Shanghainese are a very special group in China since modern times. There are not many beautiful historical sites in Shanghai. When traveling to Shanghai, the people who received the deepest reception were the bustling Shanghainese. They have a lot of tacit life order and inner norms, forming a set of psychological and cultural ways, which can be called "Shanghai civilization" in plain English. When a foreigner comes to Shanghai, whether on a bus, in a shop or in the street, he will soon be recognized, mainly because of his appearance and language, but because of this Shanghai civilization.

Similarly, when a few Shanghainese go to other places, they are often eye-catching, even though they may not speak Shanghainese.

One to two, outsiders are angry. Almost all over the country, there is no good evaluation of Shanghainese. Smart, arrogant, calculating, articulate, free and easy, unreasonable, exclusive, disdainful of leadership, lack of political enthusiasm, lack of collective concept, indifference to people, stingy, selfish, fashionable, slippery, novel, trivial, secular, etc. Together, they are Shanghainese in the eyes of outsiders.

The whole country is a little inseparable from Shanghainese, and everyone hates Shanghainese. Local cultural and scientific research departments often need Shanghainese, and Shanghai's light industrial products are also good. Shanghai has also handed over considerable funds to the state, but it never makes friends with Shanghainese. Shanghai people are not generous. They can't drink a few glasses of wine at the banquet, but they have to use their brains to discuss something with them. Even worse, living in their home is crowded and exquisite everywhere. How to make such friends?

In recent years, foreigners have become rich, and Shanghainese have become smart, but they are still very poor. This is very frustrating. One day last year, on a tram in Shanghai, a foreigner collided with and interfered with a Shanghai woman. As it happens every day, Shanghai women frown and whisper, "foreigner!" " The foreigner was about to explode and poured out all the grievances he had suffered in Shanghai: "What's wrong with me as a foreigner? Than money? I don't think your savings are worth my change; Than culture? My two sons are both college graduates! " Yes, what are Shanghainese proud of? The Shanghainese in the car gave a sour laugh when they heard his words.

Shanghainese can be scolded for more than that. For example, more than one political villain who disturbed the whole country made his fortune in Shanghai. What do you have to say in Shanghai? Shanghainese who don't care much about politics will stop talking in panic and occasionally whisper in private: "Which one of them is from Shanghai?" They are all from other places! "

But how many Shanghainese are there? The real Shanghainese are farmers in the suburbs of Shanghai, and Shanghainese look down on "country people".

As a result, Shanghainese are in an awkward position. This kind of embarrassment is far from today. In my opinion, Shanghainese have always been the most embarrassing group since the beginning of China's modern history.

Analyzing Shanghainese's embarrassment is a heavy task in the study of contemporary China culture. Jung said that culture endows all social propositions with personality meaning. Through the cultural and psychological character of Shanghainese, we may see some historical topics belonging to the whole nation.

As a nation, we have encountered too many things. What kind of opportunity has impacted Shanghai civilization? It has been around us for a long time, will it continue to connect us in the future?

A few years ago, Shanghai built a luxurious international hotel near Xujiahui, called Hua Ting Hotel, which is a good name because Shanghai was called Hua Ting in ancient times. During the Hongzhi period of the Ming Dynasty, the Shanghai County Records recorded that:

"The old name of Huating in Shanghai County was renamed in the Song Dynasty, and based on the name of the town, the company and the freight yard were involved. In the twenty-ninth year of the Yuan Dynasty, with the prosperity of people and things, five townships in the northeast of Huating were cut, and the town was set up as a county, which was placed under Songjiang Prefecture. Its name is Shanghai, and the land lives in the ocean. "

So the early Shanghainese were all Huating people. However, this has nothing to do with what we call Shanghai civilization. I think Xu Guangqi, a scholar in Ming Dynasty, was the pioneer of Shanghai civilization. He was the first Shanghainese in a strict sense. His tomb is near the Hua Ting Hotel. Corresponding to each other, the beginning and end of the story summarize the intangible Shanghai civilization.

