3 - Fashioning Craftsman Identities and Business Networks: Ningbonese Tailors in Yokohama and Shanghai

Zhang Shangyi, a Ningbonese, ventured to Yokohama in the early 19th century, acquiring tailoring skills and establishing a successful suit business catering to Westerners in Japan. Inspired by Zhang’s achievements, numerous Ningbonese individuals, including Zhang’s family members, joined him in Yokohama. While Shanghai became a treaty port after the Opium War in 1842, the Ningbonese tailors recognised the business potential. They expanded their tailoring business to the city and formed a community namely the ‘Red Group’ (Hong Bang), dedicated to serving the ‘red-haired’ Westerners residing in Shanghai.

 
This research relies on family materials, tailors’ guild archives, and newspapers to explore the dynamics of the Ningbonese tailors from the mid-19th to early 20th centuries. It sheds light on their influence on the fashion landscape in Yokohama and Shanghai, highlighting the roles of the port-city network in facilitating Chinese craftsmen’s adaptation to social challenges and transcending boundaries. By investigating into the movement of individuals, transmission of skills, and entrepreneurial endeavours, this research underscores the resilience and resourcefulness of the Ningbonese tailors within the context of early modern China. It reveals the transformative power of cross-regional connections and the ability of craftsmen to create new opportunities in response to evolving social and economic conditions.