Concessions in China

Concessions in China were a group of concessions that existed during the late Imperial China and the Republic of China, which were governed and occupied by foreign powers, and are frequently associated with colonialism and imperialism.

China in 1910

The concessions had extraterritoriality and were enclaves inside key cities that became treaty ports. All the concessions have been dissolved in the present day.

History

Imperial China period

Imperial China granted the concessions during the latter Qing Dynasty period (1644–1911), as a result of the series of "Unequal Treaties". They began in 1842's Treaty of Nanjing with the United Kingdom. Under each treaty, China was usually obligated to open more treaty ports for trade and lease out more territory as part of the concession or surrender it completely. The one exception that preceded this period was Macau, which had been leased in 1557 to the Kingdom of Portugal, during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644); Portugal continued to pay rent up to 1863 to stay in Macau.[1]

There were a varying number of concessions in each city. For example, the concessions in Tianjin reached a total of nine at the height of the era. The concessions were usually under the control of a single Western power or the Empire of Japan. However, in the Shanghai International Settlement, the United Kingdom and the United States merged their concessions, while the French retained their separate French Concession.

Operations

In these concessions, the citizens of each foreign power were given the right to freely inhabit, trade, do missionary reductions, and travel. They developed their own sub-cultures, isolated and distinct from the intrinsic Chinese culture, and colonial administrations attempted to give their concessions "homeland" qualities. Churches, public houses, and various other western commercial institutions sprang up in the concessions. In the case of Japan, its own traditions and language naturally flourished. Some of these concessions eventually had a more advanced architecture of each originating culture than most cities back in the countries of the origin of the foreign powers. Over time, and without formal permission, Britain, France, Japan and the United States established their own postal systems within their concession and trade areas.[2] Following Chinese complaints over the loss of postal revenue and the lack of customs inspections, all of them were abolished at the end of 1922.[3]

Chinese were originally forbidden from most of the concessions, but to improve commercial activity and services, by the 1860s most concessions permitted Chinese, but treated them like second-class citizens as they were not citizens of the foreign state administering the concession. They eventually became the majority of the residents inside the concessions. Non-Chinese in the concessions were generally subject to consular law, and some of these laws applied to the Chinese residents.

Law

Each concession also had its own police force and different legal jurisdictions with their own separate laws. Thus, an activity might be legal in one concession but illegal in another. Many of the concessions also maintained their own military garrison and a standing army. Military and police forces of the Chinese government were sometimes present. Some police forces allowed Chinese, others did not.

Republic of China period

The Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, built in 1923 and The Customs House, built in 1927, Shanghai

The foreign concessions continued in the mainland Republic of China (1912–1949) period. In major cities like Shanghai and Tianjin, because there were so many jurisdictions, criminals could commit a crime in one jurisdiction and then easily escape to another. This became a major problem during the Republic of China period, with the rise of post–Imperial Warlord era and the collapse of central authority in the 1920s–30s. Crime often flourished, especially organized crime by different warlord groups.

Some efforts were made by the foreign powers to have the different police forces cooperate and work together, but not with significant success. The image of gangsters and Triad societies connected with the major cities and concessions of the period is often due to extraterritoriality within the cities.

At the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), the standing army in the Japanese concessions would be used against the mainland Republic of China and Chinese forces.

