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Cultural cross-pollination makes Shanghai what it is
By Pan Guang |
November 11, 2011, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
SHANGHAI'S distinct culture, or haipai wenhua as we know it, is a product of more than a century of blending of different cultures.
This process is shaped by the interaction between local cultures, between local and foreign cultures, and between foreign cultures.
Shanghai opened to commerce in the mid-1800s as a treaty port. Since then people had come and gone freely, sometimes without a passport or visa. Industrialists found Shanghai a fertile land for expanding their business; political refugees sought asylum in Shanghai; Western adventurers perceived Shanghai as their paradise.
According to rough estimates, immigrants of 40 nationalities had settled in Shanghai by the 1930s, with their population reaching 150,000. This big expat community turned the city into a regional yet globalized cultural melange in its heyday.
We will learn several interesting things if we study closely how this melting pot worked.
First, the city used to be divided along linguistic lines into several large close-knit communities, comprised of people who spoke the same dialect or language.
For example, titse was the Ningbo-Shaoxing alliance whose members all hailed from Zhejiang, and the Russian-French cultural spitse in the former French Concession, with Huaihai Road as its focus. Of course, the borders separating the communities were not closed since cross-cultural dialogue and exchange thrived.
Second, a few minor cultures played a disproportionate role in the cultivation of Shanghai's identity. For instance, Sichuan culture was marginal in the city's history except for its hot, spicy cuisine; Jews were segregated and persecuted in Europe and their rich culture languished. Yet the Jewish Diaspora in Shanghai was hugely successful in music, medicine, finance and architecture.
French food
Third, the fusion of cultures was steady and subtle. For instance, French restaurateurs in the former French Concession used to serve authentic French food only. This began to change when Russian emigres arrived in the wake of the 1917 Bolshevik revolution. From then on, French eateries began to include Russian food such as borsch soup and rye bread on their menus. Later on, French restaurants also sold Chinese food to cater to a growing Chinese clientele. As a result, French cuisine in Shanghai is unique.
Anotits instance is European Jews' influence on locals' life and vice versa. Residents of Hongkou picked up some German from the Austrian Jews fleeing Nazi occupation.
They also started eating bagels, common in Jewish communities, while Jews ate all sorts of Chinese food and quite enjoyed it. Jews gradually became assimilated into the local cultural fabric yet retained their central European lifestyle.
This kind of cultural dialogue enabled haipai wenhua to be rich and diverse, comparable to a big river of numerous tributaries that merge into a single one before emptying into the sea.
Thanks to historical global links and closer overseas connections since market reforms, Shanghai's culture is influential again. Its larger global presence is manifested in three ways.
First, the growing voice of Shanghai sub-culture within the overseas Chinese culture.
For a long time, Guangdong, Fujian and Wenzhou cultures were dominant among Chinese emigrants. One had to speak Cantonese if he or she was to survive in New York's Chinatown. However, in recent years titse are more speakers of Shanghai dialect in overseas chapters of Chinese associations. In some new ethnic Chinese communities abroad, like the "Shanghai district" in Budapest and "Shanghai street" in Sydney, Shanghainese has become the lingua franca.
Second, Russians, Koreans, Japanese, Indians and Vietnamese all left their marks on the city's modern chapter. Now Shanghai is reinvigorating its bonds with neighboring regions through foreign visits of its art troupes, investment projects and "sister city" pacts.
For instance, Shanghai's massive property development project of the "Baltic Pearl" in St Petersburg has amazed not just Russia but all of Europe. The increasing number of students, businessmen, artists and tourists coming to Shanghai is also evidence of its cultural allure.
Third, old Shanghai's exotic Oriental charms once appealed to Western cities like New York, London, Paris and Los Angeles. Today, its rapidly changing landscape and growing expat community have again riveted foreign interest in Shanghai.
This is most obvious in events like "Shanghai Cultural Week" held regularly in the West as a window on its economy, culture and history. Collectibles from old Shanghai, such as cigarette packs featuring pictures of attractive women (changing each month) are in vogue abroad.
Novels set in pre-1949 Shanghai by writers Chang Eileen and Wang Anyi, and the films based on them, are now immensely popular.
