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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 August 2018
Tianjin is the largest port city in Northern China and a major hub for water and land transportation. For geological reasons, the city has long been troubled by water drainage problems. To remove wastewater from within its walls, the city developed a drain system which relies on human labor and a series of variously sized ditches. Unlike the modern sewage system, which simply discharges wastewater into surrounding rivers and the sea, Tianjin's traditional wastewater disposal system worked in concert with an urban manure collection system. Urban wastewater was recycled as fertilizer, a valuable resource for the surrounding rural area. In tracing the origin, evolution, and influence of urban wastewater disposal in Tianjin, this article aims to reveal the potential value in Chinese traditional waste management practices. Contemporary urban waste disposal systems might benefit from a better understanding of the relationship between urban and rural areas that characterized these traditional practices.
This paper was one result of the writing fellowship of the Rachel Carson Center and is also supported by Tianjin Social Science Project (TJZL16-001Q).
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44 “Tianjinshi weisheng gongchengchu difang zizhi huiyi youguan xiashuidao ti'an chuli” 天津市卫生工程处地方自治会议有关下水道提案处理, Tianjinshi weisheng gongchengchu 天津市卫生工程处, 1945, Tianjin Archive J0090-1-002881.
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46 Chinese unit of length. One chi is equivalent to 1/3 meter.
47 “Gefenju cheng ni zai he'an xingxiu huishuichi qingqiu shutong jinzhonghe qing pai gong yun caiqiaozi huitu deng youguan weisheng shixiang zhi baogao” 各分局呈拟在河岸兴修秽水池请求疏通金钟河请派工运菜桥子秽土等有关卫生事项之报告, Riwei tianjinshi jingchaju 日伪天津市警察局, 1942, Tianjin Archive J0218-3-005615.
48 Some of those rivers were in fact man-made canals.
49 “Tianjinshi shuiliju shuilizhi bianzuan weiyuanhui” 天津市水利局水利志编纂委员会, in Tianjin Shuilizhi juan, 10: Jiannan Shuilizhi 天津水利志 卷十 «津南水利志» (Tianjin: Tianjin kexuejishu chubanshe, 1996), 106Google Scholar.
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57 The Chilong river was called Tianjin's “Longxu Gou,” a dirty sewer channel that had a negative impact on the lives of people living near it, after the well-known Chinese author Laoshe's (老舍) novel Longxu Gou 龙须沟.
58 This population data (1,913,187) only includes people living in the Chinese region, for there are no population records for the concession area during that time. The last demographic data for the Tianjin concessions is 230,590 in the year 1942. Interested readers may refer to Jingneng, Li 李竞能, ed., Tianjin renkoushi 天津人口史 (Nankai: Nankai daxue chubanshe, 1990)Google Scholar.
59 For example, flood victims fled to Tianjin in 1924 and settled in the northern boundary area. This was later included as a new part of the city called the Hedi Street District (meaning “river bank,” referring to the north bank of the Xinkai River). More stories can be found in the archive related to the sewer construction project of Hedong District (Tianjin Government, Tianjin Archive J0002-3-000879, 1948).
60 Some lavatories’ urine pits had drainage channels to the river (especially underground drain pipes) and were also considered wastewater dumping sites. For example, Yang Baoshan's lavatory by the side of the Ningjia Bridge created severe sanitation problems because it shared a drainage ditch with surrounding residential areas; furthermore, even wastewater carriers chose to dump into the lavatory ditch. (“Guanyu jianzhu gongce shixiang” 关于建筑公厕事项, Tianjin tebieshi gongshu weishengju 天津特别市公署卫生局, Tianjin Archive J0115-1-000369). Similarly, the drainage pipes of Xiao Zhixian's lavatory had become a public dumping site for the community, so that “the dirty water overflowed to the outside every day and the bank was covered with waste” (“Guanyu xiuli yanhe huishuichi shixiang” 关于修理沿河秽水池事项, Tianjin tebieshi gongshu weishengju 天津特别市公署卫生局, Tianjin Archive J0115-1-000923, 1939).
61 The seepage pit had once been an improvement to the design of Tianjin's public lavatories. It was a water well-shaped device which stored wastewater and allowed it to infiltrate into the ground naturally. There were very detailed standards for the pits’ construction regulated by the Tianjin Health Bureau. Please refer to “Jianzhu gongce shixiang” 建筑公厕事项, Tianjintebieshi gongshu weishengju 天津特别市公署卫生局, Tianjin Archive J0115-1-000923, 1939.
62 Shen Jiaben, Chongxiu Tianjinfu zhi.
63 Huitu is a term for solid garbage commonly used in nineteenth-century China. Huitu usually contains dust, dirt, leaves, and many other organic substances which are dry and easy to transport.
64 “Bengongsi feiliaolei baoshou jinshi huitu chong feiliao” 本公司肥料类包收津市秽士充肥料, Chengfu xintuo gongsi jingli kaiyuan kenye gufen youxian gongsi 诚孚信托公司经理开源垦业股份有限公司, 1924, Tianjin Archive J0188-1-000159.
65 “Bengongsi feiliaolei baoshou jinshi huitu chong feiliao” 本公司肥料类包收津市秽士充肥料, Chengfu xintuo gongsi jingli kaiyuan kenye gufen youxian gongsi 诚孚信托公司经理开源垦业股份有限公司, 1923, Tianjin Archive J0188-1-000160.
66 ‘Weishengju guanyu qingchu gechu laji ji xuke qingdao huishuitu didian zhi hanjian’ 卫生局关于清除各处拉圾及许可倾倒秽水土地点之函件, Tianjinshi weishengju 天津市卫生局, Tianjin Archive J0218-3-004844, 1939.
67 “Guanyu chengyun ge he'an huishuikou zangshui gouni ji guapi caiye dengxiang” 关于承运各河岸秽水口脏水沟泥及瓜皮菜叶等项, Tianjin tebieshi gongshu weishengju 天津特别市公署卫生局, 1938, Tianjin Archive J0115-1-000545.
68 “Guanyu chengyun gehe huishuikou zangshui gouni ji guapi caiye dengxiang” 关于承运各河岸秽水口脏水沟泥及瓜皮菜叶等项, Tianjin tebieshi gongshu weishengju 天津特别市公署卫生局, 1938, Tianjin Archive J0115-1-000545.
69 The importance of sancai 三才 and Tian Ren He Yi 天人合一 has been the focus of study of many Chinese scholars. Among them, Li Genpan's 李根蟠 study is especially worth mentioning. Li identifies sancai as a mode of Chinese traditional understanding of the universe and the leading idea behind agronomy: Genpan, Li, “Nongye shijian yu sancai lilun de xingcheng” 农业实践与«三才»理论的形成, Nongye kaogu no. 1 (1997), 100–14Google Scholar. Compared to tianrenheyi, sancai is closer to the present human–nature relationship, in his view, and can represent the organically united Chinese traditional view of nature; see Genpan, Li, “‘Tianrenheyi’ yu ‘sancai’ lilun – Weishenme yao taolun Zhongguo jingjishi shang de tianrenguanxi” «天人合一»与«三才»理论——为什么要讨论中国经济史上的«天人关系», Zhongguo jingjishi yanjiu no. 3 (2000), 3–13Google Scholar. For more on sancai and Chinese environmental philosophy, see Chenyang, Li, 李晨阳, “Shi ‘tianrenheyi’ haishi ‘tian di ren’ sancai – Jianlun rujia huanjing zhexue de jiben kuangjia” 是«天人合一»还是«天、地、人» 三才——兼论儒家环境哲学的基本构架, Zhouyi yanjiu no. 5 (2014)Google Scholar.