Fushun-­mi : colonial urbanization and development of rice-­producing district in Fushun County (Liaoning Province, China) 1907-­1938

In Japan, several historians have identified a process of economic growth associated with urbanization in the colonized areas of the Japanese Empire from the end of the nineteenth century to the early twentieth century. As these studies pointed out, despite the structural economic and political inequality characterizing the colonies, in the Japanese colonial cities took place significant degrees of development in the manufacturing and trade sector. However, these studies have neglected the primary sector as well as the impact the colonial cities had on agriculture. The article therefore considers the history of Fushun city in relation to the agricultural production of the homonymous County. Founded in the largest coal basin in northeastern China, Fushun experienced significant urban and demographic growth under Japanese occupation (1905-­1945). In analyzing the effects of Fushun's rapid urbanization on the rice production in the adjacent areas, along with the birth of the largest coal industry in the region, the study will consider the development of the rail network, the growing urban demand for food, the imperial agricultural policies.

Keywords: Cina, Manciuria, Fushun colonial urbanization, Japanese empire, rice, development.

Filippo Dornetti, Fushun-mi: urbanizzazione coloniale e sviluppo del distretto risicolo nella contea di Fushun (Provincia Liaoning, Cina) 1907-1938 in "STORIA URBANA " 159/2018, pp 55-81, DOI: 10.3280/SU2018-159003