Development of Bicycles on Chinese Culture in the Late Qing Dynasty and the Early Nationalist Government: Focusing on Shanghai

This paper explores the development of bicycles introduced in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China on Chinese daily life, gender stereotypes, and transportation, focusing on Shanghai. Using historical research and content analysis of official materials, archives, and contemporary reports, the study aims to elucidate the influence of bicycles in semi-feudal China. Bicycles first appeared in Shanghai in 1868, capturing public curiosity. The sight of women riding bicycles challenged entrenched gender stereotypes and sparked debates on traditional versus modern views of the female body. Bicycles gradually transformed daily life, expanding personal mobility and leisure travel, thereby enhancing societal and cultural connections. As a product of Western civilization, bicycles emerged and developed in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, an era when social structures and gender concepts were in conflict. It formed the development of modern China and the leisure sports industry and transformed the traditional notion of women.