1. Modern history seems to indicate that Shanghaiese have formed a rather unique tribe. There aren't many ancient relics in Shanghai for sightseeing. What impresses those who travel to Shanghai the most are mops of Shanghaiese. They have somehow developed a few sets of shared living habits and psychological states of mind, something uniquely Shanghaiese which could called "Shanghaiese Civilization," if we insist being positive. For non-Shanghaiese it is rather difficult not to notice this Shanghaiese Civilization no matter on a bus, in a shop or even in a street or back alley. And this civilization has little to do with physical appearances or dialect of the spoken language.
For the same reason, when Shanghaiese travel to other places, they also stand out, speaking Shanghai dialect or not.
After a couple of rounds of interaction, outsiders get irritated. The rest of the country does not seem to hold such a high opinion for Shanghaiese. They are smart, arrogant, always calculating, talking good talks, undisciplined, dishonest, exclusive, disrespectful, politically indifferent, self-centered, distant, cheap, selfish, faddish, shrewd, superficial, unconventional, petty...on and on. All those characters adding up, we have the complete image of a Shanghaiese as perceived by a non-Shanghaiese.
China as a country can't make a living without Shanghai but the rest of the country seems to be deeply annoyed by those Shanghaiese. Almost every research institution across the country must have some Shanghaiese to keep it going, the best consumer products are made in Shanghai, while the country gets most of its capital from Shanghai. Still, Shanghaiese don't make good friends, for they have tight wallets and don't drink much at banquets. One must take extra precaution when doing business with Shanghaiese. One's worst nightmare is to be a house guest of Shanghaiese; it is so crowded and there are so many little habits and house rules. No way one wants to befriend them.
These days, some non-Shanghaiese are getting rich. The shrewd Shanghaiese are in a bad shape. It's pretty demoralizing. Just last year, a clumsy outsider brushed elbows with a Shanghai woman on a bus, that woman did what every Shanghaiese does daily by mumbling under her breath, "Outsider!" That started the eruption of a long suppressed desire deep in the heart of that man to openly complain about the Shanghaiese. "What about us outsiders? Do you want to compare your bank account with mine? I'm afraid you are several digits short, lady. Or you want to check out my education background? Tell you what? Both my sons have graduated from college." That's right. What else could a Shanghaiese be proud of? After listening to the man's speech, the whole bus cracked up a little laughter of the bitter and sour kind.
There are many more things with which others could uses curse the Shanghaiese. For instance, not one but several political thugs who brought national catastrophe started their notorious career in Shanghai. Now what do you Shanghaiese say about that? Not so politically enthused Shanghaiese appear embarrassed and fall in silence, occasionally mumbling under breath: "Those ain't real Shanghaiese. They are from the outside."
But how many people can claim they are real Shanghaiese? The true natives are those peasants who live in the suburbs of Shanghai. Yet the Shanghaiese certainly look down on "villagers."
Now it seems that Shanghaiese got stuck with an impossible embarrassment. And this embarrassment did not start today or yesterday. In my opinion, Shanghaiese are the most embarrassing group in modern Chinese history.
This Shanghaiese embarrassment has become one of the mostly heavily researched subjects of contemporary Chinese culture. According to Rong Ge (?), a culture gives all the social phenomena a vivid personality. By looking into the culture, psychology, and characters of the Shanghaiese, we might learn a history lesson or two about us Chinese as a whole.
We as a people have experienced a lot, too much maybe. What gave birth to this Shanghaiese Civilization? That thing has clung to us for several long journeys, would it continue to be part of our future?
2. Several years ago a luxurious hotel was built near Xujiahui in Shanghai, and it was called Huating Hotel. That was a very good name, because Huating was the old name of Shanghai. According to the County Records of Shanghai of Hongzhi Era of the Ming Dynasty:
Shanghai Country used to be part of Hua Ting. In Song Dynasty, many
businessmen came to here, the town thus got its name. There were a
sizable harbor and an open market. By the 29th Year of the Yuan
Dynasty, the town had a huge growth in population and business
transactions. That was when five towns were separated from Hua Ting
to form another county, under the jurisdiction of Songjiang City. The
new county was named Shanghai, meaning town above the ocean.
From the record, we could say that the oldest Shanghaiese were Huantingese. But this has very little to do with the so-called Shanghaiese Civilization here. As far as I can tell, the initiator of this Civilization was one of the finalists of the imperial examinations of the Ming Dynasty, Xu Guangqi, who by definition should be considered the first Shanghaiese. His tomb is not too far away from the Huating Hotel. The two structures stand side by side as if the end touches the head, highlighting the entirety of the invisible Shanghaiese Civilization.
