{"id":2713,"date":"2023-05-02T12:12:35","date_gmt":"2023-05-02T04:12:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/?p=2713"},"modified":"2023-05-02T15:05:52","modified_gmt":"2023-05-02T07:05:52","slug":"28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china\/","title":{"rendered":"28-<i>Dang<\/i> \u2014 A Bicycle that Moved Socialist and Early-Reform China"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><style>#primary {width:100%;} #secondary {display:none;} .entry-header {display:none;} .ele-full-title {font-family:cambria !important;} .ele-full-maintitle {font-family:cambria !important;} .ele-full-subtitle {font-family:cambria !important;} .wp-block-column {font-family:arial;}<\/style>\n<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"ele-full-title has-text-color has-large-font-size\" style=\"color:#538135\"><strong><strong>28-<em>Dang <\/em>\u2014 A Bicycle that Moved Socialist and Early-Reform China<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\">Written by Xiaomeng Liu<br>Published on 02\/03\/2021<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\">In 1989, U.S. President George H. W. Bush went on an official visit to China just one month after assuming office. On February 25, the president and the first lady landed in Beijing and were received by then Chinese Prime Minister Li Peng at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, where they were gifted a pair of Flying Pigeon (\u98de\u9e3d) bicycles. The bicycles were newly designed models \u2014 one gentlemen\u2019s and one ladies\u2019 model \u2014 released just a few months prior by one of China\u2019s largest bicycle producers, the Tianjin Bicycle Plant.<sup>[<a href=\"#posts-footnotes\" data-type=\"internal\" data-id=\"#posts-footnotes\">1<\/a>]<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-01.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2723\" width=\"535\" height=\"357\" srcset=\"https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-01.jpg 1070w, https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-01-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-01-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-01-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 535px) 100vw, 535px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fig. 1 A Flying Pigeon bicycle in Tianjin, 2011. On July 5, 1950, the first Flying Pigeon bicycle was produced. It was the brainchild of a worker named Huo Baoji. He based his model on the 1932 English Raleigh Roadster. Source: Wikimedia Commons, <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/zh.m.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:%E9%A3%9E%E9%B8%BD%E8%87%AA%E8%A1%8C%E8%BD%A6_The_Flying_Pigeon_Bicycle.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">zh.m.wikipedia.org<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-02.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2724\" width=\"320\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-02.jpg 640w, https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-02-214x300.jpg 214w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fig. 2 Flying Pigeon\u2019s trademark. Source: Wikimedia Commons, <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Flying_Pigeon_headbadge.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">commons.wikimedia.org<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\">This was not the first time that the Bush couple had come to China. About a decade before, Bush served as Head of the U.S. Liaison Office in China. During their sojourn in Beijing, the couple would frequently visit tourist sites on bicycles. A well-known picture of them taken during this period shows the couple posing in front of Tiananmen with their bicycles. The trademark on Bush\u2019s bicycle shows that it was from another popular Chinese brand, Forever (a major rival of Flying Pigeon) from Shanghai. In the photo, President Bush looks to be riding the most popular type of bicycle in China of the time, a model that was conventionally known as the \u201c28-<em>dagang<\/em>\u201d (\u4e8c\u516b\u5927\u6760, which translates literally into \u201c28-inch wheels and a big rod\u201d).<sup>[<a href=\"#posts-footnotes\" data-type=\"internal\" data-id=\"#posts-footnotes\">2<\/a>]<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\">The Bushes\u2019 visit cemented the image of 1980s and 1990s China as \u201ca kingdom of bicycles.