The .1946 Vendors Protests Study

On November 30, over 1,000 Shanghai street vendors and their family members besieged the Huangpu Branch of Political Bureau and conflicts broke out between the masses and the police. The event attracted attention of news media both at home and abroad, they call it"Event of Street Vendors of Shanghai", considering it"the most serious event since May the 30th Massacre in 1925". In one of his documents, Mao Zedong regarded it as one of the important events marking the"new upsurge of people's struggle in Chiang Kai-shek governed areas".Later on, many scholars thought it symbolized the beginning of the formation of the second front during the War of Liberation.However, there have not been so many academic researches into this important historical event. Even when it was mentioned by some papers or historical records, the introduction was general, simple and lacked support from historical materials.Based on study of relevant literature, especially archival sources, the author of this thesis attempts to make a detailed introduction of the 1946 resistance event. In the meantime, it comments objectively on the relationship between the event and underground party members so that the thesis can give a comprehensive and authentic comment of anti- Chiang Kai-shek struggle initiated by street vendors as lower-class masses.