Chapter 15 1. Tongdian turns somersaults in the eyes

The first impression of people across the country on Shanghainese is that they are shrewd and stingy.In fact, to put it bluntly, Shanghainese seek profit, value profit, and highly respect money and material things.I heard a joke about an old lady in Beijing and an old lady in Shanghai.In the park in the early morning, two old ladies were chatting - the one who said, "You wonder where bin Laden has gone", must be the old lady in Beijing; the one who said, "The stock I bought the day before yesterday went up again" , must be a Shanghai old lady. Since the first stock exchange in New China was established in Shanghai on December 19, 1990, stocks have become the pets of this city. Talk about stocks. In 2006, the foregone conclusion that "Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets are a bull market" made Shanghai boil in 2007, and almost everyone in the streets and alleys speculated in stocks.It is possible to add a half-hour break during normal working hours to "conveniently allow employees to trade stocks", which is probably only seen in Shanghai.

In 2008, Taiwan's "Smart Zhifu" cooperated with Shanghai's "Wealth Management Weekly" to conduct a large-scale survey on financial behavior of residents in Shanghai and Taipei counties and cities.Statistics show that people in Shanghai are more anxious about financial management than those in Taipei. In the past year, 50% of people in Taipei did not invest in financial management, while 97.8% of people in Shanghai have financial management.It is worth noting the multiple meanings behind this phenomenon. From the perspective of the relationship between life experience and wealth accumulation stage.People in Taipei have already experienced Taiwan's rapid economic growth stage. Most of them already own capital assets such as houses, home appliances, and cars, and they also have a certain wealth foundation. This is why Zhu Haomin believes that there is not much anxiety about financial management.On the other hand, Shanghai is repeating the rapid growth and prosperity of Taiwan in the 1980s. People's desire to make money and improve their lives overrides everything else. Getting rid of poverty, buying houses, and accumulating wealth are all goals.

There is also the gap between salary levels and financial goals, which is the most realistic anxiety in life.Judging from the salary income of residents in the two cities, the income of residents in Shanghai is about 1/3-1/2 of that in Taipei (according to official statistics, the annual salary of residents in Taipei is about NT$320,000-420,000; residents in Shanghai are NT$4-50,000). RMB 10,000, estimated at 4.2 to 1 exchange rate between RMB and NTD, which is about NTD 168,000-210,000), but the price level has been greatly increased because it is an international financial center where foreign capital gathers. Take Starbucks coffee as an example. The price of iron is comparable to that of Taipei, but the price of medium and large cups is more expensive than that of Taipei.

Finally, it can be observed from the setting of the retirement amount by the people of the two places.Compared with 32.8% of Shanghai residents who believe that they need to save 2-5 million RMB (approximately NT$8.4-21 million) before retirement to be at ease; 32.4% of Taipei residents believe that they only need to save NT$5-10 million It is enough to show that people in Shanghai are faced with an environment of low average wages and rising prices, and they also have the expectation that their wealth will increase as much as possible every year. Of course, their anxiety about financial management is high.

From this survey, it can be seen that in the current state, Shanghai people have great desire and pursuit of money in the face of the city's rich material temptations. This kind of profit-seeking and profit-heavy mentality, when implemented in life, is the "Shanghai's hard truth" that the writer Chi Li marveled at, that is, the slogans on the streets of Shanghai, such as: "Electric bicycles must be stored in the warehouse, otherwise they will be lost in a few seconds." Theft", "Small money lost by not storing e-bikes", etc.In the eyes of Chi Li, a native of Xiantao, Hubei, these slogans are "dangerous and warnings that are particularly explicit and bloody."

Even some restaurants in Shanghai that are decorated in a very poetic and picturesque manner have such a stark warning marked on the backrest of the dining chair: take a meal with a cover to prevent pollution and prevent theft! "This is a very abrupt and scary word. If you don't have enough understanding of Shanghai's realism, you will probably be frightened by the 'dining belt cover' and lose all poetic and picturesque meaning." Chi Li said, "When people write slogans, slogans and advertisements that resort to words, they will naturally consider a little bit of symmetry and rhyme, subtlety and artistic appeal, but Shanghai doesn't care about these. When it comes down to the real thing, I want you to know how to be afraid, and I want you to understand that everyone is coveting your money, this is the customary practice in Shanghai and it is the daily life of Shanghai day after day in spring, summer, autumn and winter."

The Shanghai people's profit-seeking and profit-heavy mentality has become a typical pragmatism when it is practiced in life. This kind of pragmatism makes Shanghai people think of economic entanglements and stakes rather than moral ethics or political ideals when thinking about a problem. The "Salty Life" column of "Xinmin Evening News" once published an article "It is easy to ask God to send God away", which was aimed at the good wishes of a woman who went abroad to find a temporary girlfriend for her husband who stayed in China. Persuasion, no moral lessons, only detailed pros and cons: 1. Girls are too powerful now, if you ask them not to get married, just play with you, they will not look at someone who has no name or fortune; 2. Find an innocent girl, How do you maintain your husband-wife relationship with your husband? 3. If you meet a difficult woman who entangles you endlessly and goes to court, the situation will be even worse.So it's still early to retreat.

Such a statement of "seeing the details clearly" can only appear in Shanghai newspapers. Another article in "Youth Generation" (No. 2, 1991) titled "Gentlemen Are Lustful and Not Lewd" claims that they are satisfied with being in public, "catching the eyes of the ladies with their eyes until they reveal themselves from time to time. A fawn-like panic, and I will feel a kind of malicious pleasure." Then he cited the "distance theory" of aesthetics, thinking that it is not worthwhile to regard going to bed as the highest state, not only waste money, "it takes so much energy to get For a moment of joy, you still have to dodge and hide your eyes and ears... naked as drinking plain water, and you still have to study how to lie." If you "have to bear social responsibility or be condemned in the end", it is "greatly worth the loss".This kind of text that teaches people how to save money and effort to "obsess" can only be seen in Shanghai, and it can be called a strange text.