\u201d The expression was likely coined by foreign observers who were amazed by the sheer number of bicycles streaming down the main streets of Beijing that they saw in the early 1980s. China also adopted this phrase for its own propaganda, taking the ubiquity of bicycles in the Chinese society as a symbol of development and prosperity. In socialist China, a bicycle, a wristwatch, a sewing machine, and a radio were the four big items that any modern, happy family should possess, and were therefore most coveted by the people. In the 1980s, Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, who launched the reform and opening up of China, defined prosperity as \u201cevery family having a Flying Pigeon bicycle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\">Such politics and poetics surrounding bicycles in modern China have attracted much scholarly attention,<sup>[<a href=\"#posts-footnotes\" data-type=\"internal\" data-id=\"#posts-footnotes\">3<\/a>]<\/sup> but there is a gap in the literature, which the following succinct exploration of a particular type of bicycle attempts to address: the model of bicycle was the 28-<em>dagang<\/em>, which predominated the streets of socialist and early reform China. The 28-<em>dagang<\/em> has been mostly overlooked by academic research, yet, considering its historical popularity and ubiquity in urban China, a more rigorous look at these bicycles is prudent for us to understand their place not only in China\u2019s society but also in many Chinese people\u2019s psyche.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\"><strong><strong>Origin of the Bicycle Industry in Modern China<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\">Bicycles were introduced to China in the late 19<sup>th<\/sup> century. Back then, not only were bicycles exotic, they were also a luxury that very few people could afford. Those wealthy Chinese who owned bicycles considered them a wonder from the West, rather than something practical for everyday use. As a result, during this time, most bicycle users in China were expatriates. It is no wonder that it was treaty ports, rather than the capital city, that first imported bicycles into China, as they were where most of the large foreign concession areas were located. These ports included Shanghai, Tianjin, Canton, and Qingdao. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\">The bicycle industry in China began in Shanghai, the most developed modern metropolis in Republican China where foreign commodities and lifestyle were adopted and appreciated. In 1897, a Chinese entrepreneur called Zhu Tongsheng (\u8bf8\u540c\u751f), who used to run a business that repaired carts and rickshaws, started up a sales agency called Dong Chong Cycle &amp; Motor Co. (\u540c\u660c\u8f66\u884c). The agency imported vehicles including bicycles, rickshaws, and small cars to Shanghai. Rickshaws were the dominant mode of transportation in urban China during the republican period, but beginning in the mid-1910s, bicycles gained popularity as postal services and police departments in the big cities adopted bicycles as their workhorse.<sup>[<a href=\"#posts-footnotes\" data-type=\"internal\" data-id=\"#posts-footnotes\">4<\/a>]<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\">Small workshops that repaired and reassembled bicycles soon appeared in major treaty ports after bicycles were introduced to China, most of which established by foreign entrepreneurs. Among the bicycle workshops and factories, Changho Works, established by Japanese entrepreneur Kojima Wasaburo, was the most prominent. It had three branches in Shenyang, Tianjin, and Shanghai.<sup>[<a href=\"#posts-footnotes\" data-type=\"internal\" data-id=\"#posts-footnotes\">5<\/a>]<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\">After the Second World War, Changho Works\u2019 plants were seized by the Nationalist government, and were later re-organized into three state-owned bicycle plants after a Communist takeover: the Shenyang, Tianjin, and Shanghai Bicycle Plants. Dong Chong, which had been Shanghai\u2019s most famous bicycle producer, continued to exist into the early socialist period, but in 1958, it was turned into a state-owned company and was renamed the \u201cShanghai Third Bicycle Plant.\u201d<sup>[<a href=\"#posts-footnotes\" data-type=\"internal\" data-id=\"#posts-footnotes\">6<\/a>]<\/sup> The Tianjin, Shanghai, and Shanghai Third Bicycle Plants would go on to become the top three bicycle producers in socialist and early reform China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\"><strong><strong>The <em>28-Dagang<\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\">In 2017, Ofo, one of China\u2019s bike-sharing giants, and the Shanghai Phoenix Bicycle Co. Ltd., one of the largest bicycle producers in China, announced the launch of a new model \u2014 a replica of an old-fashioned bicycle called the \u201c28-<em>dagang<\/em>\u201d (Ofo did not intend to use it to replace other of their bicycle models, however). The 28-<em>dagang<\/em> was not popular, perhaps most likely because it was not easy or comfortable for most people to ride. It did, however, evoke a national nostalgia nonetheless, as, for generations that have grown up in the 1980s and 1990s, it used to be the most important vehicle in their household. Today, the <em>dagang<\/em> has all but disappeared from the streets of urban China (except in the case of certain professional bicycles). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\">The term \u201c28-<em>dagang<\/em>\u201d was a colloquially concocted name to refer to a particular bicycle model: the number \u201c28\u201d referred to the 28-inch wheels of the model; \u201c<em>dagang<\/em>,\u201d which literally translated to a \u201cbig rod,\u201d referred to the bicycle frame\u2019s sizable crossbar. These were also the parts where this model differed from current popular models in China the most. Nowadays, although different bicycle models are seen in the streets of China, most of them have 26-inch wheels. For ordinary Chinese people, the 28-<em>dagang<\/em> would not have been easy to ride \u2014 not only were the wheels too big, thereby propping the frame and saddle up too high, but the horizontal crossbar itself also presented quite a hurdle for anyone trying to swing one leg over in order to mount the bicycle. The large size would have made it difficult to control as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-03.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2726\" width=\"535\" height=\"336\" srcset=\"https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-03.jpg 1070w, https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-03-300x188.jpg 300w, https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-03-1024x642.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-03-768x482.jpg 768w, https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-03-480x300.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 535px) 100vw, 535px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fig. 3 A diamond-shaped bicycle frame. The \u201ctop tube\u201d is the metal crossbar. Source: Wikimedia Commons, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/down_tube#\/media\/File:Bicycle_Frame_Diagram-en.svg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">en.wiktionary.org<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\">In the 1950s, the Shenyang and Tianjin Bicycle Plants respectively designed new bicycles specifically for men. These bicycles had 710 mm wheels (approx. 28 inches),<sup>[<a href=\"#posts-footnotes\" data-type=\"internal\" data-id=\"#posts-footnotes\">7<\/a>]<\/sup> and so were early versions of 28-<em>dagang<\/em>. A decade or so later, the prototype was refined by the two bicycle plants in Shanghai. The Shanghai and Shanghai Third Bicycle Plants released the PA-13 and PA-14, respectively, around 1964. The \u201cP\u201d in their model number stood for \u201c<em>putong xing<\/em>\u201d (\u666e\u901a\u578b, \u201ccommon\u201d type), and the \u201cA\u201d signified a \u201cmen\u2019s bicycle with 28-inch wheels.\u201d The numbers 13 and 14 indicated that these products were the 13<sup>th<\/sup> and 14<sup>th<\/sup> models released by their respective plant. Later, the PA-13 was branded as the flagship product of the \u201cForever\u201d brand, and PA-14 became the primary product of the \u201cPhoenix\u201d brand. The Tianjin Bicycle Plant also released a similar \u201c28-inch men\u2019s bicycle\u201d model that went on to become the most popular model of their brand \u201cFlying Pigeon.\u201d These three brands soon gained national fame. Other industrial cities in socialist China such as Shenyang, Qingdao, and Canton also had their local bicycle plants, but their products were only known regionally.<sup>[<a href=\"#posts-footnotes\" data-type=\"internal\" data-id=\"#posts-footnotes\">8<\/a>]<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\">\u201c28-<em>dagang<\/em>\u201d was therefore not a singular brand or model but an overall design. Why and how, however, especially considering how it was difficult to ride, did they come to dominate the bicycle scene of socialist China? The reasons are quite straightforward: first, at the time, most bicycles around the world had the same similar design; second, bicycle makers of socialist China were in their early days and did not have the ability to work out their independent designs, so they modeled most of their bicycles after those manufactured by other well-known bicycle producers in Europe. One of those models was produced by the famous British bicycle maker Raleigh.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\">Founded in 1885, Raleigh was not only one of the world\u2019s oldest bicycle companies, but at one point also the largest bicycle producer.<sup>[<a href=\"#posts-footnotes\" data-type=\"internal\" data-id=\"#posts-footnotes\">9<\/a>]<\/sup> In 1963, a new superintendent took office in the Shanghai Third Bicycle Plant and set a new goal for the factory to manufacture a new flagship product that would surpass Raleigh\u2019s bicycles both in terms of quality and main technical specifications. For good measure, Phoenix seemed to have taken Raleigh\u2019s trademark too \u2014 as some people have pointed out, Phoenix\u2019s logo resembled Raleigh\u2019s, which featured the head of a heron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-04.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2717\" width=\"320\" height=\"397\" srcset=\"https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-04.jpg 640w, https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-04-242x300.jpg 242w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fig. 4 Trademark of Phoenix Bicycle. Source: Baidu Baike, <a href=\"https:\/\/baike.baidu.com\/item\/%E5%87%A4%E5%87%B0%E8%87%AA%E8%A1%8C%E8%BD%A6\/2507687\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">baike.baidu.com<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-05.