Old Shanghai crime novels have long been an interest of mine as part of this blog. A number of them are really good, including City of lost souls, 2024 and the inspector Danilov series, recreating Old Shanghai atmosphere, sounds and smell while keeping the historical context. Taking place in modern Shanghai, I have also tremendously enjoyed inspector Chen novels by Qiu Xiaolong, including Red Mandarin dress. Besides Old Shanghai, crime novels are also a good way to explore other places in 1920s and 1930s as well as their connections with Old Shanghai. I read Babylon Berlin, taking in place in 1930s Berlin a few summers ago. For a trip to 1920s India, I turned to Abir Mukherjee’s “A rising man”.
1920s Calcutta and 1920s Shanghai have a lot more in common that I expected. First of all, Calcutta transportation was mainly done by hand pulled rickshaw. The japanese invention that is so often assimilated with Shanghai also made its way to India. Calcutta also had tramway network, similar to Shanghai.
Although large areas of India were largely controlled by Britain throughout the 17th century, the actual control of India by the British government, known as the British Raj, started in 1858. In China, the 1842 Nanjing Treaty opened 5 treaty ports including Shanghai. The world “Bund” in Shanghai Bund is even from an Hindi word band (बंद / بند), showing the influence of the Indian experience on Brits coming to China.
Brits also imported the same club culture and segregation between the white rulers and the local population. The Shanghai Club scene seemed to closely ressemble to Calcutta one. However, in Shanghai this seems to have receded in the 1930s in turn for a more mixed society. This did not seem to have happened in India, with British control making the separation even stronger.
Trade connection was very strong between India and the Chinese treaty ports. Opium was the main export, grown in India and then transported to China in a triangular trade. The main traders were Shanghai British based Jardine & Matheson and Butterfield & Swire. Although they originated from Shanghai, that had strong business links with India. Jewish families originally from Baghdad, also moved to India in the centuries before then on to Shanghai in the late 19th and early 20th century. The Sassoon and Kadoorie families who dominated Shanghai where from Mumbai. The Ezra family, another preeminent Jewish family in Shanghai originated from Calcutta.
Another strong link was through the police and the military. Although the Shanghai police force of the international settlement was not directly a British force, it employed many former military and policemen who had served in the UK or in India. The British forces even brought their Sikh guards that were common in India, to serve as guards and traffic police in Shanghai.
“A rising man” takes place in April 1919, with the Amritsar Massacre in the background of the story. More than 350 people were killed when the British forces opened fire on a crowd protesting against repressive colonial ruling and the arrest of important Indian leaders. This post WW1 period also saw the emergence of the May 4th 1919 movement in China, that was also protesting against colonial rules in China. The Amristar Massacre is also sadly similar to the 1925 Louza lu police station incident, when Chinese protester confronted the police which fired on the crowd. Just like the Amritsar massacre, the Louza Lu police station incident sparked a much wider nationalistic movement demanding the end of colonial rule.
“A rising man” is a great way to get some exposure to British India and an understanding of the British Raj. It’s also a page turner crime novel with fascinating characters and a twisted story. Calcutta and Shanghai had a lot more in common than I thought at first. This made it an even more enjoyable read.
