Leo Ou-fan Lee

"LIGHT, HEAT, POWER! ELECTRIC SHANGHAI, INTOXICATED SHANGHAI!"

Shanghai, from the Chinese meaning "the City upon the Sea". The Paris of the East. It has enticed and enchanted foreign and Chinese imaginations since its' foundation.

When this book was published, the majority of research focused around rural areas and villages, since China was, (and is, to a much lesser extent) a rural nation. This book was written as an outgrowth and a reaction to this historiographic trend.

The first part of the book analyzes early 20th century Shanghai from a social/cultural viewpoint. The city itself was a cosmopolitan hodgepodge, as a modern metropolis was. There were old shacks and alleys, the proud glimmering skyscrapers and the clock tower of the Bund. There is an infamous rumour of the discrimination in the Foreign Concessions that there was a sign in a park saying "No Chinese or Dogs Allowed." This is only a half truth. The rules first said No Dogs, then No Chinese, unless they were servants of a foreigner.

So this ugly discrimination existed in the foreign concessions. But this was not the only side of the story. A remarkable outgrowth of a unique Modern Chinese culture happened during this time too - movie houses, book stores, translation houses, writers salons, all contributed to a unique Chinese high modern culture. It was remarkably easy to find modernist works in Shanghai, either in one of the many book stores, or in translation. One author remarks with utter glee that he found a first-edition copy of Ulysses for 70 cents, when the original purchase price was $10. Some things don't change.

However, High Culure was not the only thing which existed in Shanghai, of course. The authors devote a fair bit of time to common 'lowbrow' culture, from cheap romance thrillers, to tempting pin-ups of girls in qipaos, to movie houses with cheap thrills and action. But even there, one can find some insight into the budding China. The pin-up girls, for example, combined traditional Chinese norms of beauty with Western ideals as well.

The second major section of the book moves from social analysis to a literary analysis of Shanghai through various novels. This area is particularly interesting, as one may draw comparisons to contemporary works - the Chinese Gatsby, the Chinese Hemingway, the Chinese Dashiell Hammett.

This book is Serious Academic material - the average reader will likely be dissauded by the amount of Chinese names and places. For those specialists or students, this book is a definite treat, and one that will teach you very well.

One could make comparisons between Shanghai and New York back then, as you can today. The new Shanghai is another mystery in itself, and is the rare type of city which is itself a symbol of a nation and its people.… (meer)