Chapter 9 3. At this time, no wall is better than a wall
Shanghai used to have city walls.
The city wall of Shanghai was built in the 32nd year of Jiajing in Ming Dynasty (AD 1553), but it was round.The reason is said to be insufficient funds.However, this most economical city wall was demolished after the opening of the port in 1843 under the unanimous appeal of officials, gentlemen and merchants.
The reason is that it hinders travel and financial business.
On the original wall site, there is a round road.
Shanghai without walls has really become a beach, extending in all directions, flat and open, without any sense of mystery, concealment or security.
But how?
The number of people flocking to Shanghai is increasing year by year, even soaring, increasing, and full.People from Suzhou and Ningbo are nearer; Cantonese and Hong Kong people are farther away; British, French, Indians, Jews, and Arabs are farther away.The rich and the poor, those in the city and the countryside, all went to Shanghai.The ghost and the red man drive side by side, the asan and the bastard drive together, the official and the businessman compete for beauty, and the prostitute and the lady compete for beauty.The open Shanghai Bund is full of luxury and foreign goods, where the wise and the foolish coexist, and the rich and the poor coexist, just like Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty.
However, Shanghai is not an imperial capital, nor does it have city walls.What are these people flocking to?for freedom.
Freedom is the quality of the city.
Indeed, the city is safer than the countryside, and it is also freer than the countryside.If it is a commercial city, it is more free. ; As a result, a folk proverb - "The air of the city makes people free" was born.
That was the case in Shanghai back then.During World War II, Shanghai even opened its doors to accept a large number of Jews who were hunted down and persecuted by the Nazis.Shanghai without city walls is actually safe.
Yes, no wall is better than a wall at this time.
In fact, if only security is needed, cities and countries are not necessary.The soil enclosure of clans and tribes is already very good.However, even if it is as good as it is, the four generations live under the same roof, and it is impenetrable, the closedness of Tuweizi is still greater than the openness.Therefore, there will be no atmosphere to make people free, or the opposite will happen if it is not done well.
There must be a new type of settlement that can guarantee security while allowing people to enjoy full freedom.
This new type of settlement is the city.
The biggest difference between the new settlements (cities) and the old settlements (earth buildings) is that the residents are no longer "ethnic groups" but "citizens".The relationship between citizens must be "beyond blood relationship".The exchanges, exchanges and transactions between them will definitely go beyond the scope of the region, break the boundaries of ethnic groups, and even live together and mix blood.
This will inevitably produce two new things, one is "public relations" that go beyond the family, clan, phratry, and tribe, and the other is "public affairs" related to this.To deal with such affairs and relationships, the methods and norms of the clan and tribal era no longer work.What works is the "public authority" with "public power" and the "public rules" on how to exercise that power.This "public rule" is called "law"; this "public power" is called "public power"; this "public agency" is called "state"; "Public official" or "civil servant", or even "public servant".
With cities as symbols, nations are born.
On this day, "or" became "country".
Became national or ceased to be clans and tribes.Its people are no longer "nationalities" but "nationals".Citizens are the people who rely on public power to handle public relations and public affairs, while the state is a public institution that uses public power to ensure national security and freedom.So, for the state and its citizens, the first priority is how to treat public power—to whom?Who will pay?how to use?
Different national models and systems have emerged from this.
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