A Study Of Postal Workers And Postal Trade Union In Shanghai During The Repulican Period

There were developed postal services since ancient times. It had both post for government and for civil service. It may be said land of post.However,the post in modern sense appeared after the opium war. With the signing of the treaty of five-treaty-ports, imperialism set up the private post office on the pretext of no post in China. Chinese Maritime Customs Service launched postal service in the year of1866. Customs started to run the post in1878.There had postal service where there were customs by1896. Guangxu Emperor ordered to open Qing postal and take the management system of customs in1896.It had a heavy western bent.With the transformation process of China’s modern society, the post was given birth to and rapidly developed, which was a rare profitable state-owned business in the National government period. Postal worker, a modern worker groups were appeared. They handled all kinds of postal businesses and provided convenience for people. They had a close relation with all levels of society.Shanghai was the global city. It has well-developed economic, which was the economic and cultural center of China. Disseminating information, shipping packages and exchange all depended on the post. Postal workers had become the foot of the nation and society, which pushed the transformation process of society.The paper is concerned with social history, while put postal workers in historical context of transformation of modern society. It studies the life, wages, benefits and working condition. It shows that postal workers’social status were higher than the general industrial workers. The paper will reveal the relation on postal workers and the development of modern post, postal workers and the transformation process of shanghai’s modern society.Spirit of modern post was independent examination system. Who passed the examination could work in post. This was the different between the postal workers and the general industrial workers. With the development of post, the postal workers’groups in Shanghai is expanding. A lot of knowledgeable young people join into the post. The postal workers had direct responsibility for receiving and dispatching, transporting and delivering. Though the post was a rare profitable state-owned business, but the treatment of lower postal worker wasn’t good. However, when the Chinese nation was hit by foreign invasion, the postal workers could organize volunteers to deliver and keep the peace. Besides, they organized medical teams to help people.Their numbers might be small, but due to the particularity of the profession, the postal workers were the courting object of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. The Communist Party had lead many strikes for better terms and Control postal trade union. After the4.12coup, the Kuomintang made the postal trade union be incorporated into the formal by purging and restructuring. Nanking national government made great efforts in managing postal workers. Such as, opening classes to make clear their thinking. Meanwhile it launched a purging movement among postal workers and control postal workers by secret society. The Kuomintang got roped in the cadres of postal trade union by money and promotion. The postal trade union was politically close to the Kuomintang and honored as model union. The postal trade union was the pillars of labor movement system in Nanking national government time.Shanghai postal trade union was the first in seven unions and had very high status, while the social effect was powerful. Shanghai postal trade union took part in social activities actively, resolve labor disturbances and hold various sports activities. It organized all kinds of anti-Japanese patriotic movement in crisis.It struggled with nation by striking for political rights.it not only paid close attention to postal service actively, but also national post.The interaction between postal trade union and the state and society shows the co-operational and confrontational situation. It advocated labor cooperation, while against the class struggle. The Shanghai postal trade union was the typical representative of yellow union, showed the complexity of modern yellow union.