Sheng Xuanhuai And Modern Shanghai,

From the perspective of the specific environment in modern Shanghai society, the dissertation tries to use Sheng Xuanhuai's life in four levels e.g. industry, culture, education and public service as the main clues to study how Shanghai affected Sheng and Sheng's role in the development of modern Shanghai industry and their interaction. Both how he dealt with matters and how he dealt with people were concerned. The impact of social background, modern Shanghai on the shaping of his personality, accessing to power and development of his career can not neglected. At the same time, his pioneering work in many industries had promoted the development of Shanghai urban modernization. His prosperous life road has melted into the body of Shanghai society. An evaluation on the effect of the interaction between Sheng and Shanghai society was given in the last party of the dissertation.The three enterprises, China Merchants'Steamship Navigation Company, Cotton Spinning and Weaving Mills and the Imperial Bank of China were established during the Westernization Movement Period. They all adopted the system of"private run with the supervision from the government"and got birth in Shanghai. Their establishment restored the shipping from long foreign monopoly and got the foundation for self-improvement of textile technology and banking business. The experience as a government official in the industries such as shipping, textile and banking industries in modern China, especially those practical experience accumulated from the position as supervisor at China Merchants'Steamship Navigation Company, helped him to cope with the difficulties and frustrations during the modernization and the development with skills.Besides being the managers of many industries and government official, Sheng was also the founder of a number of new style schools including Nan Yang Public School in Shanghai. Today's Nan Yang Public School has become a first-class university in China and cultivated a large number of politicians and many engineering technical personals. The teachers'class, special class and translation institute and other institutions at Nan Yang Public School became the pioneer in modern Chinese education history. With Sheng's devotion and family assets, a famous modern library was established in modern Shanghai. Although it failed to open to the public in the end, a lot of precious books were preserved and a lot of foreign books were translated. It is commendable that Sheng had done a lot for the development of culture and education in modern Shanghai.Sheng was very actively in promoting the public welfare in China, and made great contributions to raising the public awareness of charity in modern Shanghai. Sheng's donating money and goods when they was needed, establishing the Chinese Red Cross personally and doing charity with warm heart were not only close related to his good family tradition of generousness, but also close related with his social resources network and his high position as a supervisor. His control of the companies and his own huge assets were the power and economic base for his charity.Living in modern Shanghai where the social customs had not change a lot, Sheng and his family did be affected by social environment. Playing with prostitutes and home gambling had been an important part of their daily lives. Huge gambling and saving face reflected their ostentatious natural state of mind. It was certain that Sheng indulged in luxury and wanted to live in extravagant way. The so called"Big Event", his funeral, was extension of his prior luxury. This dissertation focuses on the interaction between Xuanhuai and modernShanghai society, along with related events and people in his family and the urban development of Shanghai from the 1870s to 1916. Through memorials to the throne, draft, letters, diaries, literary notes and local folk poems , traces of Sheng were revealed. The interaction point of his life and social change in modern Shanghai meet at four aspects: establishing industries, promoting culture and education, doing public welfare and daily life. This dissertation tried to give a comprehensive and objective comment to the life experience of a key figure in modern Chinese history - Sheng Xuanhuai...