Calling Beijing, Calling Nanjing: The State, Business and the Early History of China’s Long-Distance Telephone Network, 1900-1937

Abstract

<p>Following the introduction of the telephone in China in the late 19th century, an increasing number of Chinese cities established municipal telephone networks. However, while the first long-distance telephone line between municipalities was established as early as 1900, it was only from the 1920s that the establishment of long-distance telephone connections between urban centres accelerated. In particular during the Nanjing Decade (1927-1937), both provincial governments and the Chinese central government drove the expansion of regional and national telephone networks. This paper investigates the early history of long-distance telephony in China, which so far has been understudied in the scholarly literature, having primarily been covered in passing by broader works on telecommunications in early 20th century China. It aims to shed light on the early development of China’s long-distance telephone network from three angles: First, it comprehensively reconstructs the development of long-distance telephony from the turn of the 20th century to the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937. Second, it uses social network analysis to explore the structure of the emerging Chinese telephone network on the regional and national level. Finally, it probes the impact of the spread of long-distance telephony on Chinese commerce and business and the development of regional and national markets.<br></p>