Research On Hometown Associations In Political Movement In Shanghai From The Perspective Of Social Governence (1840-1949)

Since opening port, Shanghai has attracted a large number of immigrants towork here and to have trade activities. These immigrants have been continuouslygiving strength to the development of Shanghai. With the growing immigrant population, immigrants from all over the country, due to survival and to safeguard their own interests as well as many other complex factors, organized all kindsof hometown associations based on the ancestry, kinship and geography. There are typically Four Ming Hall of Ningbo, Zhejiang, Shanghai and NingboAssociation;Association Shanghai and Fujian, Three Mountain Resort, Guangzhou-Zhaoqing hall, Shandong and ShanghaiAssociation, Jianghuai and ShanghaiAssociation and many other hometown associations in Shanghai.Although these groups declared not to participate in political affairs in their “Articles ofAssociation”, their presence could often be found in modern politicalcampaigns: they have attended all the nationalist movement in modern times and played an important role in the Revolution of1911, the nationalist movement,the May4th Movement, Revolution,Anti-Japanese War and the liberation war.The existence and the development of these hometown associations was synchronized not only with the Shanghai urban commodity economy and market economy, but also with the changing political environment in China.Thus, the rise and fall of Shanghai hometown associations had a very close relation with the centuries’changes of Shanghai as well as the political change and nationalism. Many hometown associations have established close ties with Chinese Communist Party.By using a multidisciplinary research method of sociology, history and political science, this essay gives an objective comment and a deep research on the motivation of the modern Shanghai hometown associations’participation to Politic al movements, the Chinese Communist Party’s mobilization as well as the modern hometown associations’role and influence in political movements. This research might provide historical reference to Chinese government’s management of remote hometown associations and other issues in nowadays.