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2718\" width=\"320\" height=\"553\" srcset=\"https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-05.jpg 640w, https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-05-174x300.jpg 174w, https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-05-593x1024.jpg 593w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fig. 5<strong>&nbsp; <\/strong>Raleigh\u2019s trademark. Source: Wikipedia Commons, <a href=\"https:\/\/zh.wikipedia.org\/zh-hant\/%E5%87%A4%E5%A4%B4%E8%87%AA%E8%A1%8C%E8%BD%A6#\/media\/File:Raleigh-bicycle-nottingham-badge.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">zh.wikipedia.org<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\">What this superintendent was asking of Phoenix was in line with the spirit of the \u201cGreat Leap Forward Movement\u201d \u2014 \u201cto surpass the UK and catch the U.S.\u201d By then (1963), even though the movement had already passed its peak, the superintendent retained that spirit when he took several duplicates of Raleigh\u2019s bicycle, gave them to the engineers and workers in the factory, and asked them to work around the clock to reverse-engineer the bicycles. Such was the birth story of the PA-14, which would go on to win first prize in the national appraisal of bicycles the following year, and quickly gain national fame as well as becoming a best-selling bicycle across the country.<sup>[<a href=\"#posts-footnotes\" data-type=\"internal\" data-id=\"#posts-footnotes\">10<\/a>]<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-06.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2719\" width=\"320\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-06.jpg 640w, https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-06-214x300.jpg 214w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fig. 6 &nbsp;A 1940s Raleigh advertisement. Source: Wikimedia Commons, <a href=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/en\/c\/ca\/Raleigh_1940s_advert.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">upload.wikimedia.org<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-07.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2720\" width=\"535\" height=\"459\" srcset=\"https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-07.jpg 1070w, https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-07-300x257.jpg 300w, https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-07-1024x879.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-07-768x659.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 535px) 100vw, 535px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fig. 7 A Raleigh Roadster. Source: Wikimedia Commons, &nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/c\/c2\/Raleigh_tourist_rod-brake%2C_ca._1980-01.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">upload.wikimedia.org<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\">There is no specific record on which of Raleigh\u2019s models the Shanghai Third Bicycle Plant modeled its PA-14 after, but it was likely the Roadster, the most popular model of the early 20<sup>th<\/sup> century in Europe.<sup>[<a href=\"#posts-footnotes\" data-type=\"internal\" data-id=\"#posts-footnotes\">11<\/a>]<\/sup> The classical gentlemen\u2019s roadster had many defining features in its frame, brakes, hub gears, and wheels, most notable of which being the diamond frame, chaincase, and the 28 \u00d7 1\u00bd inch (ISO 635 mm) wheels. The diamond frame, the core component of the bicycle, consisted of two triangular structures onto which the wheels and other components were mounted. The main triangular structure in the front included a top tube, a down tube and a seat tube. In the classical design, the top tube was horizontal, and was the part that the Chinese called the \u201c<em>dagang<\/em>.\u201d The 28 \u00d7 1\u00bd\u2013inch wheel had a 28-inch rim and a tire that was 1\u00bd inches thick (the 28-<em>dagang<\/em>\u2019s wheels were similarly sized). The chaincase, which protected the bicycle\u2019s chain and sprocket assemblage, was also present in the 28-<em>dagang<\/em> design (most Chinese designs only had a half, instead of full, chaincase). All these features all but confirm that the 28-<em>dagang<\/em>, rather than being an original design, was in fact modeled after the mid-20th century\u2019s most common bicycle model. It is therefore no wonder that both of Shanghai\u2019s bicycle plants gave their models a letter P designation \u2014 for \u201c<em>putong<\/em>,\u201d i.e., the \u201ccommon\u201d type.