Some of the characters of Today's Shanghaiese can be traced back to what Xu Guangqi used to be. The County Scholar of Jinshanwei was a very intelligent man who traveled widely. In Guangzhou, he met an Italian missionary, Guo Jujing. They hit it off really well. From that man Xu Guangqi found out what Catholicism really meant. At 34 he was already quite knowledgeable with Chinese religious spirit, especially its main pillar in Confucianism. However, Xu did not brush Western religion off like many Chinese men did when they saw the glass mirror for the first time in their life; nor did he just write a little essay about what he just heard and pushed it off to the corner of his desk. Instead, Xu put his mind into the ideas the religion offered to him. In the meantime, Xu did not give up on the imperial examination. Four years later, on his way to Beijing to take the highest imperial examination, he looked up the more famous European missionary Li Madou in Nanjing to learn more about the metaphysics and the meaning of life. Later he befriended another missionary, Luo Ruwang, and was baptized by Luo as well.
Two years after being baptized, Xu Guangqi passed the imperial examinations and became a member of the imperial Hanlin court. Normally that was a rather high honor for a traditional Chinese scholar; after stepping over that threshold, one was guaranteed a position in the imperial court. But this Shanghaiese was more restless, as he became a patron of the residence of Li Douma in Beijing. Their conversations evolved way beyond religion. They discussed astronomy, calendar-making, mathematics, weaponry, economics, irrigation, and many other fields. Xu exhibited a zealous interest in mathematics. It was quite a scene: A man in the gowns and caps of the imperial court indulged himself into the tight logic of Western mathematics. Before long, with the assistance from Li Douma Xu translated the multi-volumed Principles of Geometry into Chinese and got them published as well. That was still in the Wanli Era of the Ming Dynasty, some 230 years ahead of the bombshells of the Opium War.
This Shanghaiese was quite a social butterfly, for even though with a new set of mathematical logic under his armpit, he did not challenge the old feudalism of politics and philosophy. Instead, he was well received by all sides and became a favorite of the emperor. Some 20 years after the publication of the Principles of Geometry, Xu was promoted as the Assistant Minister and later Minister of Rites. Now at this high position, he started to seriously promote Catholicism, and introducing science from the West and inviting Europeans to come and stay in China to teach. He really worked hard, so hard that he died from over-working a few years later. For his death, Emperor Congzhen "shut down the court for a day" to memorize this remarkable man while his body was shipped down to Shanghai for a formal funeral. The site of the burial has housed all of Xu's offspring ever since thus the name Xujiahui (Xu family community). Up until his death Xu Guangqi was an example of a rare combination of the East and the West: the imperial court of China awarded him with many titles and presents to his family while his tombstone had Latin carved on it by Church groups.
He was open-minded, eager to learn, flexible, intelligent, hard-working enough to master traditional culture, uncanny in dealing with real life situations. He had an eye cast out of the window on world civilization while exhibiting great genius in absorbing new or even foreign knowledge and thinking with remarkable quickness. It was amazing how he could utilize his learning so naturally in his life. He was obviously not the same as the famous Hubeiese, Zhang Juzhen, who went into great length of meditation and planning in order to do great good; nor was he like the Cantonese, Hai Rui, who spent his life in arguing his case in front of the imperial court; Xu did not act like Jiangxiese, Tang Xianzu, who wrote poetry and gave eloquent speeches. If anything else, Xu was the first ever shrewd Shanghaiese in the Ming Dynasty.
Xu Guangqi, with his impeccable practical attitude about life, never gave it much thought about what would happen after his death. The irony is that he left a spectacular sum to his children. His burial site has become the center of Western religion and science. The famous Shanghai Jiaotong University was founded here last century, and Fudan University used to located Xujiahui, just inside the Li Mansion before moved to Jiangwan. Starting from Xujiahui, the Huaihai Road stretches to the east, drawing a straight line across the City of Shanghai, which was once the impulse of Western civilization in China. Xujiahui and Huaihai Road were where the high society of old Shanghai flourished with class and style, qualities that have lasted for a long, long time. Therefore, some people said that, if one wants to divide the Shanghaiese Civilization into different classes, the top echelon should be definitely be called Xujiahui Civilization.
The 16th generation of Xu Guangqi was a military man, one of his granddaughter was Ni Guizhen, mother of the three sisters of the Song family who were well-placed in modern Chinese history, to say the least. Madame Ni Guizhen took her family tradition seriously as she was a devoted Christian and mathematician. The great impact her daughters brought to modern Chinese history further indicated the greatness of the Shanghaiese Civilization started by Xu Guangqi.
Such logical historical events and tradition sometimes are obscured by the clamorous and spinning reality. I read an edition of "Biography of Song Meiling" translated from English the other day, it calls the respected ancestor of the three Song sisters "Wen Qingkuang," which puzzled me to no end. So I had to look up the English original and found out that it was really "Wen Jinggong," his decoration title. It's no big deal for the author of the book to forget Xu Guangqi; but it may be a problem for the Shanghaiese Civilization if we forget its roots thus lose its guiding spirit.
Shanghaiese were pleasantly surprised to hear Madam Song Qingling speak on the radio, for she spoke authentic Shanghai dialog. That was quite a shock for the Shanghaiese who had lost their self-confidence for quite some time already: how could one of the greatest figures of modern history speak Shanghaiese?
It's not hard to imagine that three or four hundred years ago, in Beijing, a Chinese scholar with a huge bag of ancient Chinese culture on his back had quite a discussion on the Principles of Geometry with an European for the first time in human history. He of course spoke with distinct Shanghai accent.
