City, Immigration And Society: A Study On The Townsmen Associations In The Early-Modern History Of Qingdao

Qingdao as a city area set up in1891.After a fast development,it became soon a commercial city with hundreds of thousands of emigrated residents from almost every province of the whole country.The speed and extent of its urbanization and migration was very breathtaking.Along with the development of Qingdao,the associations of townsmen emerged and developed rapidly.This thesis focuses on the emergence, development and evolution of the townsmen organizations in Qingdao,and the effects of them to the development and evolution of the city proper.On one hand,the intense urbanization,large number of migrant from different regions and complex social environment provided fertile ground for the emergence and growth of the townsmen associations.On the other hand,with the development and growth,townsmen associations in Qingdao affected and influenced upon almost all aspects of the new city throughout the early urbanization.The influences of the townsmen associations, as "non-governmental organizations" upon political,economic,commonweal, philanthropy and social integration,have been still worthy in contemporary today and more and more diversified.This thesis is divided into five parts.In the first place,the preface introduces the concept and the course of development of the townsmen associations.The first part analyses the background of immigrants of Qingdao city which lead to the emergence of the townsmen associations.The second and the third part concretely research the same-natives guildhalls and the townsmen associations in Qingdao.The fourth part summarizes the development characteristics of the townsmen associations in Qingdao and the management of the government to it.The fifth part analyzes the function and status of the townsmen associations in Qingdao in the early modern time of Qingdao. Conclusion part puts forward to the protection of historical and cultural heritage of the townsmen associations in Qingdao and the importance of the study to it in today. Currently,the research to the townsmen associations in Qingdao in the early modern history is still weak.This dissertation gives in-depth analysis to the townsmen associations in early-modern history of Qingdao with largely and widely collected historical materials which have been undiscovered and unused.I put forward new ideas and perspectives in order to fill some blank in the current study.However,this is just a very beginning.