A Historical Perspective on the Impact of the 19th Century Concession on Shanghai

Abstract

Shanghai, as a metropolitan, developed rapidly from a little village to an economic center of China during 19 Century. How the accelerated growth of Shanghai was linked to the presence of the concession has become an important focus of scholarly research, and the process of its development could provide a reference for other cities. Besides, owing to the unique environment of China, the development of Shanghai also has certain distinctiveness. Concessions, enclaves given to foreign settlers with various privileges, played a unique role in the modernization of Shanghai. In this article, the author studies the political, economic, and cultural impacts of the concessions from a historical perspective, and the interactions within these political, economic, and cultural impacts are also discussed. The research found that Concessions provided a relatively loose political environment and facilitated the reform of the political system of China. In addition, the improvement of the municipal system promoted economic prosperity, which in turn made the cultural exchanges between the East and the West more frequent, forming a cultural environment of heterogeneous cultural integration and promoting the acceptance and promotion of new systems and economic forms.