历史时期全球化作用下的城市空间转变——以1890s~1930s广州东山地区为例

世界城市历史研究作为新兴的研究领域,虽然突破了世界城市经典理论的“现代主义”视角,证明全球化对城市空间转变的作用具有长期性,但仍局限在“经济主义”的分析范畴之内,将经济因素视为决定性动力。20世纪初期,广州东山地区完成由“乡村地区”向“社会精英阶层居住地”的空间转变,促使城市空间格局由“东村西富”变为“东贵西富”。这场具有历史意义的空间转变是教会、华侨、政府、官僚4种动力相互作用、相继推动的结果。东山地区的发展历史表明,除经济联系外,城市的全球文化联系对空间转变同样具有重要推动作用。在一些特定的城市或城市中的特定地区,社会文化动力对城市空间转变具有决定性的作用。

Spatial Transformation in Globalization: A Case Study of Dongshan,Guangzhou in 1890s-1930s

Criticizing the classical world city theories as “presentism”, the historical studies of world cities have become emerging research subjects in this new century. Although many researches have examined the spatial transformation of world cities in a “long-term” perspective, few lights are shed on the cultural, social and political elements. Using the historical materials, such as maps, literatures and reports, this article chooses Dongshan, a well-known historical district in the east side of Guangzhou, as a case, and attempts to rediscover its spatial transformation in globalization at the turn of the 19^th and 20^th centuries. It finds that, in the historical period, the transformation of Dongshan, from village to residential area of bureaucratic elites, extends the urban area sharply and changes the spatial structure of the whole city. Four kinds of dynamics are identified and integrated as a special model in promoting the spatial transformation: 1) The Christianity, as the beginning one, invests in the district first and provides medical and educational facilities to returnees and bureaucratic elites; 2) The oversea Chinese, as the basic one, chooses to dwell here and provides capital to the Christianity and governmental projects; 3) The government, as the guiding one, promotes modern urban planning to reshape the space and plays as a policy constitutor. Its permissions for mission work and encouragement in investment from overseas Chinese are crucial for the former two dynamics; 4) The bureaucratic elites build houses here and finally create the image of the district as a prosperous place. The story of Dongshan could challenge the classical world city theories in three aspects: 1) It provides a Chinese case to prove the importance of historical views again; 2) Not just global economic links, the global cultural factors, such as the Christianity, the cultural links between overseas Chinese and homeland, could also promote urban developments. The economic variable is not as decisive as Friedmann argues; 3) Especially in Chinese cities, the role of government and bureaucratic elites are important, but neglected in classical theories. Influenced by the classical theories, most of the historical studies on world cities still focus on the economic factors, this article attempts to argue that, non-economic factors, including cultural, social and political ones, should be involved in future analysis.