The Teahouse: Small Business, Everyday Culture, and Public Politics in Chengdu, 1900-1950 - Paperback

by Di Wang (Author)

This is the first book-length history of Chinese teahouses in the English-speaking world or in China. The Teahouse examines economic, social, political, and cultural changes as funneled through the teahouses of Chengdu during the first half of the twentieth century. The images brought together in this work paint a complete picture of everyday culture in the most basic unit of public life. This microhistorical examination of the teahouse and public life takes us into the heart of a city to explore urban society in depth, and provides a new way to look at the Chinese city and at daily life.

Author Biography

Di Wang is Professor of History at Texas A&M University. He is also the author of Street Culture in Chengdu: Public Space, Urban Commoners, and Local Politics, 1870-1930 (Stanford, 2003).