Projecting Italianitá on the Chinese space: The construction of the "aristocratic" concession in Tianjin (1901-1947)

Abstract

Over one hundred years ago, from September 25 to 27, 1910, a Conference of "Orientalist-Geographers" was held to commemorate the "apostle and geographer of China," Jesuit Father Matteo Ricci (1552-1610). This event took place three hundred years after his death, in his native town, Macerata. 1 On that occasion, two of the invited speakers, Mr. E. A. Perogio and Mr. L. Sborlino, chose as the focus of their speeches "Italians and Governance in China" and "The Italian Concession in Tientsin," respectively. At this juncture, nearly 50 years had passed since the complex and problematic creation of the newly unified Italian state, while, significantly, only nine years had elapsed since the official acquisition from the Qing government of the territory destined to become the Yizujie (Italian Concession), known today as Yishi fengqingqu (Italian-style scenic neighborhood). The cession of this small plot of land was the outcome of the Italian military participation in the Eight-Power Allied Expeditionary Force’s repression of the Boxers’ uprising, 2 which had led to the forced signature, by the Qing government, of the "Final Protocol for the Settlement of the Disturbances of 1900" (Xinchou Treaty, dated September 7, 1901).