罢市与抵货运动中的江浙商人:以“五四”、“五卅”为中心

Jiangsu and Zhejiang Merchants in Shopkeepers’ Strikes and the Boycott Movement: Focusing on the May Fourth and the May Thirtieth Movements

在民国初年的民族主义运动中 ,商人往往表现出消极的态度和矛盾的性格。虽然我们可以发现商人民族主义意识的抬升 ,但是总的来看 ,商人在运动中多处于被动地位 ,其采取行动主要是为了避免更大的损失 ,以及保持一定的商业秩序。以“五四”、“五卅”两次运动中的江浙地区来看 ,罢市多是在学生等的压力下得以实现 ,且罢市后 ,暗中继续营业现象依然存在。当外在干涉力量减弱时 ,商家便想尽快开市。抵货运动的发起 ,不同行业的商人利益得失相异 ,故其态度便有很大的分野。一些与外商竞争营业的商人 ,他们常会对运动表示支持。而一些与外商合作营业的商人 ,则常因为运动而遭受损失 ,故基本上持反对态度。然而由于内在因素的制约 ,运动发展到一定程度 ,商界损失面便会扩大 ,而支持者亦会日益减少 ,运动便无法继续下去。

Merchants always displayed a contradictory character in nationalist movements in early Republican China. Although we can detect a rise in nationalism among merchants, they were, generally speaking, in a passive role. The main aim of their actions was to avoid greater losses and keep some degree of commercial order. If we look at the May Fourth and May Thirtieth movements, most of the shopkeepers’strikes in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces were undertaken under pressure from students or others. During the strikes, some merchants continued to do business secretly. Once the intervening external forces weakened, merchants wanted to reopen their doors as soon as possible. When a boycott was undertaken, merchants in different industries had their interests affected in different ways, and so their attitudes toward the boycott varied widely. Merchants who competed with foreign businesses often supported boycotts. On the other hand, merchants who cooperated with foreign businessmen by and large objected to boycotts, because they would usually suffer losses from them. Due to intrinsic constraints, when a movement developed to a certain point, losses in the business world would mount, and supporters would start to fall away. The movement would then be unable to continue.