3. Those who have even a slight sense of modern world geography would favor Shanghai. Beijing is a typical ancient Chinese capital, sitting poised facing the south with its back square to the Great Wall, with a serious and severe expression on his face. Shanghai is just the opposite as she looks sideways towards the east, facing a vast ocean that is the Pacific. Behind her the Yangzi River races down across nine provinces. For a self-content, self-efficient China, Shanghai lives in a remote corner, warranting not much attention. But in a wide-open world of today, Shanghai has a broad field of vision, can take in and spit out thousands of tons of materials daily with ease. It's really an advantageous position.
Yeah, had the Pacific Ocean meant nothing to China, Shanghai would have amounted no value to this ancient country. How many masterpieces can you produce behind shut doors? Shanghai is a door that cracks, lets in gusty winds and clamorous noises from outside thus disturbs the peace of the owner of the great house that is the Central Kingdom. We have the two provinces sitting on the sides of Dongqing Lake, together with Sichuan, they can produce plenty of rice to feed us all, so it seems. On the contrary, Shanghai can never produce much rice. We have all kinds of networks of fresh rivers and lakes, the vast ocean surrounding Shanghai is not drinkable. We have our three holy mountains and five famous peaks to host all of our religions and provide us with beautiful views while Shanghai does not even have a decent hill. We have all kinds of wide roads and canals, to get Shanghai connected, extra effort is needed, for crying out aloud. We have many ancient capitals, scattered all around while Shanghai is too young even as a county...what would a people who grew up clinging to the arms of the Yellow River need Shanghai who sits in a corner of the ocean for?
Shanghai since its birth has never possessed the compatibility, let alone harmony, with the solemnity of the Chinese culture.
In 19th Century, Li Xun, member of the British West India Trust sent a report back to his government describing the geographical importance of Shanghai. That made Shanghai one of five ports plied open by the Nanjing Treaty. In 1842, British Naval Ships broke into Shanghai. Since then, Shanghai was put in the eye of a whirling storm. Western Civilization came together with its many dregs, while a bankrupted, poverty-struck China was waging more and more in Shanghai. In the speed of lightning Shanghai fell in the chaos that actually took the entire world by storm.
Mentally Xu Guangqi's Children had been prepared for this great turmoil; still, their eyes were opened by the volume of the clamor and transactions. On the one hand, colonialists, adventure-takers, new-rich, gangsters, ruffians, prostitutes, underground societies, sprang up like wild weeds. On the other hand, mixing in were universities, hospitals, post offices, banks, buses, scholars, poets and scientists. Sailing sirens sounded off on the Huangpu River, neon lights flashed all over the streets of Shanghai, where Western suits and ties walked alongside with traditional Chinese robes and vests, and all sorts of Chinese dialogs and European and American languages were spoken in Shanghai. People came and went, some one's loss became other's gain, goods exchanged hands in the most rapid fashion one could ever imagine. Shanghai grew up like a weird mushroom with odd societies in all social strata, all kinds of currents and undercurrents clashed there, made their noises and waves.
This was a historian's nightmare. You could call Shanghai the shame of modern China; but, wouldn't it be also shameful if a people who came to the modern world still resisting to become part of the modernity? You cold say that Shanghai was where the Chinese started their modernization drive. However, which people in this world have ever embarked on their modernization journey in such a rush, panic, self-doubt, disorganization as Shanghai did? Then you could view Shanghai as an urban civilization growing up in revolt of the traditional Chinese agricultural civilization. Yet, where could one find another urban civilization like Shanghai which has been surrounded, suspected, scrutinized, attacked so severely by a powerful force of agriculture.
Anyway, you are looking at a grand contradiction here. If you pay too much attention to its muddy side, it would flash back really brightly in your face. But if you started to worship its greatness, it would simply turn around and show you the unattended back wall, falling and fallen.
Yet, out of these chaos and contradiction, there formed a living environment and new psyche that were quite a departure from the old Chinese ways. Early in this century, many revolutionaries and modern thinkers were chased by the imperial power under the threat of jail and execution, the concessions in Shanghai actually provided the much needed shelter for those bright minds. What was important was that this death-pursuit and concession-protection highlighted a direct conflict between the Chinese feudalistic tradition and the Western civilization. Shanghai residents had the habit in newspaper reading, doing their daily analytical thinking assiduously. So they started to develop an eye that is up to the international standard; with that, they realized how much injustice was actually embedded in the old Chinese system of justice and law. By following the hearsay of real cases in the back alleys and streets, Shanghaiese have comprehended, though largely vague in theory, democracy, humanism, freedom, law, political dissidents, criminal justice, and other modern concepts. This was why they have been so deeply disgusted by the feudalistic tradition. Such a disgust was not the result of logical thinking or meditation but a conclusion drawn from looking at real events checked against their intuitive common sense, a habit shared practically by most people in this city.
