Historical Studies (Chinese Edition)

No.2, 2014

 

The Prevention and Control of Plague and the Shut-Down of Transportation in Northeast China in the Late Qing Dynasty             

(Abstract)

 

Du Lihong

 

Plague broke out in Northeast China in 1910. To cope with the emergency, the Qing government shut down transport links with the affected region. The transport conditions in Northeast China meant that this measure was initially implemented for rail, land and sea transport. Those most affected were the large numbers of laborers who had come to the Northeast from other parts of China. After the Qing government halted railway transport, complex negotiations were undertaken between China and Russia, between the center and local governments, and among provinces and localities to prevent the laborers from making the journey by foot. At first, fearing that their movement into the hinterland of China might spread the plague and increase the pressure on the regions, the governors of Zhili and Shandong forbade them to travel southward through the Shanhaiguan Pass. After the Spring Festival, the laborers from Zhili and Shandong came back to Northeast China to gain work; the major content of the transport interdiction thus turned out to be the ban imposed by the governor of the three Northeastern provinces on laborers’ travelling northeast via the pass. The Northeastern provinces also negotiated with each other over holding the laborers back and providing for them. In response to foreign pressure, marine transport was blocked at the two ports of Andong and Yingkou. The transport ban showed a certain modernity, but in terms of political operations, it was essentially a process of cooperation and competition among various political forces ranging from the central government to the regions. The process displayed the Qing government's ability to respond to emergencies.