Some qualities of Shanghainese today can be found in Xu Guangqi. This clever scholar, Wei Xiucai of Jinshan, traveled north and south and met the Italian missionary Lazzaro Cattaneo in Guangdong. We got along well as soon as we chatted, and Xu Guangqi began to know what Catholicism was all about. At the age of 34, he was deeply immersed in the religious spirit of China dominated by Confucianism. However, he didn't laugh at the western religions he just heard, thinking that they were westerners, and he didn't casually say that they were foreign knowledge in any books, but he thought deeply. He doesn't want to give up the imperial examination. Four years later, he went to Beijing to take the exam. When passing by Nanjing, he visited Matteo Ricci, a famous missionary in Europe, and asked about the true meaning of life. Later, he was handed over to another missionary and was baptized by him.

In the second year after baptism, Xu Guangqi was admitted as a scholar and became the Jishi Shu of imperial academy. He entered the very glorious threshold of the traditional intellectuals in China, and he could be a kyou-kan with peace of mind. However, this Shanghainese is very uneasy. He always went to Matteo Ricci in Beijing to discuss topics far beyond religion, such as astronomy, calendar, mathematics, weapons, military affairs, economy, water conservancy and so on. Among them, he is most interested in mathematics, dressed in the official uniform of the Imperial Academy, and devoted himself to accurate western mathematical thinking. Soon, he and Matteo Ricci translated and published a large set of Elements of Geometry. At that time, it was the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, and there was still a long time of more than 230 years from the artillery fire of the Opium War.

This Shanghainese is good at dealing with the world. Instead of challenging the feudal political system with a set of mathematical thinking all day, he was constantly reused by the emperor. Twenty years after the publication of The Elements of Geometry, he actually became an assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, and soon became a minister of the Ministry of Rites. After obtaining such a big official position, he solemnly preached Catholicism, advocated western scientific civilization, and appointed and reused European nationals. He has been busy for several years and is exhausted. After Xu Guangqi's death, Emperor Chongzhen also "deposed for one day" to express his condolences, and the coffin was transported back to Shanghai for burial. After the burial place, it was the place where his family lived for generations and began to be called "Xujiahui". Xu Guangqi's death is a peculiar combination of Chinese and Western cultures: after his death, he was sealed by the imperial court and his tomb was inscribed in Latin by the church.

Open-minded, studious, easy-going and intelligent, they can learn traditional culture and cope with social reality, but they open their doors to world civilization, dare to absorb new knowledge that was unfamiliar not long ago, and naturally integrate into life. Unlike Zhang, a Hubei native, who was far-sighted, promoted the advantages and eliminated the disadvantages, was different from Hai Rui, a Guangdong native, who put all his eggs in one basket, and was different from Tang Xianzu, a Jiangxi native, who was the first shrewd Shanghainese in the Ming Dynasty.

Xu Guangqi, who is realistic about life, doesn't think much about his "afterlife", but in detail, the traffic behind him is really great. His burial place, Xujiahui, became an important town for spreading western religions and scientific civilization. The famous Jiaotong University has been here since the end of last century, and Fudan University was also located in the nearby Gong Li Temple before moving to Jiangwan. Starting from Xujiahui area, a Huaihai Road extends eastward and goes straight through Shanghai Beach. It used to be the main artery of western civilization in an all-round way, and the style of the old Shanghai high-level society has been distributed for a long time. So some people think that if Shanghai civilization is to be divided into three levels, the highest level can also be called Xujiahui civilization.

Xu Guangqi's16th generation grandson is a soldier. He has a granddaughter named Ni, who is the mother of the Song sisters who shocked the modern history of China. Niguizhen inherited the style of his ancestors, was a devout Christian, and was still good at mathematics. The great influence of her daughters on China's modern society can be regarded as an important manifestation of the Shanghai civilization initiated by Xu Guangqi.

