Nanjing

## Nanjing in the drama

It is still in Winter (shortly before the spring festival on the 11th of February 1937), when Shang Xirui and Chen Renxiang visit Nanjing. Chen Renxiang wears a warm fur trimmed hat in Beijing. His attire in Beijing well contrasts with his fedora hat in Nanjing. We immediately get an impression, the climate of Nanjing is much milder than Beijing. The city is 900 km south-southeast of Beijing.

As for the scenery of the city, we watch the Qinhuai River running through the city centre. On the both side of the riverbank there are numerous restaurants and shops in the drama. Both Laobans enjoy river cruise and drink some wine (and Shang Xirui tastes Nanjing's local cuisine). At that time, the city's landscape was changed due to its new status as a capital city of the Republic of China. Still, the Qihuai river seemed to remain the centre of the city dweller's everyday life.

In the drama, the committee member Liu Hanyun listens a song, named "Qinhuai scenery (qinghuaijing 秦淮景)". At first glance, it just seems to suit to this beautiful scenery in the drama but this scene also implies something totally different. This very lyric was sung in the movie "Flowers of War". The film depicted the Nanjing massacre in December 1937.

Qin Huai Jing 秦淮景. The lyric comes from the film "The Flowers of War"

## Nanjing in the 1930s

As the map below shows, Nanjing is situated on the southeastern bank of the Yangtze/Yangzi river. The city is surrounded by hills and rivers. The Qinhuai river, the branch of the Yangzi River, is divided into two: one flows into the Nanjing City is called the inner river, while the other that borders central Nanjing, is called the outer river. There are two lakes, Xuanwu Lake and Mochou Lake, directly outside of the old city wall. Julius Eigner, who was in Nanjing in the 1930s, described in National Geographic those beautiful lakes as well as the purple mountain, which is located to the east of the city centre, as popular destinations for the city dwellers.

Since the founding of the republic of China in 1912, there was a plan to move the capital to Nanjing. It was also the dream of Sun Yat-sen himself. His dream was first materialized, however, after his death in 1928. The city is lying at a strategic crossroads along a north-south overland route and an east-west riverine route on the Yangzi river. Hence, Nanjing had already played important roles through the history and sometimes served as a capital city before the republican era. Yet, compared to Beijing or Shanghai, the city was politically as well as economically far less important at that time. The city was also severely destructed by the Qing forces in 1864. Consequently, the city needed the fundamental transformation: water supply, electricity as well as road construction. That said, it was already a huge task for the new government to build the capital. The government had also very specific idea, how this new capital should look. The city should be the symbol of modern China. At the same time, Nanjing must represent the long tradition of China. This original plan was never fully accomplished due to the economic problem and political instability of the government. Still, some government buildings, such as the Ministry of Railways, the Ministry of Communications as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, were constructed. These are the prime examples of the east meets west style architectures during the Nanjing Decade and embodied the "new" China. This whole construction plan was yet cut short by the war against Japan. Japanese troop occupied Nanjing in December 1937 and great numbers of civilians were slaughtered (Nanking Massacre).

Charles D. Musgrove: Building a Dream, p. 141.The Ministry of Communication (Julius Eigner: The Rise and Fall of Nanking, p.214.)The front of the Opera House (Julius Eigner: The Rise and Fall of Nanking, p. 213)The Flag of the Republic waved from Nanking's old Drum Tower (Julius Eigner: The Rise and Fall of Nanking, p.200. Photograph by Alfred T. Palmer)Japanese soldiers entering the walled city of Nanjing through the Gate of China

## Literature

Britannica Online Encyclopedia, Nanjing. URL: https://www.britannica.com/place/Nanjing-China

Eigner, Julius: The Rise and Fall of Nanking, in: The National Geographic Magazine Januar-June 1938 Volume LXXIII, 189-224.

Musgrove, Charles D.: Building a Dream. Constructing a National Capital in Nanjing, 1927-1937, in: ESHERICK, Joseph W. (ed.): Remaking the Chinese City. Modernity and National Identity, 1900-1950 (University of Hawai'i Press 1999) 139-157.