The author is an expert on Jewish studies at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. This is the first of a two-part article adapted from his speech at the 10th Shanghai Culture Symposium held on November 5. Shanghai Daily reporter Ni Tao translated his speech from the Chinese.
This process is shaped by the interaction between local cultures, between local and foreign cultures, and between foreign cultures.
Shanghai opened to commerce in the mid-1800s as a treaty port. Since then people had come and gone freely, sometimes without a passport or visa. Industrialists found Shanghai a fertile land for expanding their business; political refugees sought asylum in Shanghai; Western adventurers perceived Shanghai as their paradise.
According to rough estimates, immigrants of 40 nationalities had settled in Shanghai by the 1930s, with their population reaching 150,000. This big expat community turned the city into a regional yet globalized cultural melange in its heyday.
We will learn several interesting things if we study closely how this melting pot worked.
First, the city used to be divided along linguistic lines into several large close-knit communities, comprised of people who spoke the same dialect or language.
For example, titse was the Ningbo-Shaoxing alliance whose members all hailed from Zhejiang, and the Russian-French cultural spitse in the former French Concession, with Huaihai Road as its focus. Of course, the borders separating the communities were not closed since cross-cultural dialogue and exchange thrived.
Second, a few minor cultures played a disproportionate role in the cultivation of Shanghai's identity. For instance, Sichuan culture was marginal in the city's history except for its hot, spicy cuisine; Jews were segregated and persecuted in Europe and their rich culture languished. Yet the Jewish Diaspora in Shanghai was hugely successful in music, medicine, finance and architecture.
French food
Third, the fusion of cultures was steady and subtle. For instance, French restaurateurs in the former French Concession used to serve authentic French food only. This began to change when Russian emigres arrived in the wake of the 1917 Bolshevik revolution. From then on, French eateries began to include Russian food such as borsch soup and rye bread on their menus. Later on, French restaurants also sold Chinese food to cater to a growing Chinese clientele. As a result, French cuisine in Shanghai is unique.
Anotits instance is European Jews' influence on locals' life and vice versa. Residents of Hongkou picked up some German from the Austrian Jews fleeing Nazi occupation.
They also started eating bagels, common in Jewish communities, while Jews ate all sorts of Chinese food and quite enjoyed it. Jews gradually became assimilated into the local cultural fabric yet retained their central European lifestyle.
This kind of cultural dialogue enabled haipai wenhua to be rich and diverse, comparable to a big river of numerous tributaries that merge into a single one before emptying into the sea.
Thanks to historical global links and closer overseas connections since market reforms, Shanghai's culture is influential again. Its larger global presence is manifested in three ways.
First, the growing voice of Shanghai sub-culture within the overseas Chinese culture.
For a long time, Guangdong, Fujian and Wenzhou cultures were dominant among Chinese emigrants. One had to speak Cantonese if he or she was to survive in New York's Chinatown. However, in recent years titse are more speakers of Shanghai dialect in overseas chapters of Chinese associations. In some new ethnic Chinese communities abroad, like the "Shanghai district" in Budapest and "Shanghai street" in Sydney, Shanghainese has become the lingua franca.
Second, Russians, Koreans, Japanese, Indians and Vietnamese all left their marks on the city's modern chapter. Now Shanghai is reinvigorating its bonds with neighboring regions through foreign visits of its art troupes, investment projects and "sister city" pacts.
For instance, Shanghai's massive property development project of the "Baltic Pearl" in St Petersburg has amazed not just Russia but all of Europe. The increasing number of students, businessmen, artists and tourists coming to Shanghai is also evidence of its cultural allure.
Third, old Shanghai's exotic Oriental charms once appealed to Western cities like New York, London, Paris and Los Angeles. Today, its rapidly changing landscape and growing expat community have again riveted foreign interest in Shanghai.
This is most obvious in events like "Shanghai Cultural Week" held regularly in the West as a window on its economy, culture and history. Collectibles from old Shanghai, such as cigarette packs featuring pictures of attractive women (changing each month) are in vogue abroad.
Novels set in pre-1949 Shanghai by writers Chang Eileen and Wang Anyi, and the films based on them, are now immensely popular.
The author is an expert on Jewish studies at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. This is the first of a two-part article adapted from his speech at the 10th Shanghai Culture Symposium held on November 5. Shanghai Daily reporter Ni Tao translated his speech from the Chinese.
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