Page 81 - 《近代史研究》2021第二期

With the aim to adjust its policy towards Chinađthe British government supported the idea of increasing the Chinese
representation in SIS and proposed a solution based on the principles of localization and incrementalism． The
implementation of this solutionđhoweverđgave rise to a variety of contradictions and tensions in practice． To maintain its
vested interests and positionđShanghai International Settlement Authority was primarily concerned with excluding any
outside political influenceđunder the pretense of maintaining its autonomy． To contain the growing Japanese influences in
SISđthe U． S． supported increasing Chinese representation． For its partđthe Japanese also supported the British solutionđ
hoping to change the majority of British and American representatives in Shanghai Municipal Council ̵ SMC̶ ． Some low-
key countries like Italy took this occasion to demand the diversity and internationality of SMCđaiming to increase their
presence and weight in SMC． Competition among these divergent interests and the final balancing of them highlighted the
fact that SIS was highly international as an international settlement on the one hand and deeply local on the other． The glue
that helped bind the international and local dimensions of SIS together was a community of common interests built on the
foundation of the prosperity of Shanghai．

American Financial Advisor Arthur N． Young and Prewar Currency Ｒeform of the Nanking
National Government ……………………………………………………………… Wang Li̵ 79̶

The Modern Dilemma of “the Feudal Ｒemnant”͇ The Dispute over the Worship Fields in the
Qufu Confucian Temple from 1928 to 1930 ……………… Wu Peilin and Yao Zhiliang̵ 100̶
The Worship Fields in the Qufu Confucian Temple were gifted to the Duke Yansheng Mansion by emperors of different
Chinese dynasties in historyđoriginally as a compensation for the costs of sacrifice ceremonies in the Qufu Confucian
Temple． In Februaryđ1928đthe old practice of holding sacrifice ceremonies to worship Confucius in both spring and
autumn was abolishedđa move that triggered a brawl among the Nanking National Governmentđthe Duke Yansheng Mansion
and some social activists． Originally concentrated on the ownership of the Worship Fields in the Qufu Confucian Templeđit
ultimately turned into an ideological dispute． People like Cai Yuanpei advocated for the nationalization of and taxation on
the Worship Fieldsđa somewhat reasonable proposal under the background of the modern state building process in China．
For its partđthe Duke Yansheng Mansion spared no effort to oppose Cai's proposal out of concerns for losing its economic
resources on the one hand and discontinuing the Confucius-worshipping tradition on the other． Senior government officials
like Kong Xiangxi and some social activists stressed the cultural values of the Worship Fieldsđlaying bare the fact that the
dispute was more than an economic one and it also had implications to the maintenance of the Confucian value system． With
all these divergent views in placeđthe Plan for Ｒeforming the Qufu Confucius Forest and Templeđoriginally designed to
nationalize the Worship Fieldsđwas shelved in the end． The dispute over the disposal of the Worship Fields shed new light
on the political culture and political atmosphere in the early days of the Nanking National Government．

Trio Variations of ＲiceđWine and Tax͇ The Prohibition of Brewing in Fujian in 1940s
……………………………………………………………………………… Wang Ｒonghua̵ 117̶

Who Killed Yang Yongtai ………………………………………………………… Liu Wennan̵ 132̶
This article revisits the investigation and hearing process of the Yang Yongtai Assassination Case based on the author's
examination of relevant archivesđnewspapers and memoirs． The murder was orchestrated and carried out by Yang Erqianđa
graduate from Whampoa Military Academyđand his accomplices． They had assassinated Tang Youren before then and once
orchestrated to assassinate Zhang Qun and even Chiang Kai-shek． They claimed that they only assassinated those officials
who succumbed to the Japanese． In the investigation of the Yang Yongtai Assassination CaseđDai Li found that Liu Luyinđ
a member of the Hu Hanmin Factionđprovided the wherewithal for Yang Erqian． ThusđLiu Luyin was arrested and accused
that he ordered Yang Erqian to assassinate Yang Yongtai due to jealousy． For his partđLiu Luyin repeatedly denied that he
knew anything about the assassination beforehand． By examining the social network of Yang Erqianđhoweverđwe can find
that apart from receiving the financial support from Liu LuyinđYang Erqian also kept contact with some opponents of Chiang
Kai-shekđlike Wang Yaqiao and Chen Mingshu． It turns out that some anti-Chiang Kai-shek factions did pull the strings
behind the Yang Yongtai Assassination Case． The Yang Yongtai Assassination Case shed light on the rampant political
assassinations during the period of the Ｒepublic of China． It also epitomized the grand convergence trend between anti-
Chiang Kai-shek forces and the forces that resisted Japanese aggressionđagainst the background that the Pro-Japanese
faction lost its public appeal as the Japanese stepped up its aggression against China．

The Plague and the Making of“Wu's Mask” ………………………………… Zhang Meng̵ 148̶

English abstracts translated by Jia Yajuan