While the legal cases were fought in the court, another significant development that was happening at the same time was that many Shanghai officials and community leaders proposed to take down the old city wall, for it was obviously obstructing public transportation and businesses. One of the phrases repeated many times in this proposal was that the taking down of the city wall could be an experiment for "the Chinese to open up." Of course there were some opposing forces; after a few rounds of debates, the Shanghaiese took down their city wall thus transformed themselves into a tribe that carries the smallest bag of feudal rules and mentality on their backs.
Later, a social revolution originated from the countryside changed the course of the history of Shanghai, for one thing it has become much quieter since then. Some Shanghaiese left but most of them remain here. They were asked to keep the same pace with the inland in development and to take on the economical responsibility for the inland. Shanghai turned around, calmed down its own internal feelings and decided to become a dutiful old son of the family. Just like character Juexin, oldest of the three sons in Ba Jin's "Family," now there is so much on his shoulder that he could no longer play the way he used to. The ocean breeze still knocks at his back but there is no time to look around. Machines make their nonstop noises in factories, buses are crowded with people going to and back from work, everyone is tired thus the night of Shanghai becomes quiet and streets deserted. In order to completely cut off from the previous period of bustling and clamor and seduction, large numbers of officials from the countryside moved into Shanghai. To avoid the possibility of facing a war from the Pacific Ocean, many factories were moved from Shanghai deep into some inland mountains. So the higher and the more steep the mountains, the more possibilities to find some Shanghaiese there. Thus plain locals of the mountains would point to the backs of some factory workers, giggling, "Look those Shanghaiese. Hehe."
In recent years Shanghaiese started to feel restless. Guangzhouese, Shenzhenese, Weizhouese, all have got up and come to Shanghai with fat wallets. Shanghaiese give them the stare but do not fallow them around. Shanghaiese feel a little bit down but haven't lost all their self-esteem. They must be thinking to themselves: wait and see when we Shanghaiese stand up. That would be the real scene. Perhaps that's only a self-consolation but let's hear it out anyway.
4. We should give Shanghaiese the benefit of the doubt for so consoling themselves. The Shanghaiese Civilization is above all a cultural phenomenon. Economic transactions simply do not cover all the bases of the Shanghaiese civilization.
The most noticeable characteristic of the Shanghaiese civilization is based on the principle of individual freedom and co-existence. For Shanghaiese, tolerance is no longer a policy or promise but an instinct of life.
In China, the opposite to the Shanghaiese tolerance is the imperial mentality that has been the norm of the long feudalistic tradition. Although feudalism is quite passe nowadays, different forms of such mentality is still ubiquitous all over China. It has spread to provincial capitals and even small county capitals, to form alliances with a huge acquiesce from a vast population. Whatever swept Shanghai in the past, the outcome is that the feudalistic mentality is almost non-existent in Shanghai. If you don't bother others, Shanghaiese generally ask no questions of your lifestyle. Compared with other places, Shanghaiese don't normally socialized with their neighbors in the same apartment complex or even in the same dormitory. This is why there are so many quarrels when several families have to share a kitchen or toilet, for every family has its independence, freedom and privacy to protect. In other words, this Shanghai tolerance does not mean yielding but "taking care of one's self." In the realm of morality, yielding to others may be a virtue; but in the heart of a cultural psyche, "taking care of one's self" may be more in tune with the modern time tolerance and co-existence. The act of respecting the rationality of the existence of all forms of mentalities to the point of asking no questions definitely ranks higher in significance than the yielding mentality acquired from hard training in morality. Why does one have to yield to others? Since the choice is narrowed to one, if not you, it has to be me. If I don't yield to you, I will have to fight you for it. This is the starting point of life's norm under dictatorship and conformity. Why can one "take care of one's self" only? Because there are many choices for everyone, you take your lane, I take mine, nobody kills anybody else. This acquiesce of co-existence comes from the philosophy of pluralism.
In the lower class of Shanghaiese, there are those who love to talk about others' businesses and gossip about others' in-laws. However, even those people know that "nosing into others' business" is something nobody likes in Shanghai. Many officials came to Shanghai via official assignments have been bothered by the decision as to where to draw the line between official and personal businesses. However, it is always clear to a Shanghaiese that any business that is not related with work is private business, thus nobody should interfere with that.
In spoken Shanghai dialog, there is a wonderful phrase, it simply says, "why does it concern you?" (Or, "what does that have to you with you?") In other part of the country, if what a young lady wears often draws comments and criticism from co-workers, she will have to defend herself point by point, by saying "there is nothing wrong with short skirts," or "blue jeans are really versatile." This is not even an issue for a young lady in Shanghai. Even it looks ugly on me, it's still not your business. She will simply say "why does it concern you?" and ends the discussion there. She could say it either with an angry tone or playful one, the logic is the same.
In social and natural sciences, most scholars who are well-schooled in the Shanghai mentality aren't so enthused to debate with others. They don't even like to rebut. They believe that there are many ways to express one's self in social and natural sciences, everyone can just choose his or her own path, you can look at how others do things but there is no reason to ask everyone to do it the same way. In recent years, in scholarly fields, there have been some arguments dubbed as "debate between the North and the South," "debate between Beijing school and Shanghai school." However, these debates are really assumed by those from the North. Shanghaiese rarely offer any counter argument even when their points are being openly questioned. They simply hold on to their points while hearing out the attackers then simply repeat that line in silence rather playfully, "why does it concern you?"