This inheritance system, which contains inevitable historical logic, is often obscured by the noise of reality today. Not long ago, I read an English-translated biography of Song Meiling and wrote the ancestor revered by the Soong sisters as "Wen Tingyun", but I don't know who it is. Tracing back to the original English text, it turned out to be "Wen Dinggong", and a sentence overflowed Xu Guangqi. Forgetting Xu Guangqi is a trivial matter. I'm afraid Shanghai civilization can't stand up because it has lost its long-term foundation.

What once made Shanghainese feel inexplicably gratified was that occasionally listening to Ms. Soong Ching Ling's speech on the radio was actually an authentic Shanghai accent. Even Shanghainese who have lost confidence for many years are a little unaccustomed: how can a generation of great men have a Shanghai accent?

It can be inferred that three or four hundred years ago, in Beijing, a China scholar with an ancient culture began to talk about geometric elements with a European for the first time, with a Shanghai accent.

Anyone with a little vision of modern world geography will have a crush on Shanghai. Beijing is a typical Chinese capital: backed by the Great Wall and facing south, it is very safe; On the contrary, Shanghai faces east, facing a vast Pacific Ocean, and behind it is a Yangtze River that runs through nine regions. For a self-sufficient China, it is not enough that Shanghai is in a corner; But as far as the open contemporary world is concerned, it overlooks the vast distance, handles all kinds of foreign exchange and has an extraordinary situation.

If the Pacific Ocean means little to China, then Shanghai means little to China. How many articles can a closed door frame do? With it, it will leak into the outdoor strong wind and spread to the noise at the door, disturbing the peace of the homeowner. We have natural grain from the two lakes and the Sichuan basin, but Shanghai can't deliver much rice; We have countless freshwater river networks, and no amount of seawater in Shanghai can be eaten up; We have three mountains and five mountains living in our own religion and beautiful scenery, and Shanghai can't even find a decent mountain peak; We have a wide road across Kyushu, and we have to walk a long way around Shanghai. We have many historical relics, and even a county in Shanghai is too young ... What does this nation, who grew up by the Yellow River, want to hide in Shanghai by the sea?

Shanghai is fundamentally discordant with the awe-inspiring Chinese civilization.

It was not until the 9th century AD/KLOC-that Li Xun, an employee of the British East India Company, submitted a report to the government, stating the importance of Shanghai to the territory of the New World, and Shanghai became one of the five open ports in treaty of nanking. 1842, British warships opened in Shanghai. Since then, things have changed dramatically. Western civilization swept through with filth, and ruined China invested more and more in it. As a result, a kind of noise appeared here, which spread to every corner of the earth at an extremely fast speed.

Xu Guangqi's descendants were not only psychologically prepared, but also surprised to be caught in this uproar. On the one hand, colonists, adventurers, nouveau riche, hooligans, local ruffians, prostitutes and gangs appear together; On the other hand, universities, hospitals, post offices, banks, trams, scholars, poets and scientists also gather here. The whistle of Huangpu River, neon lights flashing night after night, suits and ties touching each other, and the square dialects are mottled with European and American languages. You come and go, you win and I lose, changing day and night at the fastest frequency. This is a new weird society, but strictly speaking, it is also a road where all kinds of rapids collide, making noise and rolling into huge waves.

Faced with such a place, any historian will have a bloated mind and can't figure out what it is. You can say that it is the source of shame of the Chinese nation in modern times, but isn't it shameful that a nation in modern times always resists the collision of modern times? You can also say that it is the starting point of China people's modernization, but which nation will be as hasty, flustered, timid and chaotic as Shanghai? You can also be said to be an urban civilization that has risen against agricultural civilization, but what kind of urban civilization will always be coveted, decomposed, surrounded and shrouded by the vast rural forces like Shanghai?

In short, this is a huge paradox. When you look at its turbidity, it will give off bright light. When you worship its power, it will turn around and show you the scarred back wall.