List of concessions

Country	Concession	Location (modern name)	Year established	Year dissolved	Note
International	Shanghai International Settlement	Shanghai	1863	1945	Formed from the British and American concessions
	Beijing Legation Quarter	Beijing	1861	1945
	Gulangyu Island	Xiamen	1903	1945
Austria-Hungary	Austro-Hungarian concession in Tianjin	Tianjin	1902	1917	Ceded to Italy after WWI
Belgium	Belgian concession in Tianjin	Tianjin	1902	1931	[4]
France	Kwang-Chou-Wan leased territory	Zhanjiang	1898	1946	[5]
	French Concession	Shanghai	1849	1946
	French Concession in Shamian Island, Guangzhou	Guangzhou	1861	1946
	French Concession in Hankou	Hankou	1896	1946
	French concession in Tianjin	Tianjin	1861	1946
	French Railway, Kunming	Kunming	1904	1940	After the French, WWII saw a significant influx of American troops.
Germany	Kiautschou Bay leased territory	Qingdao	1898	1914
	German concession in Hankou	Hankou	1895	1917
	German concession in Tianjin	Tianjin	1895	1917
Italy	Italian concession in Tianjin	Tianjin	1901	1947
Japan	Kwantung Leased Territory/South Manchuria Railway Zone	Dalian	1905	1945	Obtained from Russia
	Kiautschou Bay leased territory	Qingdao	1914	1922	Obtained from Germany
	Japanese concession in Tianjin	Tianjin	1898	1943
	Japanese concession in Hankou	Hankou	1898	1943
	Japanese concession in Chongqing	Chongqing	1897	1943
	Japanese concession in Suzhou	Suzhou	1897	1943
	Japanese concession in Hangzhou	Hangzhou	1897	1943
	Japanese concession in Shashi	Shashi	1898	1943
Portugal	Portuguese Macau	Macau	1557	1999
Russia	Russian Dalian	Dalian	1898	1905
	Russian concession in Tianjin	Tianjin	1900	1924
	Russian concession in Hankou	Hankou	1896	1924
	Chinese Eastern Railway, Harbin	Harbin	1896	1952
Soviet Union	Soviet concession in Dalian	Dalian	1945	1955
United Kingdom	New Territories, Hong Kong	Hong Kong	1898	1997
	Weihaiwei leased territory	Weihai	1898	1930	Liugong Island remained under British control as a separate territory until 1940
	Liugong Island	Weihai	1930	1940	Formerly part of Weihaiwei leased territory since 1898[6]
	British concession in Tianjin	Tianjin	1860	1943
	British concession in Hankou	Hankou	1861	1927
	British concession in Jiujiang	Jiujiang	1861	1927
	British concession in Zhenjiang	Zhenjiang	1861	1929
	British concession in Shamian Island, Guangzhou	Guangzhou	1861	1945
	British concession in Amoy	Xiamen	1852	1930
	British concession in Dalian	Dalian	1858	1860
	British concession in Shanghai	Shanghai	1846	1863	Merged to form Shanghai International Settlement
	Trading warehouses at Tengchong (Tengyue)	Yunnan	Late 19th/early 20th century.		Still standing, with bullet holes. British diplomat Augustus Margary was murdered here in 1875. Consulate built 1921.
United States	American concession in Shanghai	Shanghai	1848	1863	Merged to form Shanghai International Settlement
	American concession in Tianjin	Tianjin	1860	1902	Merged to form British concession in Tianjin

See also

• Unequal treaty
• List of Chinese treaty ports
• Century of humiliation
• Sick man of Asia

Notes

1. Joseph Timothy Haydn (1885). Dictionary of dates, and universal reference. [With] (18 ed.). Oxford University. p. 522. MACAO (in Quang-tong, S. China) was given to the Portuguese as a commercial station in 1586 (in return for their assistance against pirates), subject to an annual tribute, which was remitted in 1863. Here Camoens composed part of the "Lusiad."
2. U.S. Postal Agency in Shanghai
3. Unequal Treaties and China (Volume 1)
4. Anne-Marie Brady; Douglas Brown (2013). Foreigners and Foreign Institutions in Republican China. Routledge. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-415-52865-8.
5. Geoffrey C. Gunn (1 November 2016). Wartime Macau: Under the Japanese Shadow. Hong Kong University Press. p. 28. ISBN 978-988-8390-51-9.
6. Fiona de Londras; Siobhán Mullally (4 December 2014). Irish Yearbook of International Law. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 24. ISBN 978-1-84946-975-3.

References

• Nield, Robert (2010). The China Coast: Trade and the First Treaty Ports. Hong Kong: Joint Publishing Company. ISBN 9789620429873.

Further reading

• Panikkar, K. M. (1953). Asia and Western dominance, 1498–1945, by K.M. Panikkar. London: G. Allen and Unwin.

External links

• Treaty ports and extraterritoriality in 1920s China