Based on the concept of self-independence, scholarly reports from Shanghai usually bring freshness and uniqueness. Yet, because this concept has been so trivialized, the entire Shanghaiese scholarship seems fragmentary, many wonderful creations and conceptions appear rather thin and weak.
Based on the concept of self-independence, Shanghaiese exhibit this silent tolerance and tolerating silence. A Taiwan compatriot visited Shanghai and wrote in his travelogue, "what else is there that Shanghaiese haven't seen?" Certainly, wide range of experience or witnessing could lead to calm and silence. The real significance is that they are used to high frequency of changes in life and society thus have resorted to indifference and silence. They want change and then take change as the normal state of mind. As a result, they are rather skilled in maintaining a self, no longer paying any attention to the positions other people have to take amidst changes.
With such a mentality, Shanghaiese have a hard time obeying higher orders or following high authority with sincerity for any period of time, as certain high positioned people often feel uncomfortable in Shanghai. On the contrary, Shanghaiese could throw themselves under the feet of a person who could not make it some place else but has the quality appealing to the Shanghai mentality. Some famous Beijing Opera singers, for example, actually got their careers started in Shanghai. It is hard to imagine even today that Shanghai, which is by no means a Beijing Opera city, has nurtured the special Beijing Opera talent, Zhou Xinfang, for quite a long time. Shanghaiese do not provide any reasons when they almost overnight become fond of the young Cantonese Opera singer Zhao Zhigang, Shanghai Opera singer Mao Shanyu. They did not count how many big shows these youngsters had participated or had not had the chances or the fact that they grew up in the countryside. On the other hand, when those artists of bigger reputation came to town trying to impress the Shanghaiese with their experience, ranks in the fields, or simply reputation, all they hear would be sharp criticism from Shanghai newspapers against their attitude or performance. By the same logic, Shanghai artists show very little interests in going to Beijing to win a performance prize.
The People's Performing Arts Institute of Beijing decided to bring (Lao She"s) Tea House and other plays to Shanghai, when I was in Beijing attending a conference for writers and artists. Some friends in the Beijing opera circle expressed their concerns to me: can such an old group of artists with those old plays be successful in a city like Shanghai where the change rate is rather high? My colleagues and I the Shanghai delegation responded with confidence, "Certainly." Make no mistake about it, Shanghaiese show great enthusiasm to true arts, old or new. On the other hand, the so-called "Nude Exhibits" which had been a hit in Beijing previously was met with a cold shoulder in Shanghai.
5. Another distinct characteristic of the Shanghaiese Civilization reflects in its shrewd calculation of practical results. It could be the blood of Xu Guangqi's Principles of Geometry is still circulating in the veins, or it could be the fast changing environment nurtures new survival instincts, the fact is Shanghaiese always have an eye on scientific results, and impatient with tardiness and stupidity.
In the fields of scientific research or trade and commerce, Shanghaiese do not exhibit great courage or ambition, but they usually don't end up in a big loss. Many units all over the country hire Shanghaiese to deal with those brainy tasks, this is not even a secret.
What's sad is that there are not enough tasks around that require high brain power for Shanghaiese to take care of. As a result, Shanghaiese have to find other outlets to show off their excessive talents at wrong places where shrewd calculation is not welcome. So their natural talents become their glaring weakness in many cases.
Shanghaiese do not like to entertain guests with an ocean to drink and a mountain to eat, or to "chip a mountain" in a sleepless night of casual chat between friends, or to accompany a visiting friend for days to show their loyalty to friendship, or to sit through a long speech or give a long speech. In Shanghai, writers' or poets' saloons have never been a success because everyone calculates out how much time it takes really for nothing. Shanghaiese do not like luxury hotels, for their calculation shows that it benefits really nobody. So on and so forth. Those are fine. As long as Shanghaiese use their shrewdness on things as such, no one would complain.
However, one could easily see inefficiency which actually comes from this excessive calculation. Many Shanghaiese, before taking a long trip to the other side of the city, would spend some time in planning and calculating to see which routes would save them the maximum amount from bus money. In their eyes, three or five cents matter a great deal. One can easily hear about well thought out routes on a bus ride, so precise that the thinking really out-matches high military commanders in an ambush style. What's more? Whenever such topics come up in a bus, the whole bus is filled with massive enthusiasm for the discussion. It really makes one feel sad to live through those episodes of live. Shanghai is easily the national champion in terms of number of fights involved electricity and gas bills in crowded living quarters.
It is just too easy to blame everything on poverty, because you can easily spot those who fight for a couple of cents are smoking imported cigarettes, each piece could easily double the amount that is in dispute.