However, in this paradox structure, an ecological environment and psychological habit that was out of tune with China at that time gradually formed. At the beginning of this century, many new revolutionaries and thinkers were pursued by the feudal dynasty, and the concession Shanghai became their refuge. More importantly, feudal tradition and western civilization clashed in Shanghai. Shanghainese read newspapers every day, and after careful analysis, they begin to understand how many of the legal principles followed by China in the past dynasties are upside down, which is unreasonable from a normal international perspective. From these practical cases, Shanghainese have vaguely understood the normal meanings of concepts such as democracy, humanity, freedom, legal system, political prisoners and sentencing. , and have a heartfelt contempt for the feudal tradition that can't stand comparison. This kind of contempt is not the result of conceptual speculation, but a common sense choice made from actual observation, so it is very secular and popular in this city.

At the same time of these cases, it is more symbolic that the gentry and officials in Shanghai advocated tearing down the wall of the old city of Shanghai, because this obviously hindered the travel of horses and chariots and the financial and commercial situation. At that time, they repeatedly explained in their submissions that tearing down the city wall was an experiment of "the spirit of national civilization." Of course, some people objected, but after several arguments, Shanghainese finally tore down the city wall and became a group with a particularly small psychological framework in feudal tradition.

Later, a social revolution from the countryside changed the history of Shanghai, and Shanghai became much quieter. A group of Shanghainese left, but most of them stayed. They are required to keep pace with the mainland and bear economic responsibility for the mainland. When Shanghai turned around, Pingyi was very calm and began to be a docile eldest son. Just like Chueh-hsin in Ba Jin's family, he has a heavy burden on his shoulders and can't be as noisy as he used to be. The sea breeze is blowing in the back, regardless of it, the machines in the workshop rumble, the trams to work are extremely crowded, everyone is tired, and Shanghai becomes silent and deserted at night. In order to cut off the chaotic prosperity more thoroughly, a large number of cadres from mainland rural areas were transferred to Shanghai; In order to guard against the possible war from the Pacific, a large number of Shanghai factories moved to inland mountainous areas. The more secluded and steep the mountain area, the more you can find factories in Shanghai. The simple mountaineer pointed to the workers' backs and smiled: "Hey, Shanghainese!"

In recent years, Shanghainese have begun to feel a little uneasy again. People from Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Wenzhou stood up and walked straight into Shanghai. The Shanghainese stared at them and didn't follow them. A little ashamed, but not completely lost self-esteem, thinking; If we Shanghainese really stand up, it will be a completely different scene. Maybe it is a kind of masturbation. You might as well listen to it.

Maybe Shanghai people's masturbation is reasonable. Shanghai civilization, first of all, is a spiritual and cultural feature. Economic circulation alone is far from including Shanghai civilization.

The greatest psychological quality of Shanghai civilization is tolerant coexistence based on individual freedom. For Shanghainese, tolerance is not a policy or a promise, but a life instinct.

In China, what contradicts the tolerance of Shanghai School is a Jing Zhao mentality that has long been attached to feudal rule. Even after the feudal era, the improvement and inheritance of this mentality was still scattered everywhere. This mentality extends to provincial capitals and counties, forming a tacit understanding and a wide range. No matter what kind of flood played a role in the past, this mentality was washed away in Shanghai. As long as they don't interfere with themselves, Shanghainese generally don't criticize other people's lifestyles. Compared with other places, Shanghainese have less contact with their neighbors in apartments and dormitories. As a last resort, several families have to share a kitchen or bathroom, but there are often frictions and quarrels between them, because each family should maintain its own independence and freedom. Therefore, the tolerance of Shanghainese is not manifested in humility, but in "mutual management." In the moral sense, humility is a kind of beauty; However, in a deeper cultural and psychological sense, "each manages his own affairs" may be closer to the tolerance concept of modern people. It is more meaningful to recognize the rationality of the existence of various ecosystems alone and that we can be indifferent to each other than the humility achieved through hard moral training. Why humble? Because the choice is unique, it is either you or me, or I will compete with you if I don't let you. This is the basic lifestyle and moral starting point under the unified order. Why can you "mind your own business"? Because there are many ways to choose from, you go your way, I go my way, and no one will swallow anyone. This is a mutual accommodation contract derived from the recognition of the pluralistic world.

