Recorded September 5, 2009 at 8:16 a.m.
Here is a road that needs no introduction. The main street of Shanghai has gone through tremendous change over the past century and what you see now is just the beginning of it. Connecting Wai Tan (The Bund) to People’s Park and beyond, Nanjing Lu is a tourist trap of high–end and local shops mixed in with eateries and hotels. Underneath the neon lights and ornate facades, the stories are endless. Some may not be as pleasant as others but all contribute to the character of the city. Bobby has lived in this area since he was born and he still lives in the area today. His stories are filled with local knowledge that every Shanghainese knows as well as some obscure stories only told by the elders.
Growing up in such a prestigious area gives this walk a point of view that is different from other walks. His dialog has an air of wealth to it but still has its roots in the local tradition that a true Shanghainese would appreciate. The ‘Shou Yi’ death clothes from Lao Jie Fu, Traditional Chinese medicine at Cai Tong De, the May 30 Massacre memorial at the Tai Kang Food Store, the foreign movies at Heping Cinema, and the seemingly unattainable lifestyle that the Park Hotel once symbolized.
Although not all statements may not be based on recorded fact, it is a great example of how stories are passed from generation to generation by word of mouth. It is the memories of its people that give this city life.
Bobby sums it up beautifully in his concluding statement:
“If you want to truly feel why this city is beautiful, feel the commercial atmosphere, and to truly enjoy everything you taste, you really have to put your heart into feeling it. To truly feel it you need to use your own senses and you need to see everything for yourself – but most importantly you need to experience it.”
Photos by Weina Li.
Here is an excerpt from the transcript:
[10:57] Right next to the ‘Hua Dong Power Company’, you will see a building that is very unique. It is called ‘Lǎo Jiè Fú’ [老介福] (1) [Photo 6013]. If you are a local Shanghainese who has even a tiny bit of historical knowledge of Shanghai you will definitely know about ‘Lǎo Jie Fu’. ‘Lǎo Jiè Fú’ is very important to old and new generations of Shanghainese and we cannot be without it. Why? The story may be a little taboo. People are born and pass away. According to Shanghainese tradition, when people pass away, you need to make a ‘Shòu Yī’ (2). ‘Lǎo Jiè Fú’ is where people come to get the ‘Shòu Yī’ made. ‘Lǎo Jiè Fú’ also sells regular clothing but it is more famous for its ‘Shòu Yī’. I have come here with my family to buy clothes and many times I would see people here to have the ‘Shòu Yī’ made. There is a special rule for making the ‘Shòu Yī’. When you get your ‘Shòu Yī’ made you have to have the exact measurements and when you pick up the clothes, before you leave the shop, you need to give the person who made the ‘Shòu Yī’ 2 RMB. It cannot be 1, it cannot be 3 – it has to be 2. The two coins in Chinese symbolize – ‘Chéng Shuāng’ [成双] – which is a reference to reincarnation. The two circular shapes represent a beginning and an end, and an end and another beginning. So ‘Lǎo Jiè Fú’ in my memory is all about the ‘Shòu Yī’. Maybe to Shanghainese nowadays it doesn’t have the same meaning anymore.
[29:25] After passing ‘Wing An Department Store’ and ‘Xian Shi Company Building’ we are in a new territory of Nan Jing Lu. This area to old Shanghainese on Nan Jing Lu is a relatively inferior area because it once had a police station with jail cells and temporary holding houses here. If we walk a bit forward from here, we will pass by the ‘The First Food Shop’ [第一食品商店] (3). This is a very important food shop. Later, we will see another shop that has great historical importance. This is where the ‘May 30 Massacre’ [五卅惨案] (4) happened. When I was young, we came here in groups for our ‘Social Studies’ class to see this place. There would always be one or two of us asking, “Isn’t this a food shop? How can this kind of massacre happen in a food shop?” When we finally saw the jail cells behind the food shop, we realized that Nan Jing Lu was not as peaceful as we thought. This food store is the famous ‘Tai Kang Food Store’ [泰康食品] (5) [Photo 6059]. We can see that there is a little monument right in front of the ‘Tai Kang Food Store’ front gate. This is the monument for the ‘May 30 massacre’. We would enter from the back door and go to the underground jail cells. After visiting and seeing how the jail cells are formed and organized, it’s scary. It is still historically protected to show everyone the history of this place. So, like the history of the ‘353 Plaza’ and the ‘Tai Kang Food Store’, every store has its own story. The stories don’t just stop at its name and the storefront, sometimes it’s about the building that it is in, the history of the company, or even what happened to this land before these shops even came here. So when I talk about Nan Jing Lu, because I have lived near the Bund and People’s Square, I feel like I know everything about this road. I feel proud and happy to live in the CBD area but after finding out and understanding a bit more about the history and stories of these places, I also found out that it is not as shallow as it seems. People say Shanghai used to be the ‘Garden for Capitalism’ or, Shanghai is the ‘Garden for Opportunists’. They used to say ‘You come in ‘dark’ but leave ‘dark’, you come in ‘white’ but you still leave ‘dark’’. I now understand the true meaning of this place. When we talk about the ‘prosperous city’ and its ‘commercial atmosphere’ – this is all just on the surface. What should truly attract you about this place is what’s behind it – its history and culture.
Footnotes:
1- #257 Nan Jing Dong Lu.
2- ‘Shòu Yī’ are clothes that the recently deceased are dressed in for burial.
3- #720 Nan Jing Dong Lu.
4- In 1925, When a guard in a Japanese mill killed a Chinese worker, protests from Chinese workers followed. British police fired on the Chinese crowd killing 12. This incident sparked similar strikes and protests throughout the China coastline.
5- #768 Nan Jing Dong Lu.
Nan Jing Lu
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