I realize that the reason for Shanghaiese to be so stubborn with trivial matters is because they feel that they have a self-image of intelligence to protect. Intelligence takes on its own life, which in turn needs channels to vent its accumulations of frustration or inspiration from time to time. Although the way they do it seems so trivial and insignificant in many eyes, it must feel good to be able to vent those pressure from the mind. Poor Shanghaiese, high IQ has become a heavy burden on their shoulders. They are not allowed to study calculus, to draw designs, to operate an assembly line, or to compete on the commercial fronts, what else could they do? Too old to enter any contest, and gambling would put too much a dent on the wallet and personal reputation among friends. Therefore, their only choice is to fight those insignificant battles. Yet, it's serious and agonizing but it's a way to vent some of the frustrations.
Really, such brain power and debate skills should have been great assets at the negotiation tables with foreign trade and business representatives.
The shrewdness and intelligence of the Shanghaiese have formed a halo which shines in every alley and street of this massive city. Fast in communications and quick in judgment, Shanghaiese do not need much to understand each other. To buy a bus ticket on board, for example, a passenger hands in 15 cents and just says "two," the ticket master immediately hand back two tickets of 7 cent value. It is as if they are engaged in a contest of quickness and conciseness. Anyone who can't follow the communication line is considered "a country cousin," that's where the Shanghaiese become arrogant in others' eyes. Shanghaiese bus ticket masters and department sales people aren't even below average nationwide in attitude; yet, many visitors can't stand them, because they seem to demand that customers to possess the same communications skills and judgment. If they are slow, they are considered as "not knowing what they want" thus being ignored.
Think about it, this is not xenophobia but a tragic clinging to one's superior intelligence.
Shanghaiese shrewdness and intelligence also cast some reflections in their cultural life, they have "this appreciation for both elegance and vulgarity." Those who work in the fields of arts and culture in Shanghai are inevitably practical people, they do not cling to the life or social phenomenon when it clearly becomes passe. They are forward-looking as they search to be vanguard. Their knowledge base is rather solid, enough to step into the halls of high art galleries of national or international platform. However, their shrewdness points them to practicality and audience acceptance. They don't worship heroes with wounds all over the body and doors all closed in their faces. Nor do they wish to put themselves in a position where no one but themselves could appreciate what they are trying to accomplish. They possess this natural ability to put theory into practice then let the intelligence and artistic talents shine through practical forms. There is no doubt that this practice in interpreting high arts into popular arts would loosen up the tight logic of a well thought out theory thus make sharp thoughts dull and ordinary, as if tired. On the other hand, their way of doing things actually move things ahead in a leisurely way and can get the results which eager beavers have a hard time to attend. This could also be called the Shanghai shrewdness in cultural evolution.
What epitomizes this Shanghai style of "appreciation for both elegance and vulgarity is Xinmin Evening News, for it has kept a delicate balance between the elegant and the vulgar. As a result, a good portion of Shanghai residents take reading Xinmin Evening News as an indispensable part of their daily life, including some professors and scholars. The paper has cut up an interesting gray area while anything from high arts to low taste imitations can get in and out with ease, with the City of Shanghai situated right in the middle. Similar things can be said about the scenes of drama, painting, film and television, novel writing in Shanghai.
6. Another mentality in Shanghai Civilization comes from the desire for an open culture that is part of this city's historical legend of foreign exchange.
Compared with the rest of the nation, Shanghaiese have a peace of mind in dealing with the outside world. They have never really looked down foreigners. In other words, they have no fear of or exhibit excessive respect for foreigners. In general, Shanghaiese place Westerners above Chinese but they never lower their head for any foreigner. My friend Sha Yexin once told me in good humor that he "respects but does not worship the West." It can be used to describe the overall Shanghaiese attitude perfectly.
Make no bones about it, this attitude has everything to do with the history of this city. For example, every old time rickshaw puller in Shanghai could speak a few sentences of English. However, as low as they were in social rankings, they did not hesitate to confront foreigners during the May 30th Incident. There have been many foreigners living in Shanghai; as long time neighbors, the Shanghaiese seem to have friendly relations with those foreigners. Store salespeople in Shanghai treat foreign customers the same as every other customer; some of them actually help foreign guests out by giving advice according to their purchase capacity.
Many cities in the North call foreigners "Lao Wei (or respectful outsider), a small humor that is neither respectful nor derogatory. It sounds pretty intimate but actually rather distant thus could not find its way into Shanghai dialog. In spoken Shanghaiese, except for children, seldom does one call all the non-Chinese foreigners. If they know where they come from, they call them Americans, British, Germans, Japanese, etc. This is further proof that ordinary Shanghaiese feel close to foreigners.
These days every Shanghaiese, no matter where they stand in social rankings, wants their children to study abroad. Most of those youth who went to Japan to study while working to support themselves basically had no family support thus act really on their own. Before children become fully independent, most Shanghaiese parents do not encourage them to go to Japan. Instead, they want their children to go to America for a real education. One can see that here all eyes are looking at a broad field of vision that includes the entire world.
