Comic China: Representing Common Ground, 1890–1945

187 Pages·2018·6.559 MB·English

by  Wendy Gan

COMIC CHINA

Wendy Gan
CO M I C C H I N A
Representing Common Ground,
1890–1945
TEMPLE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Philadelphia • Rome • Tokyo
TEMPLE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122
www.temple.edu/tempress
Copyright © 2018 by Temple University—Of The Commonwealth System
of Higher Education 
All rights reserved
Published 2018
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Gan, Wendy, author.
Title: Comic China : representing common ground, 1890–1945 / Wendy Gan.
Description: Philadelphia : Temple University Press, [2018] | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017056011 (print) | LCCN 2018016282 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781439916315 (E-book) | ISBN 9781439916292 (cloth : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: East and West. | Asia—Foreign public opinion, Western—
History. | China—In popular culture. | Western countries—Humor.
Classification: LCC CB251 (ebook) | LCC CB251 .G35 2018 (print) | DDC
909/.09821—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017056011
The paper used in this publication meets the requirements of the American
National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed
Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992
Printed in the United States of America
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations vii
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1 Dreaming with China: Chinoiserie and Musical Comedy 15
2 Ernest Bramah’s Chinese Fictions: Chinoiserie and
Comfortable Familiarity 37
3 Comic Mastery: Arthur Henderson Smith and J.O.P. Bland 57
4 Leveling Laughter: Travel Writing in China between the Wars 81
5 Comic Parity: The New Shanghailander, Likability, and
Amiable Humor 103
Conclusion 131
Notes 135
Bibliography 159
Index 169

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure I.1. A Chinese Postcard: “Isn’t it Funny!” 2
Figure 1.1. “A Chanson for Canton” 31
Figure 2.1. Pigtail Pulling: Example 1 43
Figure 2.2. Pigtail Pulling: Example 2 43
Figure 2.3. Pigtail Pulling in San Toy: Example 3 44
Figure 5.1. “I Like the Chinese!” by Friedrich Schiff 105
Figure 5.2. Chinese Ladies, by Friedrich Schiff 106
Figure 5.3. Chinese Wheelbarrow Ride, by Sapajou 107
Figure 5.4. Compradore, by H. H. 108
Figure 5.5. Shroff, by H. Hayter 108
Figure 5.6. “The Ambulatory Furrier,” by Friedrich Schiff 112

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
It hank the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study and the Harvard-Yenching
Institute for a joint fellowship that enabled me to complete the writing of
this book. The year I spent in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was particularly
fortifying, as both the Radcliffe and the Harvard-Yenching Institutes give
scholars the freedom to dive into their work, to explore, and to allow their
curiosity to lead them to surprising places, without the anxiety of having to ac-
count for the use of their time. It was refreshing and affirming to be trusted as
a scholar to do what scholars do best: read, think, write (and sometimes con-
verse over a shared meal—the catering in both institutes was always splendid).
A month-long fellowship at the Huntington Library was also both restorative
and productive. The Huntington Gardens provided a wonderful environment
for meditating on where this project was heading, and the library proved to
be an excellent resource and a congenial place to work. I am grateful to the
Huntington Library for the opportunity to be briefly part of its community of
fellows. I also acknowledge the support of my department and the University
of Hong Kong in granting me a sabbatical that paved the way for my New
England sojourn.
This book has required some delving into the archives and, being based in
Hong Kong, I was dependent on the assistance of a number of individuals. I
am grateful to Fred Burwell, archivist at Beloit College, for answering my que-
ries so patiently and for sending me scans from the Arthur Henderson Smith
files. David K. Frasier, from the Lilly Library, University of Indiana, also
deserves acknowledgment for his kind help in identifying the Emily Hahn
papers I needed and for arranging to have them copied and sent to me. My