A Study of Western Influence on Timber Supply and Carpentry in South China in the Early 20th Century

Abstract

The formation of the Treaty Ports after the Opium Wars saw the introduction of the ideas of the Industrial Revolution to Imperial China. The Treaty Ports acted as the intersection of Chinese and Western cultures, playing a crucial role in introducing Western technology. This article shows for the first time how, counter-intuitively, the problems of supply of Chinese timber actually provided the impetus for the wider adoption of Western forms of carpentry construction such as purlin roofs with king-post trusses. It also shows how the competition between timber suppliers ultimately led to Chinese nationalist backlash against imported timber and techniques.