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Riding the 28-<em>Dagang<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\">There are three mainstream methods to mount a bicycle: ready mount, side mount, and cycle-cross mount. Ordinary Chinese people today most frequently mount a bicycle via something similar to the ready mount method, which is easiest. One just needs to sit on the saddle, put one foot on the ground to keep balance, and pedal the other side to get the bicycle moving. However, one can only apply this method if the seat is low enough for the feet to touch the ground, and this was not easily done on the 28-<em>dagang<\/em> as it sat too far up for most Chinese at the time (possibly even today). When seated on the saddle bestriding the crossbar, it is difficult or even impossible for a man of average height to reach the ground with his feet. Therefore, the Chinese people tended to resort to another way to mount a bicycle: the side mount method.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\">For the side mount, the rider needs to first stand on the left side of the bicycle, with both hands holding the handles. Then, the rider puts the left foot on the left pedal, then pushes off on the ground with the right foot (a couple times) to get the bicycle into motion and to gain enough speed. As the bicycle rolls forward with enough balance and stability, the rider exerts force on the left leg to prop the body upright enough to facilitate swinging the right leg around and over the back wheel to the right side. Now s\/he can sit down on the saddle and pedal away. The sequence of moves can be mirrored for mounting the bicycle from the ride side, and, to dismount the bicycle, the rider reverses the sequence of movements. Nevertheless, the side mount takes more time and effort to learn than the ready mount, since it is difficult to control and balance the bicycle while swinging one leg over to the other side, and the size of the 28-<em>dagang<\/em> did not make things anything easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\">However, despite both features of the 28-<em>dagang<\/em> making it difficult to ride, it became every bit as \u201cpopular\u201d as it was. One of the reasons that no smaller bicycles were available on the market could simply be because the bicycle makers had difficulty producing their own proprietary frames and parts. More importantly, the 28-<em>dagang<\/em> was able to fulfill a particular consumer need. Until the late 1980s, bicycles were a luxury item for most Chinese families. During the 1970s to 1980s, a Phoenix, Forever, or Flying Pigeon bicycle cost around 150 RMB (even more for a flagship product), which was three to six months\u2019 work for an ordinary urban worker, let alone the peasants. Moreover, back then, bicycles used to be a rationed commodity \u2014 one could not buy a bicycle freely in the market, but would have to first secure an official coupon, which required official status and <em>guanxi <\/em>(personal relationship with authorities).<sup>[<a href=\"#posts-footnotes\" data-type=\"internal\" data-id=\"#posts-footnotes\">12<\/a>]<\/sup> Consequently, bicycles in socialist and early reform China tended to be used to carry more than just one person; often, they were used to load heavy objects or carry as many as three people \u2014 a father would steer and pedal the bike, while the mother sat sideways in the backseat, and their child would sit on the crossbar. In rural places, people often loaded these bicycles with heavy sacks of grains, seeds, and fertilizers, for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\">Needless to say, robustness and durability of these bicycles were of utmost importance. People expected the bicycles to be capable of bearing heavy loads, not only on the backseat but also using the crossbar. This illuminates how the eponymous <em>dagang<\/em> came to define the bicycles: the <em>dagang<\/em> did more than connecting the front and back of each bicycle; it symbolized half of a bicycle\u2019s twofold utility \u2014 one, to bear loads; two, mobility, which was, of course, represented by the \u201c28\u201d that denoted the wheels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\">This also explains why the Chinese bicycle makers did not shrink the 28-<em>dagang<\/em>, or make it lighter or more comfortable. Instead, they kept it as a large, sturdy and robust design. In fact, they derived even stockier models: shortly after the release of the P models, all three major producers designed respective Z models \u2014 the<em> zaizhong xing<\/em> (\u8f7d\u91cd\u578b, load-bearing type). The most popular ones were the Forever ZA-51, Phoenix ZA-42, and Flying Pigeon ZA-62. These Z-type bicycles had as much as 170 kilograms of loading capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\"><strong>Bicycles and Gender<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\">Early bicycles were gendered. In 19<sup>th<\/sup>-century Europe, cyclists were predominantly men; bicycles were considered unsuitable for women, as it was generally considered unseemly and unladylike for women donning dresses and skirts to be sitting astride a bicycle. Nevertheless, many Euro-American studies have found that, over time, popularity of cycling among women not only caused new bicycles to be designed specifically for women riders, but also influenced women\u2019s