Contents
List of figures xv
Acknowledgments xvii
Introduction 1
A history of "new nature" 2
Gender, architecture, and visual culture 5
The organization of the chapters 7
1. Fluid tradition, splintered modernity 11
Space, time, and modernity 13
The problem of modernity in China 16
The neo-Confucian continuum 17
The discontents of Confucianism 20
Toward a splintered modernity 22
2. The convergence of writing and commerce 27
Imaginative geography and print culture 28
Hybrid journalism 32
Literature of urban consumption 37
Knowing historical experience 40
Wang Tao and courtesan literature 43
The new literati-journalists 47
Han Bangqing and his novel 49
3. Ephemeral households, marvelous things 53
Merchant residences and courtesan houses 53
The "family" business 56
The public boudoir: banquets and tea parties 60
Shifting gender roles 64
Magical and fashionable objects 71
Interior settings 76
Destruction and disillusionment 80
4. The meeting of courtyard and street 84
Changing views of the pleasure quarter 84
Joint production 87
Fluid space 93
Diverse functions 100
Distinct neighborhoods 106
5. Ultimate ingenuity, amorphous crowds 113
The challenge of human ingenuity 113
Marvels on the Bund 118
Flowers of Chessboard Street 121
Streetscapes of Fourth Avenue 125
Spectatorship of street events 131
Markets in the teahouses 136
Shops on First Avenue 140
6. The mingling of magnates and masses
Restaurants 144
Opium houses 148
Storytelling houses 151
Theaters 156
Street parades 164
Carriages and rickshaws 171
Gardens 174
Conclusion 181
Glossary of frequently-used Chinese terms 183
List of Chinese characters 185
Notes 192
References 204
Index 213