There are also many mothers-in-law in Shanghai who like to talk about others. But even they know that "meddling" is a widely rejected disease. Foreign cadres transferred to Shanghai often worry about how to distinguish between "meddling" and "business". In the eyes of Shanghainese, all private affairs that are not directly related to work tasks belong to the category of "meddling" that others should not care about.

There is a supreme anti-law in Shanghai dialect, saying, "What does it matter?" (That is, "What's it to you?" ) In a foreign country, a girl's dress was criticized by her colleagues. She will express her views on the content of criticism, such as "what's wrong with a shorter skirt" and "jeans are convenient to wear", but when it comes to Shanghai girls, things become extremely simple: this is a personal matter, and no matter how ugly it is, it has nothing to do with others. Therefore, she only said "important" and cut off all disputes. The tone of this sentence can be angry or angry, but the reason is the same.

In the academic field of culture, most scholars who have gained Shanghai mentality are unwilling to "discuss" with others or face others' "discussion". There are many paths for cultural and academic research. Everyone is going a different way. It is ok to look at each other from a distance. Why should we keep pace? Over the years, there have been many so-called "disputes between the North and the South" and "disputes between Shanghai and Beijing" in the cultural and academic circles, but most of these disputes are assumptions of the North. Shanghainese rarely fight back even if they are "discussed". They stubbornly stuck to their views. For the opponents, their hearts echoed with a naughty voice: "What's the matter?"

Based on this concept of individual independence, Shanghai's scientific culture is often fresh and original; However, it is precisely because of the low-level presentation of this concept that Shanghai often cannot form a collective force, and many gratifying creations and concepts are relatively thin.

Based on this concept of individual self-reliance, Shanghainese have a calm tolerance, a calm tolerance. A Taiwan Province compatriot wrote an article after returning to Shanghai for sightseeing, saying that "Shanghainese have never seen anything". It is true that being well informed leads to calmness and tolerance. More importantly, they are used to the frequent changes of things, so they understand some complementary philosophies and become rebellious and calm. They seek change, and then take it as a kind of nature. They are good at finding a self in the rapid change, and are not surprised by the different situations of others in the change.

According to this psychological set, it is difficult for Shanghainese to obey an order and worship the authority in their hearts for a long time. When an authority from other places comes to Shanghai, he often feels uncomfortable. On the contrary, Shanghainese can worship a person who is unsuccessful in other places, but really feels comfortable looking at himself. In the initial stage, many famous Peking Opera actors became famous in Shanghai. Shanghai, a city that is not the center of Beijing Opera, has defended a strange Zhou for so long, which may be a bit unimaginable in another city. Shanghainese can take a fancy to this fledgling Yue Opera student and Mao, a Shanghai Opera actor, overnight, whether he has never sung several times or just came out of the countryside. Old artists who want to overwhelm Shanghainese with their qualifications, rankings and styles were criticized by newspapers within a few days of their arrival in Shanghai. Most Shanghai artists are not interested in winning prizes in Jinjing.

Beijing People's Art Theatre will perform Teahouse and other plays in Shanghai in the future. When I made this decision, I was attending the National Literary Congress in Beijing. Friends in Beijing drama circle are very worried: can such an old troupe perform a few old-fashioned plays in Shanghai, the circulation terminal? Several colleagues in Shanghai and I answered confidently: Yes! Sure enough, Shanghainese expressed sincere enthusiasm for real art, whether old or new. However, the sensational "body painting exhibition" in Beijing moved to Shanghai, but it was unexpectedly calm.