fashion. <sup>[<a href=\"#posts-footnotes\" data-type=\"internal\" data-id=\"#posts-footnotes\">13<\/a>]<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\">The 28-<em>dagang<\/em> had a masculine design, and the \u201cA\u201d in the model numbers PA and ZA referred to men\u2019s bicycles with 28-inch wheels. The Chinese bicycle plants did also produce ladies\u2019 bicycles, and they would be denoted with a \u201cB,\u201d but they were not nearly as popular as the 28-<em>dagang<\/em> \u201cA\u201d models. As it turns out, part of the reason that ladies\u2019 bicycles were not as well-received lay within their name: in China, ladies\u2019 bicycles were commonly called \u201c<em>kunche<\/em>\u201d (\u5764\u8eca) \u2014 the character <em>che<\/em> (\u8eca) refers literally to a \u201cvehicle.\u201d The character <em>kun<\/em> (\u5764), on the other hand, carries both the meaning of \u201cthe female gender\u201d and \u201cworldly\u201d (its counterpart character <em>qian<\/em> (\u4e7e), in contrast, denotes both \u201cthe male gender\u201d and \u201cheavenly\u201d). Therefore, it was indeed that earthly connotation that had caused them to be regarded as inferior. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\">Nevertheless, like Western designs, the main difference between the men\u2019s and ladies\u2019 bicycles in China lay not within their associations with heaven and earth, but in the way that their frames were shaped \u2014 more specifically, whether there was a crossbar. Instead of having a horizontal crossbar, the ladies\u2019 bicycles\u2019 main bar would dip toward the pedals, so where it used to be that hurdle-like crossbar would now be a void. Such a bicycle frame was called a step-through frame, a design that was much easier to mount and dismount the bicycle, even for a woman in a skirt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-08.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2721\" width=\"535\" height=\"356\" srcset=\"https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-08.jpg 1070w, https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-08-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-08-1024x680.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/28-dang-a-bicycle-that-moved-socialist-and-early-reform-china-08-768x510.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 535px) 100vw, 535px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&nbsp;Fig. 8 A Forever ladies\u2019 bicycle with a step-through frame.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\">However, the step-through frame had obvious drawbacks: by removing the crossbar, this design had compromised both durability and load capacity (that the 28-<em>dagang<\/em> otherwise possessed with the diamond frame). On the other hand, as the Chinese people were paying a lot of money for each bicycle, naturally they would give preference to a more durable model. Makers of bicycles with step-through frames therefore had to compensate for the decreased sturdiness and safety by utilizing thicker and more robust materials if they wished to produce a marketable product. Unfortunately, because there was a shortage of high-quality steel in socialist and early reform China to begin with, bicycles with a step-through frame became uneconomical, and could never quite compare nor compete with diamond-frame bicycles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\">As a result, women rode the 28-<em>dagang<\/em>, too, and there was a good reason for this: during the socialist and early reform period, most families could not afford two bicycles, so, even though ladies\u2019 bicycles were available, the best choice would still be to own a 28-<em>dagang<\/em>. As a famous socialist China propaganda proclaimed, \u201cwomen could hold up half the sky,\u201d women were thus encouraged to do the same work that men did, including riding even a masculine bicycle. Moreover, as pants took over dresses and skirts to become the predominant attire for working-class and peasant women, mounting a 28-<em>dagang<\/em> via the side mount method was no longer that difficult for them. As for the children, the 28-<em>dagang<\/em> was too big for them to ride to begin with \u2014 if they tried at all, they would have very awkward and uncomfortable posture. Therefore, instead of assuming a seat on the saddle, they should learn to balance themselves on the crossbar and just enjoy the ride with their parents. Ultimately, bicycles during this time were expensive possessions; they were not meant for children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\"><strong>Epilogue<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\">The 28-<em>dagang<\/em> continued to dominate the bicycle market in the late 1980s when the ration system was suspended, but they gradually went from being expensive to affordable. The model continued to be popular in rural China until the late 1990s, as peasants still needed it to carry objects from place to place. On urban roads, on the other hand, more and more new models could be seen amidst the hordes of bicycles. In the 1990s, bicycles with 26-inch wheels began to dominate the bicycle market in urban China. The big crossbar that used to be the hallmark of mens\u2019 bicycles began to lose favor with younger urban dwellers, and, for them, the 28-<em>dagang<\/em> became a synonym for being old-fashioned, unwieldy, clumsy, and provincial. Moreover, less and less were bicycles used to carry heavy loads. Instead, since most urban couples could afford to buy separate bicycles, they preferred lightweight models for everyday mobility. Both production and sales of the Q \u2014 <em>qingbian xing<\/em> (\u8f7b\u4fbf\u578b, \u201clightweight\u201d) \u2014 type increased. