Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Identity Discourses and Communities in International Events, Festivals and Spectacles pp 153–170Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

China and the World Fairs (1915–2010): Blending Nationalism and Internationalism

  • Chapter

  • 420 Accesses

Part of the book series: Leisure Studies in a Global Era ((LSGE))

Abstract

The twentieth century saw the fall of the Qing dynasty, the establishment and dissolution of the Republic of China (ROC) and the rise of Communist China. Politics, education, economics, culture and other social institutions have each played a part in reflecting and stimulating the transformation of China from a culture-bound empire to a modern nation-state. Since the mid-nineteenth century, international festivals and spectacles have facilitated the development of Chinese society and changed Chinese people’s way of thinking. The World Fair (or World Exposition or Expo) is one of the international events that have considerably contributed to the transformation of Chinese people’s identity and the country’s place in the world. This chapter examines China’s participation in World Fairs between 1915 and 2010, focusing on China’s nation branding and identity narratives.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Bibliography

  • Anderlini, J. and Hornby, L. (2014) ‘China overtakes US as world’s largest goods trader’. Financial Times, 10 January.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barboza, D. (2010) ‘Expo oilers Shanghai a turn in the spotlight’. New York Times, 29 April.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baxter, L. (2011) The bond of friendship — Reflections on China and Britain commemorating the Shanghai Expo 2010. Salt Lake City: Woodland Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Branigan, T. (2010) ‘Shanghai 2010 Expo is set to be the world’s most expensive party’. The Guardian, 21 April.

    Google Scholar 

  • Callahan, W. (2012) ‘Shanghai’s alternative lutures: The World Expo, citizen intellectuals, and China’s new civil society’. China Information, 26(2), pp.251–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Central Daily (1938a) ‘Minister ol economy and trade explains the importance oi the expo’. Central Daily, 18 October.

    Google Scholar 

  • Central Daily (1938b) ‘Suggestions lor the Chinese delegation to the expo’. Central Daily, 21 October.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, R. (2010) ‘AstraZeneca answers the great call ol China’. The Telegraph, 5 June.

    Google Scholar 

  • Expo 2010 Shanghai Editorial Office (ed.) (2010) An overview of the World Fair Shanghai China 2010. Shanghai: Eastern Publishing Center.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feng, L., Yan, W. and Li, H. (2010) ‘China and the Expo’. Guangming Daily, 24 April.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fernsebner, S. R. (2002) Material modernities: China’s participation in World Fairs and expositions, 1876–1955. PhD thesis, University of California, San Diego.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fernsebner, S. R. (2010) ‘Expo 2010: A historical perspective’. The Journal of Asian Studies, 69(3), pp.669–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gao, G. (2013) ‘China’s march to “wealth and power”’. IPS. Available at: http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/07/books-chinas-march-to-wealth-and-power/ [Accessed 15 January 2014]

  • Guo, K. (2010) ‘Two presidents of the Republic of China supported the Expo’. Jinghua Daily, 26 April.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hillman, B. (2003) ‘Tears of rage: Chinese nationalism and the Belgrade Embassy bombing’, in Liew, L. H. and Wang, S. (eds.) Chinese nationalism, democracy and national integration in China. London: Routledge, pp.65–84.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hogg, C. (2010) ‘Shanghai Expo is China’s new showcase to the world’. BBC online. Available at: http://news.bbc.co.Uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8651057.stm [Accessed 20 January 2014].

  • Hong, R, Ping, W. and Xiong, H. (2005) ‘Beijing ambitions: An analysis of the Chinese elite sport system and its Olympic strategy for the 2008 Olympic Games’. International Journal of the History of Sport, 22(4), pp.510–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hosaka, T. A. (2010) ‘China surpasses Japan as world’s no. 2 economy’. Washington Post, 16 August.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hsu, I. C. Y. (2000) The rise of modern China. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huang, J. (2013) The China pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Expo. Beijing: Higher Education Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunter Douglas Singapore (2011) ‘Captivating China pavilion at Expo 2010 Shanghai China’. Make a Difference, 47(7), pp.2–5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, A. (2008) Expo: International expositions 1851–2010. London: V&A Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, H. (1994) ‘Economic Nationalism in New States’, in Hutchinson, J. and Smith, A. D. (eds.) Nationalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.236–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kishlansky, M., Geary, P. and O’Brien, P. (2008) Civilization in the West. New York: Pearson Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kurtenbach, E. (2010) ‘Shanghai World Expo ends after drawing record 72 million visitors’. Associated Press, 31 October.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leitsinger, M. and Kent, J. (2010) ‘Shanghai rolls out record world’s expo’. CNN. Available at: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/04/30/china. shanghai.world.expo/ [Accessed 5 December 2013]

  • Liu, T. J. (2001) ‘Restless Chinese nationalist currents in the 1980s and the 1990s: A comparative reading of River elegy and China can say no’, in Wei, G. C. X. and Liu, X. (eds.) Chinese nationalism in perspective: Historical and recent cases. Santa Barbara: Praeger, pp.205–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lu, Z. and Hong, F. (2013) Sport and nationalism in China. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luo, J. (2009) ‘A landmark in the history of China’s participation in the World Fair — “Regulations Regarding the World Fair”’. Social Scientist, 146(6), pp.35–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luscombe, J. (2014) ‘World expos and global power relations’, in Merkel, U. (ed.) Power, politics and international events — Socio-cultural analyses of festivals and spectacles. London: Routledge, pp.67–84.

