Searching for Suzhou's modern identity
A Fall 2007 course on the modern history and literature of China (taught by Dr.
Jinxing Chen) sparked the interest and imaginations of five Edgewood College
students who designed a research project to study the impact of modernization on
local identity in Suzhou, China. The students received a major research grant from
AsiaNetwork and the Freeman Foundation and have spent the last eight months
carrying out their research. They were Kellian Hartshorn, Renee Hartshorn, Zachary
Uher, Patrick Meuer, and Ruth Rolfsmeyer.
This is their story.
When we signed up for a course on the modern history and literature of China,
none of us realized then how much of an impact that course would have on our
lives. Throughout the semester, the more we learned about China and the rapid
modernization sweeping the country, the more curious we became. When we
learned about the research grant offered by AsiaNetwork and the Freeman
Foundation, we developed a proposal to study the impact of modernization on local
identity in China through a multidisciplinary project.
We chose the city of Suzhou, situated in the southeastern part of China in
Jiangsu province, as the focus of our research. With a population of approximately
six million people, it is a small city by Chinese standards. Many lakes surround the
city, of which the most notable is Lake Tai. These lakes, along with the city’s
proximity to the sprawling urban center of foreign influence that is Shanghai, play a
large role in its traditional and modern identity. Suzhou has a rich cultural history
spanning more than 2500 years and much is being done by the local government
and the people of Suzhou to preserve its traditions. However, the city has also
seen foreign influence in the form of business and investment as is evident in the
Suzhou Singapore Industrial Park and the new district. Together, these
characteristics make the city a great example of the preservation of historical
culture while embracing the changes occurring throughout China.
In February, we got word that our proposal had been accepted, and we plunged
enthusiastically into the work ahead. Our research team consisted of five
Edgewood College Honors students and our mentor, professor Jinxing Chen.
Business major Zach Uher focused on how the recent influx of foreign businesses
and investment into Suzhou has affected its traditional identity. Art major Ruth
Rolfsmeyer studied how Suzhou’s various traditional arts, crafts and famous silk
embroidery have been affected by the commercialization of those industries.
French and Spanish major Kellian Hartshorn researched how Suzhou’s traditional
dialect, Suzhouhua, and traditional Kunqu opera and Pingtan theatre have been
affected by the rising importance of English and Mandarin in Suzhou. History major
Patrick Meuer studied the traditional identity of Suzhou, how it has changed due to
modernization and how the current identity of the city is viewed by its own
inhabitants. Finally, Biology, Chemistry and Broad Field Natural Science major
Renee Hartshorn focused on the effects modernization and industrialization have
had on Suzhou’s traditional environmental atmosphere and how they are shaping
the city’s modern identity. Although each member of the team had a focus related to
their own expertise, we worked together on every aspect of the project, helping
and learning from each other.
After months of preliminary research, we arrived in Shanghai on the afternoon
of June 8th and our field research officially began. None of us had ever been to
China before and this was our first learning experience. We gaped in awe at the
massive buildings and the sprawling urban landscape around us, at the giant
billboards we couldn’t read and the people we had only just begun to understand.
The landscape was somewhat familiar and yet completely different from anything
that we had known. We conducted our first interview on the drive from Shanghai to
Suzhou. Our tour guide and our driver were great sources of information on
Shanghai and through them we began to learn about Suzhou as well.
Jinxing Chen) sparked the interest and imaginations of five Edgewood College
students who designed a research project to study the impact of modernization on
local identity in Suzhou, China. The students received a major research grant from
AsiaNetwork and the Freeman Foundation and have spent the last eight months
carrying out their research. They were Kellian Hartshorn, Renee Hartshorn, Zachary
Uher, Patrick Meuer, and Ruth Rolfsmeyer.
This is their story.
When we signed up for a course on the modern history and literature of China,
none of us realized then how much of an impact that course would have on our
lives. Throughout the semester, the more we learned about China and the rapid
modernization sweeping the country, the more curious we became. When we
learned about the research grant offered by AsiaNetwork and the Freeman
Foundation, we developed a proposal to study the impact of modernization on local
identity in China through a multidisciplinary project.
We chose the city of Suzhou, situated in the southeastern part of China in
Jiangsu province, as the focus of our research. With a population of approximately
six million people, it is a small city by Chinese standards. Many lakes surround the
city, of which the most notable is Lake Tai. These lakes, along with the city’s
proximity to the sprawling urban center of foreign influence that is Shanghai, play a
large role in its traditional and modern identity. Suzhou has a rich cultural history
spanning more than 2500 years and much is being done by the local government
and the people of Suzhou to preserve its traditions. However, the city has also
seen foreign influence in the form of business and investment as is evident in the
Suzhou Singapore Industrial Park and the new district. Together, these
characteristics make the city a great example of the preservation of historical
culture while embracing the changes occurring throughout China.
