City Life And Cultural Memory

As an important factor in the research of popular culture, the public leisure places are closely connected with people's daily life. In this paper, the author takes physical space as analysis object and represents the development of entertainment places from the perspective of changes of space and time. Through representation, the author analyzes the modern citizens'entertainment life as well as cultural image in Hankow. This article also offers a whole picture of people's daily entertainment life as well as the stories and events happened in the public leisure places, aiming to form a historical narration and micro-examination of public leisure places and popular culture.The first chapter investigates the close relationship between traditional leisure places and people's everyday life with case study of street,teahouse and theater.Street or neighborhood is not only a part of a city's transportation system, but also common people's living stage. Being a bridge that links neighbors or even communities together, public entertainments exist everywhere in the street. Teahouse is a typical public entertainment place in Hankow and also a must need for citizens. They come for the ease and comfortable atmosphere. The busy city life seems to slow down here. With constant development, teahouse turns to be more functional place where people meet, relax and find entertainment. The earliest theater was born from teahouse. In the Period of the Republic of China, theater has become the main stage for local opera. After specialized operation, it is ranked as one of the most popular public leisure places.In the second chapter, the author goes to discuss space function and cultural meaning of new cinema and ballroom. Film is the result of emerging city culture and modern entertainment, which brings a lot of unprecedented fun to Hankow residents. The cinema has raised their curiosity to the outside world. From theater to cinema, it is not just a change of entertainment style. It is an evolutionary of social culture psychology and consciousness that adapt to the development of city life. While cinema is more like a model for people to imitate western life style, ball room provide them a free place to express themselves. Dancing is considered as an important way to follow modern western life style and once was the most fashionable entertainment. However, it is committed that the luxury and extravagance in this place gives some cause for anxiety. That's why reformers and government blame ballroom frequently. Next chapter emphasizes on the population appeared in these public leisure places. The author investigates how people with different jobs, different classes and different cultural backgrounds use these places and how they are tied by the public entertainment life. Audiences have formed the main part of entertainment space. They are from different classes and have different occupations and backgrounds, so that each person's habit is different. Actors try their best to demonstrate superior acting and remarkable singing and dancing, audiences also greatly enjoy the show, but the society shows no approval for the actors. They always belong to lower class and live in poverty. Pedlars work for residents'basic needs and make life more convenient. Thanks for pedlars, the public entertainment life is more vigorous and lively. Female also play vital role in public leisure places who owns more freedom. They anticipate into entertainment activity positively in order to create a "new woman" image. Traditional gender order allows female to pursue their own living spaces.In the forth chapter, the analysis object concentrates on the theater trade association and opera trade association. Theater trade association consists of entertainment owner, while opera trade association is organized by actors. The author explains the organization structure and system of trade association and concludes that there are obvious divergences between trade association and traditional association though the former one also reserves many traditions. Besides, the nation has improved its control ability on trade association. Such condition came into being then that trade association plays a game with local government. On the one hand, the association makes extra effort to increase price. On the other hand, it strives for tax reduction continuously. At the same time, it plays many parts in industry development. It provides mutual aids for the same trade and coordinates with government on behalf of the industry. Interchange and communication turns to be possible.The author also points out the conflicts in public leisure places and reveals the complex contradictory relationship behind these conflicts. Since public leisure places are open to everyone, it's been a target for all kinds of organizations who fight to occupy and make full use of these places, thus numerous conflicts occurred, especially when the living environment is tough and out of order, people have to suffer from hunger, panic or threat of war and what's worse, they can do nothing at all. Collide also happen when owners want to fix or control entertainment space. The government's control ability is weakened under such condition because the society is wrecked by political turmoil, deteriorating economy, moral abnormality and so on. At this time, soldiers in the army are abused for crime of abuse of authority and evil forces.The six chapter discusses the impact social elite brings to the public leisure places. Reformers have left a plenty of articles or records to describe and criticize the popular culture, which is obviously unacceptable at that time. Those local traditions or customs stands for ignorance and backward which should be reformed. Therefore, the elite launch a reformation to local opera according to their ideals. They plant new ideas and revolutionary thoughts in local residents'through performances. Public entertainment is a method for reformers to build civilization and raise residents to a higher moral level. Moreover, reformers also cooperate with local government and open up a lot of new type of public leisure places. Social elite tend to enlighten people and spread their ideas. Government hopes that in this way, it can create a space featured with political significance, inculcating concept of nationalism and ethnic.ihen the author move forward to analyze how local government takes public entertainment under control. In order to avoid any bad effect caused vulgar amusement, government actively limits the public entertainment. This policy also serves for reinforcing social control. In this process, the police actually are the spoke man for government to implement this limitation, which involves under-level local opera, superstition anniversary and also inappropriate day-after-day behavior. A thorough system is set up to censor the content of opera and film. Those which do not comply with morals and regulations will be strictly forbid to publish. At the same time, actors start to gain professional training. At last, the government key up an endeavor to improve the environment in public leisure places, including investigate and improve the hidden danger and public sanitation.In summary, being a microcosm, public leisure places is bound up with residents' daily life in modern Hankow as well as the city's long history. It reflects the development of economy, culture, politics and society. During the period of the Republic of China, after a series of events such as reform, revolution, wars, etc, Hankow's public leisure places and people's entertainment life has been more or less changed due to the elite's reformation and local government's control. However, the popular culture still survives and shows a strong vigor and perseverance.