踏车而飞：自行车与中国骑车人（1868-1949 年）[A History of the Bicycle and Chinese Cyclists, 1868-1949]

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Of the many “exotic” commodities from the West that have changed the lifestyle of the Chinese people over the course of the past two centuries, the bicycle stands out as a prominent example. It has so thoroughly transformed the Chinese mode of transportation that China in the late twentieth century was known as “the kingdom of bicycles.” This essay examines the history of that transformation. The first recorded importation of bicycles to Shanghai took place in 1868. Initially rejected by prospective customers for their incompatibility with Chinese cultural and social conventions, bicycles eventually gained visibility on the streets of many cities and suburbs. The bicycle meant many different things to different sectors of the population, and the social meaning of the bike also changed over time.




The first section of this article offers an overview of modern Chinese cyclists. The author argues that early adopters were Manchu aristocrats and wealthy individuals who sported their bicycles on bumpy roads for the sheer enjoyment of the bike’s exotic quality. The second section of the article examines the story of Pu Yi, the last Qing ruler, and bikers in the Forbidden City. The third section examines women bike riders in China. The author presents evidence to show that cycling carried no liberating connotations for modern Chinese women. By the 1930s, bicycles had lost their exotic quality. They also came to be associated with the comings and goings of urban working people, when cars became the vehicles of the social and economic elite. The outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War (1937-45) created a petroleum shortage that grounded all private cars. Bicycles then emerged as the common mode of transportation for the rich as well as the poor, men as well as women. It was the war that laid the foundation for China’s modern transformation into a nation of bicycles.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

近代以降，西物东渐，舶来器物系统性地改变了中国人的生活模式。本文以自行车为切入点，希冀通过“自行车”这种器物负载的文化符号，微观展现近代中国民众的审美情趣、社会心理、生活习性、消费观念等诸多方面之现代性演变，更加深入地了解中国纷繁复杂的社会日常生活，系统呈现自行车对于近代中国人千差万别的存在意义，解读“自行车王国”的曲折构建之路。

鸦片战争的烽烟未散，紧随而至的五口通商，标示着近代中国门户从此敞开。作为西方文明的载体，各式西洋器物也陆续传抵中国。这些西洋器物在异质文明的环境中命运各异、不能一概而论，总体而言却实际上系统性地改变了中国人原有的生活模式。

以自行车1为例，最迟在1868年传入中国。20世纪70年代末，当“文化大革命”后的中国再度开放国门之时，世界惊讶地发现，中国各地的街道上到处都是熙来攘往、一望无尽的自行车车流。110年后，自行车已经成为中国第一个普及型工业品，承载起了这个世界人口第一大国。但与中国“自行车王国”2地位形成鲜明对照的是，中国自行车的历史却几近无人知晓。3

本文所要讲述的，正是1949年之前4中国骑车人与自行车的故事。作为器物的接受者、消费者，近代中国的骑车人群涉及范围极其广泛，上自王公贵族、富商巨贾，下至黎民百姓、贩夫走卒，无论男女都包含在内。末代皇帝溥仪甚至为了骑行自行车的便利，而锯掉了千百年来横梗在紫禁城宫门中的门槛。

回溯近代中国的自行车传布历程，本文希冀通过“自行车”这种器物负载的文化符号，微观展现近代中国民众的审美情趣、社会心理、生活习性、消费观念等诸多方面之现代性演变，更加深入地了解近代中国纷繁复杂的社会日常生活，系统呈现自行车对于近代中国人千差万别的存在意义，解读“自行车王国”的曲折构建之路。