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\">Gendered bicycles continued to exist for another decade \u2014 in fact, the bicycles that were gifted to the Bush couple were gendered \u2014 but, in the late 1990s, this bifurcation was removed; such categorization was more a social construct than was technologically motivated in the first place (i.e., from a technological standpoint, there was nothing innately gendered about the bicycle designs, to be sure). In recent years, nearly all shared bikes in China have had a step-through rather than a diamond frame, and it would be hard pressed to find anyone in China today who call a bicycle with a step-through frame a ladies\u2019 bicycle. The generation that grew up in the late 1980s to the 1990s mostly learned to ride bicycles via the ready-mount method. Soon, with the popularity of the step-through frame, the side mount method, which used to be their (grand)parents\u2019 way of riding, all but disappeared among cyclists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\"><strong>Footnotes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol id=\"posts-footnotes\">\n<li>Zhang Chijian \u5f20\u6301\u575a, \u201cXiang bushi fufu zeng feige \u5411\u5e03\u4ec0\u592b\u5987\u8d60\u2018\u98de\u9e3d\u2019\u201d [Giving \u2018Flying Pigeon to the Bush couple as present\u2019], <em>Beijing jishi<\/em> \u5317\u4eac\u7eaa\u4e8b [Beijing document], no. 3 (2008): 73\u201373; Shang Zhi\u5c1a\u4e4b, \u201cLao Bushi de Zhongguo yuan\u201d \u8001\u5e03\u4ec0\u7684\u4e2d\u56fd\u7f18 [Bush the senior and his relationship with China], Nanfang renwu zhoukan \u5357\u65b9\u4eba\u7269\u5468\u520a [Southern people weekly], no. 24 (2011): 51\u201353.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Chen Subai \u9648\u7d20\u767d, <em>Jingxiang yu liubian: Zhuanxing qi zhongguo chengshi jumin xiaofei bianqian, 1978 zhijin<\/em> \u955c\u50cf\u4e0e\u6d41\u53d8\uff1a\u8f6c\u578b\u671f\u4e2d\u56fd\u57ce\u5e02\u5c45\u6c11\u6d88\u8d39\u53d8\u8fc1\uff0c1978\u5e74\u81f3\u4eca [Reflection and Change: The Shift of Chinese Urban Residents\u2019 Consumption during the Transformation Period since 1978] (Xiamen: Xiamen University Press, 2016), 155\u2013157.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Erin Thomason, \u201cChina\u2019s New Kingdom of Bikes: Bicycling and the Quest for Modernity,\u201d <em>Journal of Consumer Culture<\/em>, <a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full\/10.1177\/1469540518806948\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full\/10.1177\/1469540518806948<\/a>; Edward J. M. Rhoads, \u201cCycles of Cathay: A History of the Bicycle in China.\u201d <em>Transfer<\/em> 2 (2012): 95\u2013120; Xu Tao, \u201cThe Popularization of Bicycles and Modern Shanghai,\u201d <em>Frontiers of History in China<\/em> 3 (2008): 117\u2013138.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Xu Tao \u5f90\u6d9b, \u201cTa che er fei: zixingche yu zhongguo qicheren, 1868\u20131949 nian\u201d \u8e0f\u8f66\u800c\u98de\uff1a\u81ea\u884c\u8f66\u4e0e\u4e2d\u56fd\u9a91\u8f66\u4eba\uff081868\u20131949\u5e74\uff09 [A history of the Bicycle and Chinese Cyclists, 1868\u20131949], <em>Cross-Currents: East Asian History and Culture Review<\/em>, E-Journal No. 3 (Jun 2012), https:\/\/cross-currents.berkeley.edu\/ejournal\/issue-3.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Huang Kailiang \u9ec4\u5f00\u4eae and Guo Keqian \u90ed\u53ef\u8c26 (eds.), <em>Zhongguo jixieshi hangye juan<\/em><em> <\/em>\u4e2d\u56fd\u673a\u68b0\u53f2\u00b7\u884c\u4e1a\u5377 [a history of machinery in China, volume on industry] (Beijing: Science and Technology Press of China, 2015), 1145.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>One may wonder why were the two famous bicycle producers in Shanghai called the \u201cfirst\u201d (even though the Shanghai Bicycle Plant did not have the word \u201cfirst\u201d in its name) and the \u201cthird\u201d plants? What about the \u201csecond\u201d plant? Actually, there used to be a factory called the Shanghai Second Bicycle Plant, which was established in 1958. But it switched to manufacturing motorcycles in the early 1960s.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Huang Kailiang and Guo Keqian eds., <em>Zhongguo jixieshi hangye juan<\/em>, 1146.