“More Than an Ornament for Elegant Gentlemen and Ladies”

From its establishment in 1933 until its destruction in 1937 during the Japanese invasion of Shanghai, the Shanghai Municipal Zoo (SMZ) emerged as a significant institution within the broader framework of nationalist social education (shehui jiaoyu) and anti-imperialist discourse promoted by the Nationalist Party or Guomindang (GMD) during the Nanjing Decade (1927–1937). Conceived as both an educational and recreational space, the zoo was tasked with disseminating scientific knowledge to the general public and contributing to the national project of citizen modernization, positioning it as a concrete manifestation of the nationalist revolution. Beyond its pedagogical function, the SMZ served as an important site of urban leisure, designed to provide entertainment to Shanghai’s populace. Under the leadership of Shen Xiangrui 沈祥瑞 (1899-?), who modeled his administration on the Tokyo Ueno Zoo, the SMZ introduced innovative practices that garnered widespread media attention, securing its place in Shanghai’s public discourse. Public engagement with the zoo extended beyond mere visitation, as audiences actively participated in discussions surrounding the emotional responses of animals to captivity. Foregrounding the decipherment of non-human sentients through emotional communication and the interpretation of animals’ feelings, visitors experienced novel relationships as the SMZ emerged as the locus of unexpected interspecies entanglements previously unconsidered by its GMD-affiliated creators.