Abstract
This research situates the architectural aid in early PRC history (the Maoist period) into the context of socialist world-Third World political solidarity. The author theorizes such historical practice with three lines, namely, the exportation and importation of styles, the materialist formation of the productive space, and the natural geographic question raised by the tropical-responsive designs. The chapter points out that the Chinese construction aid in the Third World was not a linear transfer of resources and information from China to the foreign land, but also a reflection of China’s internalization of the information feedback made from the overseas circumstances. This helps us better understand the dialectic inside-outside relation between China and the World. The perspective from a global framework in which China embeds itself can also provide historical reference for a more appropriate self-position and self-reflex of the ongoing Belt and Road Initiative.
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Notes
- 1.
The most typical cases should be “Concrete Utopia” on the architectural heritage of socialist Yugoslavia in 2018 fall, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) which has aroused heated discussion. Similar cases included “The Lost Vanguard: Soviet Modernist Architecture”, 1922–1932, MoMA, 2007. At the centenary of the October Revolution of Russia, a series of exhibitions were staged included “Red Star Over Russia: A Revolution in Visual Culture, 1905–55” (Tate Modern, 2017); “A Revolutionary Impulse: The Rise of the Russian Avant-Garde (MoMA, 2017); “Chagall, Lissitzky, Malevitch: L'Avant-Garde Russe Vitebsk, 1918–1922” (Centre Pompidou, 2018).
- 2.
In the early 1950s, there were still modernist works done such as Children's Hospital in Beijing and Wenyuan Building in Tongji University, Shanghai. Xia Changshi's architectural experiment in response to the hot and humid climate in Guangzhou took place almost at the same time with the plans of Le Corbusier, Jean-Pierre, Fry & Drew in Chandigarh, India. Both sides shared substantial technical similarities. Both were different variants of the localization of the principles of modernism practiced in two new Asian countries. In addition, in 1956, Jiang Weihong and Jin Zhiqiang published “We Want Modern Architecture” in Journal of Architecture and sparked a small circle debate before the trend was soon interrupted.
- 3.
For instance, the characteristics of standardization, prefabrication, collectivization, mass production, and low cost for a mass society.
- 4.
China abandoned this term after since the Sino-Soviet split and instead proposed new principles: revolutionary realism and revolutionary romanticism.
- 5.
From a speech by Fang Yi, Director of the Foreign Economic and Trade Commission, at the Meeting of the Diplomatic Envoys of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, January 1, 1966, Biography of Fang Yi.
- 6.
“Documents and Regulations of the National Basic Construction Commission, the Bureau of Foreign Economic Liaison, etc. on the Foreign Aid Design Work Conference” (1965.2–1965.8), Shanghai Municipal Archives (B 32-2-1-121).
- 7.
In his late years, Chen Dengao published Tropical Architecture (redai jianzhu) based on his long-term survey and design practice in tropical regions such as Africa and the Middle East (China Construction Industry Press, 1989).
- 8.
Report of Shanghai Textile Industry Bureau on Re-requesting Help to Solve the issues of Foreign Aid Design Cadres” (1963.2.25), Shanghai Municipal Archives (A36-2-629-48).
- 9.
The design was already completed by 1965 led by chief architect Dai Nianci. However, due to the turmoil of Sri Lanka's political situation, the construction only began in 1970.
- 10.
The design was completed in 1975 by the Design Institute of the Construction and Research Institute of the National Basic Construction Commission.
- 11.
From my interview with Kironde Lusugga, a retired engineer in Tanzania, July 2019, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
- 12.
As the largest single foreign aid project in Chinese history, the Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA) has once again received greater attention in recent years under the background of BRI projects and research. Most commentators, however, still understand it in terms of infrastructure or development projects in a broad sense, ignoring that it has 93 stations in total (including the Dar es Salaam Terminal) of great architectural significance. In fact, modern transportation architecture such as railway stations was a specific symbol of modernity in the early stage of industrialization.
- 13.
In the tradition of critical theory, whether this production politics has reproduced alienation or essentially repeated the capitalist logic has been a subject of ongoing debate. This debate cannot be clear without a concrete and historical settings which is not contained by this article.
