A Study Of The Lower Social Group In Shanghai Concession

This paper mainly studies the lower social group in Shanghai concession. Begin by talking about a concession in the development, discusses the lower class background, the reason into concession, their composition and living conditions. The Opium War make Chinese became a semi colonial and semi feudal country from an independent feudal country. The structure of the original social has be changed. Shanghai concession is the earliest, largest concession that the imperialism set up in China. It is a typical of the China social change. Due to the disintegration of the self-sufficient small-scale peasant economy, Many farmers and craftsmen are bankrupt. A safe social environment of the Shanghai concession to promote the the economy development. A lot of jobs have been created. The bankrupt everfount into Shanghai concession, absorbed into the city development.In the concession, original simin structure replaced by a new standard of social stratification with career, money and status. Wherein, the possession of social wealth, power, education level and other areas all in an inferior position people constitute the lower social group in Shanghai concession. This group include lower staff, workers, coolies, homeless and individual producers. In these lower social groups, for native place part, due to the limitation of the journey, most of them from the county or province near Shanghai, include Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei, Zhejiang, Shandong and other places. Seen from the age, because the young adults has more chances to make a living and more likely to survive. So most of them are young adults. Seen from the gender, due to man’s strong survival ability and less family in the concession. So most of them are males. At the same time, for women’s employment in the industry more and more in concessions with the development of business. More and more women go out of their homes to society. Women’s psychological and social status have been improved.The Shanghai concession is different from the traditional Chinese system of society, economy and customs. It has an advanced social system which is independent of Chinese traditional, management and area’s transportation system. It has a great effect on the lower social groups of concession daily life. But at the same time, they are still in the lower social, being oppressed and exploited. Income is the basis of people’s daily life, most of the lower class people’s income is very low. Of course, occupation gender different age has also directly affect their income status. These income generally only barely maintain basic life. In terms of consumption can be divided into dress for dinner, entertainment, education and so on. but the food accounted for most of them. It shows the poverty of their lives and the difficulties to transformation of society.