In February, we got word that our proposal had been accepted, and we plunged
enthusiastically into the work ahead. Our research team consisted of five
Edgewood College Honors students and our mentor, professor Jinxing Chen.
Business major Zach Uher focused on how the recent influx of foreign businesses
and investment into Suzhou has affected its traditional identity. Art major Ruth
Rolfsmeyer studied how Suzhou’s various traditional arts, crafts and famous silk
embroidery have been affected by the commercialization of those industries.
French and Spanish major Kellian Hartshorn researched how Suzhou’s traditional
dialect, Suzhouhua, and traditional Kunqu opera and Pingtan theatre have been
affected by the rising importance of English and Mandarin in Suzhou. History major
Patrick Meuer studied the traditional identity of Suzhou, how it has changed due to
modernization and how the current identity of the city is viewed by its own
inhabitants. Finally, Biology, Chemistry and Broad Field Natural Science major
Renee Hartshorn focused on the effects modernization and industrialization have
had on Suzhou’s traditional environmental atmosphere and how they are shaping
the city’s modern identity. Although each member of the team had a focus related to
their own expertise, we worked together on every aspect of the project, helping
and learning from each other.
After months of preliminary research, we arrived in Shanghai on the afternoon
of June 8th and our field research officially began. None of us had ever been to
China before and this was our first learning experience. We gaped in awe at the
massive buildings and the sprawling urban landscape around us, at the giant
billboards we couldn’t read and the people we had only just begun to understand.
The landscape was somewhat familiar and yet completely different from anything
that we had known. We conducted our first interview on the drive from Shanghai to
Suzhou. Our tour guide and our driver were great sources of information on
Shanghai and through them we began to learn about Suzhou as well.
(Above) The Edgewood College research group - a family
really - gets together for a photo in the courtyard of a
garden. (Below) An overhead view of Suzhou's grey
roofed houses.
really - gets together for a photo in the courtyard of a
garden. (Below) An overhead view of Suzhou's grey
roofed houses.
Two hours later, we arrived in the heart of the old district of Suzhou at the Gusu Hotel, named
after Suzhou’s traditional old town, often called Gusu city. That night we did a little exploring, had
our first taste of Suzhou’s delicious cuisine and returned to the hotel to rest. The next day, some
students from Suzhou University gave us a tour of the old district of Suzhou and translated for us
as we interviewed shopkeepers, artisans and friendly faces. One of the key areas that we
visited was Gaunqian Street, a popular shopping district that surprised us with its impressively
modern appearance. It was strange to be in a completely different world from our own but to walk
past familiar names like Nike, McDonald’s and KFC. In sharp contrast to these symbols of
consumerism were the streets of Old Town Suzhou. The main street of the Shan Tang Street area
is lined with little shops displaying the traditional crafts of the city (silks, embroidery, paintings,
calligraphy, etc.). There are restaurants serving traditional foods as well as antique shops,
jewelry stores and jade carvers. No cars are allowed in the Shan Tang Street area and it is easy
to understand why. The main street is packed with sellers, shoppers, bicyclists and mopeds and
the streets leading away from the shopping center are so narrow that in many places you can
hold your arms out and touch the buildings on either side of you. We wandered through the twists
and turns of these narrow streets and were surprised to find ourselves accidently wandering into
courtyards.
In the following days, we had many similar exploration and observation experiences. We
visited Suzhou’s ancient pagodas, old and new districts, viewed Pingtan theatre and Kunqu
opera performances, were awed by the famous Tiger Hill pagoda and even took a boat ride down
one of the ancient canals. One of the most well known features of Suzhou is its collection of
ancient gardens. Renowned for their artistry, these gardens have become a symbol of Suzhou
and the preservation of ancient culture as each beautiful garden is hundreds of years old.
Towards the end of our stay in China, we traveled to Beijing and Shanghai and interviewed
people of those cities about Suzhou. More often than not, the first things mentioned were the
gardens and often they were the only aspect of Suzhou familiar to anyone.
