1760～1843年广州外国人居住区的商业街

Abstract:The shopping streets in the foreign quarter at Canton （Thirteen Hong district 十三行地区） before the Opium Wars have been the subject of much interest and many studies. But there has been much confusion and disagreements among scholars as to their names and the years that they were established. New data has now emerged to clarify this confusion. Prior to 1760，there was only one shopping street located in the foreign quarter，and it was called “Hog Lane”. In this early period of the Canton trade other shopkeepers were scattered about the western suburbs on numerous different streets，outside of the foreign quarter. In 1760，“China Street” was created in the foreign quarter and all shopkeepers selling items to foreigners were required to move to this new location. This was done so that Chinese officials could monitor them more effectively. From 1760 to the great fire of November 1822 （when the foreign quarter was burnt to the ground），“Hog Lane” and “China Street” were the two main shopping streets. When the area was rebuilt in 1823，a third shopping street was added，which came to be called “New China Street” （Chinese called it Tongwen Jie 同文街）. Contrary to what is commonly believed，this third street did not exist before 1823. With the new data that has now emerged，we can show clearly what shopping streets were in existence before the Opium Wars，and when they were established.

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