In fact, even during the years of closed doors, Shanghaiese have always kept that desire to educate their children with the entire world in mind, although going abroad or engaging the world was completely impossible. High schools there have traditionally emphasized the teaching of English language. Even when learning English was utterly useless, no Shanghaiese had asked the school to exempt their kids from English classes. Most Shanghaiese arrange to have their kids learn how to play piano or to sing; however, not many of them would like to see their children to join any of the military performing troupes, even though those troupes attracted quite an attention elsewhere. Another example is that, while the Harbin University of Military Technology once enjoyed a huge reputation nationwide, top talents from Shanghai have traditionally ignored that school. During the horrific years of the Cultural Revolution, everything seemed to have died off in China. However, there were a handful of foreign performances of classic Western music who paid quiet visits to Shanghai. The newspapers did not mention much about those performances but somehow the tickets became the hottest items in town. So where did those Western classic music fans hide all those years? At the performance, everyone dressed up, followed the order and paid their respect to the performers at the sophistication of international standard. It was something that makes every Shanghaiese proud. There was a symphony of Beethoven concerts, nobody knows how many Shanghaiese stood in harsh cold wind overnight to buy a ticket. Two years ago, the famous fantastic play "Waiting for Godo" came to our institute for a trial performance. For an average play fan, this one is rather dull and boring, as the performance did not draw well even in its home country. But many Shanghaiese sat through the show quietly to the end, without any interruption in the nature of swearing, or load mouth talking, or wild cheering. I am sure there were quite a few in the audience who did not understand what the show was about. But they know from the beginning that it is a world-renown masterpiece so they felt that they ought to see it. They actually understood that they can't get all the meaning on the spot, neither the play nor themselves were at fault there. So the show went on night after night, people came in waves, quiet and unfazed.
Let's not avoid the topic here, the lower social strata in Shanghai do not really have the desire for an internationalized culture; only because they have lived in the City that does, time has rubbed that desire into their subconscious. Shanghai was not completely immune to the official propaganda that "education is useless." The difference was that parents in Shanghai would never allow a talented kid to drop out of school. Only for those kids who can't make it in school, some parents would mumble that "education is really useless" as excuse to explain to themselves, neighbors and friends. Even during the height of the Cultural Revolution, the last group of pre-Revolution college graduates were targets for marriage partners, even though not everyone had the looks, the salary or bright future. Under special social and historical circumstances, the desire for higher culture seems to be blind. In this sense, Shanghaiese, though the most practical bunch as dubbed by others, aren't really practical at all in searching for high culture in life. In my personal opinion, this is what sets the Shanghaiese apart from the Cantonese, though they are pretty similar in many other aspects.
7. I guess I can cite a few other characteristics of the Shanghaiese Civilization but you get the picture by what you have read so far. What's interesting is that the torch-carriers of the this Civilization are a rather mixed group of masses; therefore, this Civilization is not a fixed cultural phenomenon but an invisible mentality or psyche that constantly inhaling and exhaling those who are under its influence. Some people who have lived in Shanghai for ages still could not fit in while it only take others a few days to feel right at home here. Therefore, Shanghaiese can not be defined by residentship but by the characters exhibited.
No doubt, Shanghai is far from an ideal city in the modern world. A twisted history still limits them though also has them made. Their unique position sets them free from many burdens yet also confines them to where they are. They appear rather different in China and yet still peculiar in the world.
In terms of cultural make-up, they are a group that has the least identification with anything. It seems that they can claim a lot of things as their own, tradition, modernity, China, the world, economy, culture, good reputation, true intelligence, a great network of connections around the globe, and efficiency. But none of them is really authentic theirs under close scrutiny. They can easily set themselves free yet they have to deal with the loneliness that is the price for their freedom.
They have done and dreamt up so much. There are still many dreams in their heads but they seem to drag their feet a bit. They seem to hear many voices calling upon them, disturbing the intelligence inside, it's rather puzzling, to say the least. They are confused.
They seem to have realized that certain bad habits and backwardness drag them down. Still they have no idea how to clean up the mess, with what magic wand or holy water?
They have heard the high-pitched songs of sorrow rolling down from the Yellow Earth Plateau, and witnessed the brisk matching forward along the beaches of the South China Sea. They are envious; still, their instinct tells them that too much a show of envy constitutes a grand loss of the true Shanghaieseness. However, who am I? What should I do now? The whole city is lost in some soul-searching.
Last summer I attended an international conference in Hong Kong and heard a China expert say that "after some serious research, I can conclude with no hesitation here that the potentials and capacity of the Shanghaiese take back seat to none of the world class cities of today." Sure, this was the not the first time that Shanghaiese have heard such encouragement. The more they hear, the heavier they feel in their thinking.
Still, every morning, Shanghaiese drive a hard bargain in the market and quarrel with each other on the buses. Getting home at the evening when their heads cool down from another day of overuse, they teach their children to dedicate themselves in learning English. When their children grow up ordinary, Shanghaiese let out a sigh and raise a hand to comb their gray hair with their fingers.
This strange tale of Shanghaiese is still being written by yet another generation.
8. The key to writing a new history for Shanghai has to be in finding ways to build new reputation for Shanghaiese. That is, to re-adjust the overall structure of character. For this, please forgive me for being blunt and undiplomatic here.
