The Research On The Development Of Modern Zhongshan City

The emergence of city marks a milestone in the development of human society. Itsdevelopment bears testimony to the evolvement of human society and the progress of humanhistory and civilization. Research on the city development through classic case study is acontributory attempt conducive to the research on the history of Chinese cities in modern era.Zhongshan, formerly known as “Xiangshan”, is located in the central south of the PearlRiver delta, right at the influx of the Pearl River. Historically, it exercised jurisdiction overZhongshan, Zhuhai and Macao, which were all nurtured by the long-standing and continuousXiangshan culture. Xiangshan boasted a history of860years since its establishment as acounty in the22ndyear of Shaoying Reign of South Song Dynasty (1152B.C). In the14thyearof the Republic of China (1925), its name was changed into Zhongshan city in honor of thegreat leader Sun Yat-sen (whose name is pronounced as “Sun Zhongshan” in mandarin).Centered on the development of modern Zhongshan city and grounded on the analysis ofhistoric facts and field research, this paper sets out to delve into the development of modernZhongshan city through phase-based analysis of its history and theme-based contrast studies.It strives to faithfully reflect the economic development process of modern Zhongshan cityand the consequential social changes and probe into the features and constraints of city’sevolvement through a multi-dimensional and temporally long-spanning analysis on theZhongshan’s development.In the introduction part, the author explains the rational and significance the researchtopic, areas of research and the definitions of related concepts. Then, a review on thetopic-related studies at home and abroad is conducted which is followed by an introduction tothe framework, methodology and historic materials to be used in the paper. The body of thepaper is divided into two parts: the first part reviews the natural environment, geographicconditions and historic&cultural background of Zhongshan city’s development andsummarizes the general and specific features of Zhongshan’s development back in ancienttimes. It chronologically divides the history of Zhongshan into three stages which are markedby three events: the establishment of Xiangshan as a port, the founding of the Republic ofChina, and the outbreak of the War against Japanese Invasion. It expounds on the city’sevolvement mainly through discussing its socio-economic development and urbanconstruction during this period.The second part is a theme-based contrast study, in which the author summarizes and reflects on the forms and features modern Zhongshan city took on and their evolving trends.Then a contrast study is conducted between Zhongshan and two other special cities in modernera–Nantong and Guangzhou, with a view to come up with a fair evaluation on the standingsof Zhongshan in China’s modern history. The author also conducts a detailed analysis on thefactors that have a major bearing on the city’s development and explains how Xiangshan’scommercial ideologies, important political figures and overseas Chinese have shaped itsdevelopment. Then a host of streets, architecture, towns and villages that best representZhongshan are selected for appreciative analysis. This paper also presents the unique featuresof Zhongshan city formed during the city’s development in modern era from various aspects.Zhongshan’s transformation from an ordinary agricultural village into a modern city wasfacilitated by the interaction of oriental and occidental cultures during the modern era. Underthe dual influence of agriculture-based civilization and marine civilization, Xiangshan culture,which possessed distinctive local features, gradually took shape in Zhongshan city during themodern era. Such unique culture that combines eastern and western styles graduallymanifested itself through the city forms and features. The distinctive features of Zhongshanlie in its overall style at large and the details such as streets and alleys, which have become allthe more inclusive and accommodating. The city’s layout has also acquired modernity basedon its tradition and its architecture style has become more diversified. The evolvement of thecity was accompanied by the expansion of urban commerce and the rather-completeurbanization movement.Zhongshan is reputed as the “Pioneering city of China’s modern civilization”. Itspioneering spirit is rooted in the genes of Xiangshan culture, Xiangshan people andXiangshan city. Over the recent years, the enterprising Xiangshan people began to embracethe outside world. They are represented by a constellation of historic and cultural big namesbesides Sun Yat-sen, such as Rong Hong, the first student studying abroad, Zheng Guanying,famous thinker and entrepreneur during the Westernization Movement, Tang Tingshu, aleading figure in promoting commerce and business during the Westernization Movement, LuHaodong, the first martyr in the revolution for the founding of the Republic, Yang Xianyi,father of China’s air force, Tang Shaoyi, the first premier of the Republic of China, and thefounders of the four major department stores of China, Ma Yingbiao, Guo Le, Li Minzhou,Cai Chang and other famous figures etc.History reveals to us the underlying causes for the rise and fall of dynasties; Culturenourishes us unconsciously like the spring rain moisturizing the earth. A city with a promisingfuture must assign great importance to its history; a region with strong desire for development must value the inheritance and development of its history and culture. The researchundertaken in this paper has filled the gap in the systemic study of the development history ofmodern Zhongshan city. The author hopes that the results of the study presented in this papercan serve as a reference for the ongoing protection and development of the history and culturein Zhongshan city.