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Yang Bo \u6768\u6ce2 (eds.), <em>Zhongguo qingongye nianjian, 1949\u20131984 <\/em>\u4e2d\u56fd\u8f7b\u5de5\u4e1a\u5e74\u9274\uff0c1949\u20131984 [Yearbook of China\u2019s light industry, 1949\u20131984] (Beijing: Encyclopedia press of China, 1985), 129\u2013130; Zhang Ming \u5f20\u660e, Zhognguo dangdai sheji quanji di shier juan \u4e2d\u56fd\u5f53\u4ee3\u8bbe\u8ba1\u5168\u96c6 \u7b2c12\u5377 [Contemporary Design in China, vol. 12] (Beijing: Commercial Press, 2015), 318\u2013319; Xu Dixin \u8bb8\u6da4\u65b0, Zhongguo gongye chanpin da cidian 1 \u4e2d\u56fd\u5de5\u4e1a\u4ea7\u54c1\u5927\u8f9e\u5178 1 [Dictionary of Chinese industrial products, vol. 1] (Fuzhou: Fujian Science and Technology Press, 1988), 535.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See Roger Lloyd-Jones and M. J. Lewis, <em>Raleigh and the British Bicycle Industry: An Economic and Business History, 1870\u20131960<\/em> (New York: Routledge, 2000).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cFenghuang hun: shanghai zixingche sanchang jianku chuangye jishi\u201d \u51e4\u51f0\u9b42\uff1a\u4e0a\u6d77\u81ea\u884c\u8f66\u4e09\u5382\u8270\u82e6\u521b\u4e1a\u7eaa\u5b9e [The soul of Phoenix: A record of the Shanghai Third Bicycle Plant\u2019s arduous and hardworking days], in <em>Huoli: Shanghai qiye wenhua jijin<\/em> \u6d3b\u529b\uff1a\u4e0a\u6d77\u4f01\u4e1a\u6587\u5316\u96c6\u9526 [Vitality: Collected essays on entrepreneurship in Shanghai], edited by Xu Yichun \u8bb8\u4e00\u6625 and Bai Shi \u767d\u77f3 (Shanghai: Shanghai People\u2019s Press, 1990), 166\u2013177.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>For Roadster bicycle, see the \u201cBicycle\u201d entry in 1911 <em>Encyclop\u00e6dia Britannica<\/em>, https:\/\/en.wikisource.org\/wiki\/1911_Encyclop\u00e6 dia_Britannica\/Bicycle; for Raleigh Roadster, see <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sheldonbrown.com\/retroraleighs\/roadster.html\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.sheldonbrown.com\/retroraleighs\/roadster.html<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>For the pricing and usage of bicycles in socialist and early reform China, the main sources that I have used include: Zhu Yehui \u6731\u53f6\u6167, \u201cxiri fenghuang kanbi benchi\u201d \u6614\u65e5\u201c\u51e4\u51f0\u201d\u582a\u6bd4\u201c\u5954\u9a70 [The Phoenix was comparable to Mercedes-Benz], and \u201cWanjin liang qiu mai yiliang yongjiu zixingche\u201d \u4e07\u65a4\u7cae\u6c42\u4e70\u4e00\u8f86\u201c\u6c38\u4e45\u201d\u81ea\u884c\u8f66 [Ten thousand kilogram of grains for one Forever bicycle], in Jia Yan \u8d3e\u5f66 (eds.), Shanghai lao pinpan \u4e0a\u6d77\u8001\u54c1\u724c [Old brands of Shanghai] (Shanghai: Shanghai cishu chubanshe, 2016), 7\u201314; Tu Minghua, <em>Che dui che, mi dui mi<\/em> \u8f66\u5151\u8f66\uff0c\u7c73\u5151\u7c73 [Bicycle in exchange for bicycle, rice in exchange for rice] (Ningbo: Ningbo Press, 2015), 219\u2013221; Li Dai \u674e\u5446, <em>Chunfeng huakai: wosuo jingli de 1976\u20131985 nian <\/em>\u6625\u98ce\u82b1\u5f00\uff1a\u6211\u6240\u7ecf\u5386\u76841976\u20131985\u5e74 [Spring breezes and blossoms: the years 1976 to 1985 in my experience] (Hangzhou: Zhejiang Gongshang University Press, 2018), 172\u2013177.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See Wiebe E. Bijker, <em>Of Bicycles, Bakelites, and Bulbs: Toward a Theory of Sociotechnical Change<\/em> (Cambridge MA: The MIT Press, 1995), chapter 2; Julia Christie-Robin, Belinda T. Orzada, Dilia L\u00f3pez-Gydos, \u201cFrom Bustles to Bloomers: Exploring the Bicycle\u2019s Influence on American Women\u2019s Fashion, 1880\u20131914,\u201d <em>The Journal of American Culture <\/em>35(2012): 315\u2013331.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"is-content-justification-right is-layout-flex wp-container-1 wp-block-buttons\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<form>\n <input type=\"button\" value=\"Back\" onclick=\"history.back()\" style=\"border-block-color: #71ea00; border-color: #71ea00; background: white; color: #71ea00; float: right; height: 40px; border-radius: 100px; padding: 0.333em 1.333em; box-shadow:none; text-shadow:none; border-width: 2px 2px 2px 2px; font-size: 1.125em;\" \"=\"\">\n<\/form>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<style>.excerpt-style {color:#538135;display:inline-block;font-weight:bold;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"excerpt-style\">28-<i>Dang<\/i> \u2014 A Bicycle that Moved Socialist and Early-Reform China<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>In 1989, U.S. President George H. W. Bush went on an official visit to China just one month after assuming office. &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2722,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2713"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2713"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2713\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2772,"href":"https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2713\/revisions\/2772"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/angelaleung.site\/mmea19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}