xinjiang during the Republican era of China mainly focuses on the political and economic domains , and less attention is paid to its urban life. However, the changes of modernization are not only reflected in the aspects of politics and economics, but also in the field of social life. Hence, to strengthen the research on the changes in social life in urban areas of Xinjiang during the Republican era of China is significant. The Republican era of China was an important pe-riod for Xinjiang society. Although if we compare it with the urban areas along the eastern coastal ar-ea of China, the impact of western culture on the lives of urban residents in Xinjiang during this pe-riod was not so strong, and the changes in social life also reflected multi - ethnic characteristics. The changes in urban life in Xinjiang were also an important part of the changes following China’s modernization. It reflected a both generalization and a diversity of the urban changes created by China’s modernization. In addition, one should note the impact of the changes in Xinjiang’s urban life during the Republican era on that of Xinjiang during the latter half of the 20th century. Thus, it is very necessary to conduct a research on the lives of Xinjiang’s urban residents during the Republican era of China. Xinjiang has been a multi-ethnic area since ancient times, a fact which contributes the ethnic diversity that characterizes the social life of Xin-jiang cities. During the Republican era, the mate-rial life of the various ethnic groups living in Xinjiang’s cities changed successively due to the impact of external cultures, and the wave of mod-ernization. However the changes to the material lives of the various ethnic groups were different. The content of material life is very broad. General-ly speaking, it comprises people’s daily life, inclu-ding clothing, food, shelter and transportation, all of which are regarded as basic essentials for peo-ple. In a period of scarcity of goods and materials, material life became the most important thing for most of the public. Hence, changes with regard to material life, to a large extent, is reflected in the changes in the social lives of urban residents. Generally speaking, compared with the situa-tion in the Qing dynasty, the clothing in Xinjiang cities such as Dihua exhibited a big change. How-ever , this change displayed multi-ethnic and diver-sified characteristics. Concerning the food culture of Dihua urban residents during the Republican era of China, it reflected more open, inclusive and mutually influential features. In other words, the existence of a diversified food culture and diverse development was an important characteristic of the time. Concerning shelter during this period, a big change in Dihua’s urban style was that some mod-ern buildings co-appeared alongside traditional style buildings, no matter whether it was in the pri-vate space or public space. Moreover, the trans-portation mechanisms also changed during this pe-riod. Roads for cars appeared in Dihua, which opened the gate for Xinjiang’s automobile age. During the Republican era of China, most ur-ban residents in Xijiang’s cities, such as Dihua, kept their traditional customs. However, there were also some changes due to the influence of ex-ternal cultures—these changes were presented as the characteristics of pluralism, diversity and a mixture of the old and new. Multiple ethnic groups concentrated in an area in the eastern zone line of the northern foot of Mount Tianshan. During the process of history, the different ethnic groups formed their own cultures and religious beliefs. In the Republican era of China, the various ethnic groups lived in harmony most of time, and the plu-ralism and inclusiveness of cultures gradually in-creased. Generally speaking, the lives and cus-toms of the Han in Xinjiang cities, such as Dihua during the Republican era of China, were almost same as those of the Han in inland China. On one hand, they kept many of their traditional customs;yet, on the other hand, they also gradually accept-ed some new ones from external cultures. The eth-nic minorities, such as the Uygur and Hui, were deeply influenced by Islamic religious culture. Their religious cultural life exhibited almost no change during the Republican era of China, and they, for the most part, maintained their tradi-tions. During this period, in keeping with the gradual consciousness of ethnic equality, although various ethnic groups kept their own traditions, and they did not reject each others’ traditions, and instead, there was some mutual exchanges among them. This made the urban culture more diversi-fied . Not only were the festivals of the Uyghur pop-ular among themselves, the Han were also invited to participate in them. Moreover, the Han’s festi-vals, especially the Spring Festival, Lantern Festi-val and others, were also gradually accepted by other ethnic groups, and, for example, the Uy-ghur, Hui, Mongolian and Kazakhs, and others all participated in these festivals. In the middle and latter period of the Republican era, the urban cul-ture of Xinjiang exhibited a sense of openness. Within the basis of maintaining their own ethnic cultural traditions, each ethnic group showed an opened attitude to new cultures, and, hence, ur-ban culture became more diversified and rich. During the time when agriculture was more dominant , traditional cities lacked of public cultur-al spaces. Hence, Buddhist monasteries, Taoist temples and mosques became the sites for organi-zing public cultural activities in the urban areas. Since modern times, the public cultural spaces in urban areas have experienced a great change. Parks, as a new mode of public space, began to appear successively in some important cities. At the end of the Republican era of China, the public cultural space of Dihua had been further expand-ed. In 1948, there were four such kind of public cultural sites in Dihua, such as Zhongshan Park, Hongyan Lake, Shuimo River, and Wulabai. In addition to these, the cinema also played a very important role in the new entertainment life of the urban residents of Dihua. In 1944, Dihua had three movie theaters which were run respectively by the government, a businessman and a Russian. Movies had a very direct impact on the residents’ vision and mind, especially on the youth. A new movie sometimes would change some people’s view of life or the rules of their behavior. In short, the Republican era was a dramatic period of change during which China transformed from a traditional agricultural society to a modern industrial one. Following the changes in politics, economics and culture, people’s material life and cultural life were also changed. Due to the vast territory, and uneven political and economic devel-opment of China, the changes differed in various regions. Xinjiang is a frontier area in western Chi-na. Its communication with the outside world was not so convenient. Hence, compared with the east-ern coastal region, the degree of change in Xin-jiang was lower, and the speed of change was also relatively slower. However, this kind of change ac-cumulated over several decades, so, with time, the changes also became very noticeable. Howev-er , due to the uneven regional development in Xin-jiang, the changes in some cities were slow while in some they were fast. Compared with other places of Xinjiang, the changes along the eastern line of the northern foot of Mount Tianshan, and taking Dihua as the center, were faster and more obvious in the Republican era. On one hand, Di-hua was more strongly influenced by the politics, economics and culture of inland China; and, on the other hand, Dihua was also influenced more di-rectly by the politics, economics and culture of the Soviet Union With the combined role played by the both sources, the material life of the urban resi-dents of Dihua, including clothing, food, shelter and transportation, as well as the customs, and cultural entertainments, changed dramatically. This change was not only similar to that of inland cities, but it also reflected regional characteristics of Xinjiang—the characteristics of ethnicity and di-versity wee more pronounced. In addition, com-pared with Tibet which is also in the western fron-tier of China, the changes brought by the urban modernization in Xinjiang was more dramatic. This was directly connected with Xinjiang’s geographical location, natural climatic conditions, as well as its political, economic and cultural development. Al-though Xinjiang lies in the western frontier of Chi-na, its transportation connections with inland Chi-na and the outside world were more convenient than those in Tibet. During the Republican era, the railways, highways and aviation routes devel-oped relatively well, the Xinjiang’s economic, and cultural connections with both inland China and the Soviet Union were also relatively close. In addi-tion, an important natural condition which also created good conditions for the opening up of Xin-jiang is that the elevation of most areas of Xinjiang is not high—the average elevation is around 1000 meters. Hence, the natural geographical conditions promoted a population flow between Xinjiang and inland China, as well as between Xinjiang and the Soviet Union. Moreover, after the settling of Xin-jiang province at the end of the Qing dynasty, the feeldings and unity with inland China were ensured from an institutional aspect. It was just under such kind of background that the lives of the urban resi-dents living in the eastern zone of the northern foot of Mount Tianshan experienced a dramatic change, and presented a characteristic of ethnic diversity, pluralism and mixture of old and new.