Another psychological quality of Shanghai civilization is a shrewd estimation of actual interests. Perhaps the remnants of Xu Guangqi's Elements of Geometry still exist, or perhaps the rapidly changing reality around him has shaped a skill. Shanghainese have always paid more attention to scientific effectiveness and can't stand the stupidity of slow swallowing.

Shanghai people have little courage to engage in scientific research and trade, but there are not many miscalculations. All units in the country will have some brain-dead troubles, and Shanghai people are generally more competent to do it. This is no secret anywhere.

Unfortunately, in fact, there are not many things submitted to Shanghainese that require high brain power, so the overflow of talents and clever estimation are not used at the local level, which constitutes a major problem for Shanghainese.

Shanghainese don't like big treats, and wine is in the mountains; I don't like "talking about mountains" and talking all night; I don't like to spend several days with a foreign friend to show my loyalty to friendship. I don't like listening to big reports, and I don't want to be long-winded; A cultural salon in Shanghai can't be set up because the participants estimate that it is not worth the loss to lose so much time; Shanghainese are reluctant to go to luxury hotels even if they have the conditions, because it is of no practical benefit to either party ... these are beyond reproach. If Shanghai people's shrewdness only stays in these places, it is not annoying.

However, in this city, you can also find excessive waste of cleverness everywhere. If many people want to go far away from the city, they will spend a lot of time thinking about which route and which ticket to change trains several times is the most economical, even if it is 35 cents less, they should take it seriously. This kind of thing sometimes happens on the bus, and other people on the bus will blurt out a more economical route and take the essence of the road, just like a military scientist chooses a dangerous path to attack. This kind of discussion in the car often turns into a collective investment, which makes people even more sad. There are frequent disputes over the allocation of utilities and gas fees in public dormitories, and Shanghai is probably the highest in the country.

All this can be attributed to poverty. However, a foreign cigarette in their mouth during the dispute is enough to double the cost of the dispute.

I found that more than half of Shanghainese's concern comes from their shrewd defense and performance. Wisdom will constitute a kind of vitality, which always needs to be vented. Even if the object is trivial, once it is vented, it will feel very strong. The high IQ of these poor Shanghainese has become a heavy burden for them. What should they do if they are not allowed to learn calculus, draw design drawings, manipulate assembly lines and be in the front line of commercial competition? I am too old to take part in the quiz; To gamble, fame and economy will be affected. They can only spend on these trivial things. Although they are serious and angry, they are also a pastime.

Originally, this kind of mind and eloquence should appear in negotiations with foreign businessmen.

Shanghai people's shrewdness and wisdom constitute a group logic curve, which shakes and flashes everywhere in the streets and alleys of this city. Quick understanding, quick reasoning, both, but I can still feel the harmonious heartbeat of the sacred unicorn. When buying a ticket in the tram, the passenger handed in a dime and only said "two", and the conductor immediately tore off two seven-point tickets, as if the game was agile and concise. Everyone who can't keep up with this logical curve quickly, Shanghainese always think that they are foreigners or country people, and their disgusting conceit is born from this. The service attitude of ticket sellers and salespeople in Shanghai is not inferior in the whole country. What they can't tolerate for foreigners is that they often ask all customers to have the same understanding and inference. Anything that doesn't exist is called "not cleared" and ignored.

In all fairness, this is not xenophobia, but a tragic obsession with one's own wisdom.

Shanghai people's shrewd estimation, reflected in culture, is a pattern of "appealing to both refined and popular tastes". Most of the intellectuals in Shanghai are realistic. They will not cling to the past life phenomenon, but will always have a sense of breakthrough and pioneer. Their cultural literacy is not low, and they have enough ability to set foot in high-level cultural fields at home and abroad. But their shrewdness makes them pay more attention to the feasibility of reality and the possibility of acceptance. They don't want to be scarred and helpless lonely heroes, and they don't like being arrogant and lonely for a long time. They have a natural dissolving function, which integrates academic theories into the secular world and makes the secular world shine with wisdom. Undoubtedly, this solution will often make rigorous and intensive theories slack off, make energetic thoughts dull, and cause mental fatigue; But many times, things will gradually make substantial progress and achieve results that are difficult for generous aspirants to achieve. This can be called a clever way of cultural evolution.

In particular, Xinmin Evening News embodies the appreciation of Shanghai civilization for both refined and popular tastes. It has always maintained a delicate balance between elegant culture and popular culture. As a result, a large part of Shanghai residents regard reading Xinmin Evening News as an indispensable rule of daily life, and professors and scholars will never despise it. It has opened up a wonderful cultural intermediary area where elegance and vulgarity can enter and exit with their feet, and a Shanghai city is located in it. From this, we can think that Shanghai's drama, painting, film and television, and novels all have similar characteristics.

Another psychological quality of Shanghai-style civilization is the pursuit of open culture, which originates from the history of international communication.

In contrast, the psychological state of Shanghainese facing the international community is relatively balanced nationwide. They have never despised foreigners in their hearts, so they will not be afraid of foreigners and will not show extraordinary respect. Generally speaking, they are a little idolatrous, but they are not very likable in temperament. My friend Sha humorously pointed out that one of his attitudes towards life is "worshipping foreign things and obsessing foreign things", which can be used to summarize the mentality of Shanghainese.

There is no doubt that this is closely related to the history of this city. The rickshaw pullers of the older generation can speak a few words of English, but even if they are as humble as them, they dare to compete with foreigners in the May 30th movement. There have been many foreigners living in the alleys of Shanghai, and their long-term neighbor relationship has naturally been adjusted. Salespeople in Shanghai stores don't take foreign customers too seriously. They often evaluate the financial strength of foreign customers and help them come up with some shopping ideas.

Many cities in the north call foreigners "foreigners". This interesting statement, which is neither respectful nor contemptible, seems to be quite close, but in fact it is quite different and has not yet taken root in Shanghai. In the spoken language of Shanghainese, foreigners are rarely called "foreigners" except children. As long as you know your nationality, Americans, Britons, Germans and Japanese are always mentioned in particular. This shows that even ordinary citizens are psychologically close to foreigners.

Nowadays, no matter what class, Shanghai people's first hope for their children is to study abroad. It is a choice for young people to study and work in Japan. As long as the children are underage, parents will not make this choice. They want their children to study in America seriously. An international perspective prevails here.

In fact, even in the era of non-opening, there is an international cultural requirement lurking in the education of Shanghai people for their children, regardless of whether it can be realized at that time. Middle schools in Shanghai have always attached great importance to English. Even if it was almost useless at the time, no parents asked for exemption. Shanghainese always ask their children to learn piano or sing after school, but they don't want their children to be absorbed into the attractive military art troupe at that time. Harbin Institute of Technology, once famous in China, has been unable to aspire to outstanding candidates in Shanghai. During the "Cultural Revolution" turmoil, everything seemed to be extinct, but several foreign classical music delegations came quietly and there was no publicity in the newspaper. Somehow, the rush to buy tickets began at once. Where are so many foreign fans hiding? At the beginning of the program, their clothes were neat and tidy, and their order and etiquette were in line with international practice, which made Shanghainese very embarrassed. A few years ago, Beethoven's symphony concert was held, and countless Shanghainese actually lined up all night in the cold wind. Two years ago, my university auditioned for the famous absurd play Waiting for Godot. According to the general standards, the play looks boring, and there are not many audiences in many foreign cities. But the audience in Shanghai can watch it quietly, without swearing, discussion or cheering. There must be many people who don't understand it at all, but they know that this is a world famous book and should go to see it. It's natural that they don't understand, and they don't hate drama or themselves. Night after night, this batch goes to that batch, calm and serene.