    Google Scholar 

  • M. A. (2010) ‘Shanghai’s time’. The Economist [online]. Available at: http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2010/05/shanghai_expo [Accessed 10 June 2014].

  • Macartney, J. (2010) ‘Size matters at Shanghai Expo 2010’. The Times, 1 May.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacKinnon, M. (2010) ‘Expo 2010 confirms how China has moved to World’s centre stage’. The Globe and Mail, 30 April.

    Google Scholar 

  • Markwyn, A. (2008) ‘Economic partner and exotic other: China and Japan at San Francisco’s Panama-Pacific International Exposition’. The Western Historical Quarterly, 39(4), pp.439–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meinhold, B. (2010) ‘China pavilion unveiled at the 2010 Shanghai Expo’, 15 February.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Art Museum ol China (2007) ‘Regulations lor the Expo in Modern China’, in National Art Museum ol China (ed.) 2006 Yearbook of National Art Museum of China. Beijing: National Art Museum ol China, pp.515–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pan, L. and Du, H. (2001) ‘The Expo and the transformation ol China’s national image’. Reform & Opening, 9, pp.196–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Qiu, Z. (2002) ‘The rise ol the concept ol commercial law in modern China’. Zhejiang Social Sciences, 6, pp. 164–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rawls Jr., W. (1982) ‘China exhibit captivates crowds at World Fair’. New York Times, 5 May.

    Google Scholar 

  • Richburg, K. B. (2010) ‘Shanghai prepares World’s Fair while wondering about costs’. Washington Post, 19 April.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roche, M. (2000) Mega-events and modernity: Olympics, expos and the construction of global culture. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • San Francisco Chronicle (1915) ‘Relations with orient helped by Exposition’. San Trancisco Chronicle, 15 January.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shanghai Scientific and Technological Literature Publishing House (ed.) (2002) China and the World Tair: A history. Shanghai: Shanghai Scientific and Technological Literature Publishing House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shen Daily (1926) ‘The Expo in Philadelphia’. Shen Daily, 8 January.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shen Daily (1938) ‘The government decides not to participate in the New York Expo’. Shen Daily, 10 November.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tan, S. (1981) The collection of Tan Sitong, Vol. 1. Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tu, K. (1916) Travel notes of the 1915 Expo. Shanghai: The Commercial Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waldmeir, P. (2010) ‘Shanghai: Expo has a transforming effect’. Tinancial Times, 27 October.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, D. (2010) ‘China’s trade relations with the United States in perspective’. Journal of Current Chinese Affairs, 39(3), pp. 165–210.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, M. (2003) ‘China at the 1915 Panama-Pacific international exposition’. Republican Archives, 3, p.9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, S. (2010) ‘Zhongnanhai and the Shanghai Expo’. People’s Daily, 29 April.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watts, J. (2010) ‘China overtakes US as world’s biggest energy consumer’. The Guardian, 3 August.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wen, J. (2010) ‘Full text ol Premier Wen’s speech at Expo 2010 Shanghai China Summit Forum’. Xinhua, Available at: http://news.xinhuanet.com/ english2010/china/2010–10/31/c_13583961.htm [Accessed 15 January 2014].

  • Willmott, H. P. (2008) The great crusade. Dulles: Potomac Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • The World Bank (2014) ‘GDP growth (annual %)’, Available at: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG [Accessed 20 January 2014].

  • Yu, L. (ed.) (2009) China and the Expo: 2852–2008. Shanghai: Oriental Publishing Centre.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, P. (2010) ‘China pavilion reveals secrets’. CNTV, Available at: http://english.cntv.cn/program/newsupdate/20100502/101080.shtml [Accessed 20 January 2014].

  • Zhao, S. (2004) A nation state by construction. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zheng, Z. (1916) ‘Welcome back, Delegates to Panama’. Chinese Industry, 1 March.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Lu Zhouxiang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Brighton, UK

    Udo Merkel

Copyright information

© 2015 Lu Zhouxiang

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Zhouxiang, L. (2015). China and the World Fairs (1915–2010): Blending Nationalism and Internationalism. In: Merkel, U. (eds) Identity Discourses and Communities in International Events, Festivals and Spectacles. Leisure Studies in a Global Era. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137394934_8

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation