Chinese salted fish : resisting modernity, 1931-1937

• Main Author: Wong, Lydia Pui Lam
• Other Authors: Hallam Stevens
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: DRNTU::Humanities::History
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/76667
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The interwar period was a period of rapid modernisation. In the colony of Singapore, the British wanted to improve food production, fish included, and the way it is handled to mirror the industrialisation of food production at home. The Chinese elites too wanted to mirror this development in their fisheries as they too, believed that the future of the industry lies in the new technologies. However, the consumption of Chinese salted fish remained popular as the foodstuff got cheaper and also it was seen as a home product that would support China against Japan's aggression. As the Japanese aggression was so intense and the Chinese government was so powerless to stop the Japanese intrusion into traditional Chinese fishing grounds, it stunted the growth of the Chinese fishing industry from investing in new technologies. As it was frequently reported between 1931-1937, the Chinese fishermen's struggle fueled the necessity of the Overseas Chinese to "save China" from Japanese aggression. These developments helped an unmodern foodstuff like Chinese salted fish to remain relevant during modernisation.