The Establishment of Zhongshan Park and its Connotation of Cultural De-Colonization

Abstract

De-colonization is an integrated part of modernization of the process of the 20th century in the world. It can be understood as a process which embodies two parallel movements-the colonized people’s struggle for independence and the colonial metropolitan country’s reaction. This paper takes the Zhongshan Park (formal Quanye Expo) in Tianjin’s Chinese settlements as a specific case and investigates the interplay between native culture and colonial culture in the park building process. Through investigating the Chinese Municipal Parks, the paper elucidates the conflicts between colonialism and nationalism contextualized in Sino-West cultural encounters, and reveals the Chinese efforts for cultural de-colonization in early 20th century.