- 14.
From my visit to the Dar Es Salaam Architectural Heritage Centre (DARCH) and my interview with Aida Mulokozi, the director of the Centre, July 2019. In the interview, we talked about the industrial architectural heritage of Tanzania's early days of decolonization. Aida told me that their current protection plan of architectural heritage can only cover the colonial period, and there was only one post-independence architecture listed as heritage (which is the brutalist Kariakoo Market by B.J. Amuli).
- 15.
From the reference book Basic Data Collection on Design of Foreign Aid Complete Projects (Volume 2 of Tanzania) edited by the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations in 1976; also from my interview of Mr. Shu Xiansui, a former Beijing textile expert, August 2019, Beijing, China
- 16.
Ghana's President Kwame Nkrumah was among the earliest to theorize neocolonialism. His work Neocolonialism - The Last Stage of Imperialism (1965) is a classic literature of this thought which directly inspired Samir Amin and other thinkers of Dependence Theory.
- 17.
I interviewed three veteran workers of Friendship Textile Factory, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, July 2019. Two of them joined the factory in 1968 and the other one in 1970. All of them are currently working in factory management board (re-employment after retirement).
- 18.
Based on my limited observation, there are two exceptions. One is the dormitory at some train stations of Tazara for workers must be on duty at all times; the other one is state farms for people have no possibility for daily commute in rural areas.
- 19.
From my interview with resident, Mr. Ali Mussa, August 2019, Zanzibar, Tanzania.
- 20.
For example, Tanzania's newspaper The Nationalist reported on May 6, 1967, that President Nyerere inspected the textile factory; on July 24, 1969, Nationalist reported Tanzanian revolutionaries, Minister of Commerce and Industry, A.M. Babu's speech to workers in front of the main office building, with Chinese technical representatives in the factory sat at his side.
- 21.
It can be a good question that did Xia Changshi's experimental passive cooling architecture in Guangzhou in the 1950s and the establishment of the Institute of Subtropical Architecture Research in South China play a role in foreign aid project in Africa in the following two decades. But my preliminary research found no evidence of this knowledge transfer path (Interview with Professors Peng Changxin and Xiao Yiqiang from South China University of Science and Technology, July 2018, Guangzhou). I was also benefited from the discussion with Prof Feng Jiang from the same institute in 2017.
- 22.
“Some Experiences of Shanghai Light Industry Design Institute of the Ministry of Light Industry on Implementing Foreign Aid Design Guidelines”. Shanghai Municipal Archives (B 163-2-1562-107).
- 23.
Ditto.
- 24.
“Notice of the State Capital Construction Committee and the Foreign Economic Liaison Committee” Issued “Regulations on Several Issues Concerning Foreign Aid Design Work (Draft)” (1965.5.28) Shanghai Municipal Archives (B 32-2-121).
- 25.
Architectural Translation Series-Architectural Design 1964, No. 3, 4, 8, 10, 11, 12.
- 26.
Climate and geological data are listed as “necessary data” for foreign aid project practitioners.
- 27.
It can be found from the papers of Chen Dengao and others aforementioned.
- 28.
In the report from the circular inspection team, 1973, it was stated that, strictly speaking, the damaged condition of most buildings was light (Biography of Fang Yi). In my interview with Mr. Shu Xiansui, he also mentioned that many recipient countries did not care about those issues that much but it was the Chinese side that insisted to find out an explanation.
- 29.
“Notice of the State Basic Construction Committee and the Foreign Economic Liaison Committee Issued “Regulations on Several Issues Concerning Foreign Aid Design Work (Draft)” (1965.5.28) Shanghai Municipal Archives (B32-2-121).
- 30.
In fact, as early as 1973, Nigeria, with better economic conditions due to oil trade, had accepted technical support from China but was covered the Nigerian funding. That is to say, before the reform of 1979, China had preliminarily experienced a quasi-market contracting service overseas. But it was only a special case of course.
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Liu, Y. (2022). New China and the New World: Three Lines to Understand China's Early Architectural Foreign Aid. In: Xue, C.Q., Ding, G. (eds) Exporting Chinese Architecture. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-2786-7_2
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