ABSTRACT
Qingdao (青岛 transcribed Tsingtau under German occupation) in China’s eastern Shandong province experienced 17 years of German occupation between 1897 and 1914. This chapter explores the role of alcohol within Qingdao’s colonial society and examines how it fitted in with the ambitious plans and hopes around the development of Qingdao and its society.
In Germany, the Alkoholfrage gained momentum after a lecture by Gustav von Bunge in 1886, and eventually this debate extended into the colonial context. The acclimatisation of German colonisers to a new environment was seen as challenging and especially medical experts advised against alcohol consumption altogether, since it was believed to not only considerably impair the acclimatisation process but, furthermore, to overstimulate the nerves and result in aggressive behaviour patterns. Nevertheless, most German colonisers consumed alcohol on a regular basis. In Qingdao, alcohol was widely available due to official and private importation of German liquor next to the establishment of local alcohol production (Germania Brauerei: Tsingtau Bier). Social gatherings were frequent here and characterised as especially “merry” (feucht-fröhlich) by participants.
This contribution analyses the narratives surrounding the emerging drinking cultures among several social groups in Qingdao (German soldiers, German civilians, the Chinese elite, and Chinese labourers). Against this background, I investigate the ways un which alcohol became a crucial part of the construction of colonial identities.
Primary sources for this investigation were newspapers published in Qingdao and private documents by German colonial actors (letters, diaries memories).
