Teaching Civilisation: The Role of a French Education in the Development of Modernity in Shanghai

Abstract

One of the most obvious examples of modernity being brought to Asia through trade, infrastructure development and cultural penetration occurred in Shanghai from the middle of the nineteenth century until the end of World War II. While Britain was the dominant economic force in the city, France played a significant role in intellectual and cultural development. During the concession era, Shanghai became known as the Paris of the East. While partly due to the appearance of the French Concession of the metropolis and the “city of lights” entertainment and vice available, somewhat reminiscent of Paris, the modernising French influence came variously from the economic presence, political administration and the civilising mission, which was integral to French imperialism. The establishment of the Université l’Aurore by the French Jesuits in 1903 was an important part of the modernisation of the Chinese population of Shanghai through cultural contact. Within its first decade, the university had established a medical school to teach “modern western techniques” and a law school charged with teaching “modern legal systems and philosophy”. What was the impact of the training provided by this institution for the growth of modern Shanghai? How did the religious orientation of the university help or hinder the development of modernity in Shanghai? Within the multinational context of Concession era Shanghai, was a French influence discernable in its modernisation process? Sources from the university, Jesuit journals, such as Études, and articles by those implicated in the development of Shanghai will reveal the impact of this institution in the development of modernity in China’s most modern city.