In addition to our observation work, we conducted countless interviews with deans,
professors and students of Suzhou University and the Suzhou University of Science and
Technology, government officials, business owners, ex-patriots living in Suzhou, workers in the
gardens and factories and many more. Everywhere we went, there was a great respect for the
work that we were doing and an eagerness to share knowledge about the culture and ideas for
the future that surprised us, pleased us and humbled us. We were given the opportunity to get to
know many of the people of Suzhou, to learn about them and to learn from them about this
beautiful and ancient city, already outpacing many modern cities in its embrace of technology.
This research and the opportunity to travel to and learn about a world so different from our own
changed our lives. Although we each had some level of familiarity with China through courses,
personal study, friends and the media, our experiences in Suzhou made us realize how little we
actually knew about this fascinating world. We were honored to be able to learn about the ancient
cultural traditions of Suzhou, to speak with leaders, experts, workers and students, to tour the
impressively modern buildings of the Suzhou Industrial Park and to walk along paths thousands
of years old studying the ancient buildings, architecture and landscapes around us.
Thank you to the people of Suzhou for sharing their world with us, thank you to the beautiful
city of Suzhou for opening its doors to us and thank you to our professor and mentor, Dr. Jinxing
Chen, for guiding us through the journey of a lifetime.
after Suzhou’s traditional old town, often called Gusu city. That night we did a little exploring, had
our first taste of Suzhou’s delicious cuisine and returned to the hotel to rest. The next day, some
students from Suzhou University gave us a tour of the old district of Suzhou and translated for us
as we interviewed shopkeepers, artisans and friendly faces. One of the key areas that we
visited was Gaunqian Street, a popular shopping district that surprised us with its impressively
modern appearance. It was strange to be in a completely different world from our own but to walk
past familiar names like Nike, McDonald’s and KFC. In sharp contrast to these symbols of
consumerism were the streets of Old Town Suzhou. The main street of the Shan Tang Street area
is lined with little shops displaying the traditional crafts of the city (silks, embroidery, paintings,
calligraphy, etc.). There are restaurants serving traditional foods as well as antique shops,
jewelry stores and jade carvers. No cars are allowed in the Shan Tang Street area and it is easy
to understand why. The main street is packed with sellers, shoppers, bicyclists and mopeds and
the streets leading away from the shopping center are so narrow that in many places you can
hold your arms out and touch the buildings on either side of you. We wandered through the twists
and turns of these narrow streets and were surprised to find ourselves accidently wandering into
courtyards.
In the following days, we had many similar exploration and observation experiences. We
visited Suzhou’s ancient pagodas, old and new districts, viewed Pingtan theatre and Kunqu
opera performances, were awed by the famous Tiger Hill pagoda and even took a boat ride down
one of the ancient canals. One of the most well known features of Suzhou is its collection of
ancient gardens. Renowned for their artistry, these gardens have become a symbol of Suzhou
and the preservation of ancient culture as each beautiful garden is hundreds of years old.
Towards the end of our stay in China, we traveled to Beijing and Shanghai and interviewed
people of those cities about Suzhou. More often than not, the first things mentioned were the
gardens and often they were the only aspect of Suzhou familiar to anyone.
In addition to our observation work, we conducted countless interviews with deans,
professors and students of Suzhou University and the Suzhou University of Science and
Technology, government officials, business owners, ex-patriots living in Suzhou, workers in the
gardens and factories and many more. Everywhere we went, there was a great respect for the
work that we were doing and an eagerness to share knowledge about the culture and ideas for
the future that surprised us, pleased us and humbled us. We were given the opportunity to get to
know many of the people of Suzhou, to learn about them and to learn from them about this
beautiful and ancient city, already outpacing many modern cities in its embrace of technology.
This research and the opportunity to travel to and learn about a world so different from our own
changed our lives. Although we each had some level of familiarity with China through courses,
personal study, friends and the media, our experiences in Suzhou made us realize how little we
actually knew about this fascinating world. We were honored to be able to learn about the ancient
cultural traditions of Suzhou, to speak with leaders, experts, workers and students, to tour the
impressively modern buildings of the Suzhou Industrial Park and to walk along paths thousands
of years old studying the ancient buildings, architecture and landscapes around us.
Thank you to the people of Suzhou for sharing their world with us, thank you to the beautiful
city of Suzhou for opening its doors to us and thank you to our professor and mentor, Dr. Jinxing
Chen, for guiding us through the journey of a lifetime.
| (From above right) Tiger Hill Pagoda is a famous historical Chinese building, demonstrating Suzhou's sense of natural beauty; Kellian Hartshorn admires as a silk embroiderer sews small flowers and landscapes onto a fan; (Left) Our research team unwinds and has some fun in one of Suzhou's many gardens. |
One of Suzhou's canals in the Shan Tang Street area.