Today's structure of character in Shanghaiese is more or less inherited from roughly a hundred years of high frequency of prosperity and chaos. Earlier this century, Shanghaiese witnessed one of the best shows of the world in their backyard. But one must remember that then Shanghaiese were not in the driver's seat even in their own city. For a long time, Shanghaiese were put in the positions of security guards, employees, interpreters, deputies, middlemen; those who were in charge or standing up front were either foreigners or people from outside of Shanghai. The majority of Shanghaiese stayed behind in the second line, watching, comparing, analyzing, following, advising, worrying, celebrating, as they tasted time again the ups and downs of second line positions. Yes, there were a selected few from Shanghai made it to the top; however, their success somehow inevitably moved them away from Shanghai. So, their overall role enabled the Shanghaiese to have a wide range of experiences and to be able to fit into the modern world of competition; yet, the same old experience dictates that they lack the necessary self-confidence thus are afraid to let their talents fully bloom in the face of the world.
Until today, the best Shanghaiese can offer are still just good enough to be the high level employee of an international corporation, seldom do we see any CEO or president with the power to take in a piece of the mountains or rivers in a hand gesture. The vision of the Shanghaiese is far wider than their trailblazing ability. They have plenty of adaptability but little initiation. They possess a high background but not enough to command large troops. They have the entire world in their field of vision but lack the confidence to use the world as their playground.
Therefore, Shanghaiese are always waiting. They have high expectations, nothing really satisfies them. The result is that they spend their days or lives complaining. And complaining is all they do, as their limitation comes from their mentality in being content to be employed.
Lacking the courage to be the number one of the entire wide world and strength to take charge, the shrewdness and intelligence of the Shanghaiese are looked upon as characters of the weak. They do not have the habit nor the ability to laugh really loud and bright, to fight with head in hand, to travel afar alone, to put up a last ditch fight. They want to play but do not do it completely relaxed as they constantly look over their shoulders and drag their feet. Even their love affairs are not that romantic.
The ugliness of the Shanghaiese spreads really from here on. They have lost the grand direction of life thus their intelligence becomes a plaything in their living quarters. The highly educated favor saloon environment; they can talk a real good talk but the inspiration of life is nowhere to find, let alone sparks. The under-educated actually try to show off their smarts any place at any time thus become mean and obnoxious. Then comes the worst: those street gangs and neighborhood bullies are really disgusting creatures of human existence. Shanghaiese do not live comfortably. Yet, their lack of direct feeling of life deprives them the sense of tragedy. Without the sense of tragedy, they don't know how to appreciate excellence and greatness that life can be. Although they claim they love comic, they are not that humorous, because they do not possess the big heart and unconventional grace. The result is that Shanghaiese can offer neither the greatest tragedy nor the greatest comedy. It seems that two of the biggest lights for a great life are rather dim over their heads. Chinese culture shouldn't at all hang its entire future on the rethinking of its great past; Shanghai seems to have a great role in leading the nation to a new era. Unfortunately, the character of the Shanghaiese determines that they do not have the strength to take on that task; their lack of depth in understanding of life limits their success in life to small time things. When the Chinese culture and nation need risk-takers and take-charge-individuals, what we find in Shanghai is an abundant supply of supporting cast, big and small.
Even their arrogance which disgusts the whole nation is only an armor to blindly protect their physical and mental existence. It's a small time arrogance which awe-strikes no one really. The real tough minded also have some pride, but their confidence of no-fear mentality brings them the spiritual strength which in turn makes them appear poised and open-minded. They do not feel superior to or judge others with a disgusted look on their face by fixing an eye on lifestyle and street smarts only.
In short, although the structure of Shanghaiese character has some unique features, it lacks an overall energy source to ignite a raging fire. Therefore, this city has lost its awe-inspiring energy and far-reaching magnanimity.
The irony is that those who attack the Shanghaiese the fiercest are those who are confined by even more pitiful backwardness. They criticize the Shanghaiese for worshipping anything foreign and for being self-centered and devious from the traditional ways. They want Shanghai to shed its dresses and suits and put on drags, to become obedient, to conform to the rest of the nation. For this attack, Shanghaiese with their chest full of sea breezes react with great stubbornness, and show no signs of repentance. It's OK for the time being and we should not follow others in such a haste. Perhaps after some grand confusion, a group of good men and women will emerge.
It's time for Shanghaiese to construct freer, stronger, more enthusiastic and more ambitious characters into their making. Shanghai already has the ocean, the world and the future at her fingertips. If the people can incorporate the above qualities into their characters, they will be the first group in the country to achieve an unprecedented greatness.
If she remains a perpetual market of employees, a mere homebase for overseas Chinese generation after generation, this city will slowly slip out of the world map in the future. History leaves no room for followers.
Not long ago I read a foreign report saying that a wonderful bookstore somewhere in Germany actually carries the map of Shanghai. The reporter's excitement really makes me sad, because the report clearly states that this bookstore collects maps from all world famous cities. What the hell was he so surprised that the store sells the map of Shanghai??
Shanghai shouldn't be at this position. No, it shouldn't.
If one can find temporal meaning from spatial dimension, it won't be too hard to understand that, if China loses Shanghai, she loses a whole page of history. If the Shanghai Civilization is lost, that would be a sad story for the entire people.