In the daily life of ordinary citizens, similar pragmatism can be seen all the time.Take grave sweeping as an example.This is a major event every year in Shanghai.Before and after the Qingming Festival, the bus companies must open up special bus lines for this purpose. In 2010, Metro Line 11 was put into trial operation before Qingming Festival in order to share the flow of tomb-sweeping passengers. Among the grave-sweeping offerings of Shanghainese, the most basic and commonly used one is Qingtuan.A pastry made of wheat green grass, glutinous rice and red bean paste.Chi Li wrote in the book "Boiling from Dripping Water into Pearls":

"I bought Qingtuan in a big supermarket, six pieces in a box for three yuan. When I came back and passed by the Haode convenience store, the Qingtuan cost six yuan in a box. I don't understand why there are the same size and quantity of Qingtuan on the same day. , the price can be doubled. The Haode convenience store is opened by Shanghainese themselves. It is a grocery store in front of the house. Its waiters are aunts, in their forties and early fifties, fat or slightly fat, with a gentle personality. He speaks Shanghai dialect, and the people of Shanghai are sophisticated, and he understands everything.”

"Auntie has a good temper and patiently taught me the truth. She said: 'This youth group is good, but the youth group is just for show. If you want to eat it yourself, you must buy this youth group. As for the youth group, everyone loves it. Take it to do things.’ To do things is to go to the grave. The fruit offerings to the tomb are eventually taken away by the tomb watchers, so the Shanghainese will choose some cheap melons and fruit pastries, and put them on display, so that the ceremony can be completed. See it this way However, it is wrong to say that Shanghai people do not care about feelings. Every year during the Qingming Festival, every family mobilizes to do things on a large scale. Their attitude and scale are unmatched by any other city. After thinking about it, I realized that the people of Shanghai are practical and sensible, and they would never spend money wrongly. You must go to the grave during the Qingming Festival, and you must not forget to save money when you mourn.” "Shanghai in the drizzle, grave-sweepers are running around all over the street, expensive flowers and pastries, still can't consume much. There are tears in your eyes, and you still have to look for cheap things. Shanghai people do things sadly. Don't hurt, be restrained, no matter how sad you are emotionally, you will always be guarded in your heart; no matter how much money is spent, you can still pinch your fingers to measure it, and you will never run wild. This is Shanghai-style realism gone." Yu Qiuyu also said in one of his books, "Another psychological quality of Shanghai civilization is a shrewd estimate of actual benefits."Therefore, "Shanghai's cultural salon can't be done at all, because the participants will lose so much time if they estimate it; Shanghai people are not willing to live in luxury hotels even if they have the conditions, because it has no practical benefits for anyone. ", and so on. Yu Qiuyu thinks, "If Shanghainese's shrewdness only stays in these places, then it's not a nuisance." However, "in this city, you can also find wasteful phenomena of excessive intelligence everywhere."For example: "If many people want to go to a farther place in the city, they will spend a lot of time thinking and inquiring about which line and how many times the ticket for changing trains is the most economical. This kind of thing sometimes happens on the bus, and the bystanders on the bus will blurt out to offer a more economical route, the best way to take it, just like a military scientist choosing the dangerous route of attack. Such discussions on the bus often become It becomes a kind of group investment, which makes people feel even more sad. Disputes over the sharing of water, electricity and gas bills in public dormitories occur frequently, and Shanghai is probably the most in the country.” Shanghainese not only like internal "calculation", but are also willing to share it with others as a good habit.A few years ago, a Beijing teacher was on a business trip in Shanghai and asked for directions.The Shanghai old man who was questioned told him in detail that the place he was going was between A and B stations, and he could get off at either station A or B, but it took 5 minutes to reach station A and 1 corner to station B. So it is better to get off at station A. However, when this kind of pragmatism evolves into interpersonal relationships, especially the relationship between relatives and friends of Shanghainese, it shows "money indifference".Aunt Huang is a part-time worker from Anhui who came to Shanghai to work. She has worked in many Shanghai families, and finally came to the conclusion that "Shanghai people recognize money but not people."She once took care of an elderly man in his 80s for more than two years. Her children, relatives and friends seldom come to the house. In 2002, the Shanghai Women's Federation selected 1,006 households in Shanghai to conduct a sample questionnaire survey, and the results reflected the weakening trend of kinship in Shanghai.When the interviewees were asked "How many relatives do you have in Shanghai who travel around", more than 20% of the families did not even have a relative who traveled frequently.The survey also revealed that most families in Shanghai mainly rely on the phone to keep in touch with their relatives, while less than half of the families have frequent face-to-face contact with relatives. At the same time, the neighborhood relationship among Shanghainese is also showing a trend of weakening, and the old adage that "a distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor" has been left behind by many Shanghainese.More than 70% of the respondents said that they did not know their neighbors at all, but most of them just "nod and say hello", "occasional conversations", or limited to "knowing the neighbor's name or occupation".Only 24% of households can maintain regular contact with their neighbors, and they are mainly concentrated in the old city.What is striking is that only 10% of high-income families with a per capita monthly income of more than 1,500 yuan (the per capita income in Shanghai was 13,250 yuan in 2002) can keep in touch with their neighbors. The pragmatism that Shanghainese follow in their daily life is evolved from the profit-seeking and profit-oriented attitude of this group, and the excessive focus on actual interests has also led to the "conservative" and "well-behaved" character of Shanghainese - they value too much The vested interests that have been tirelessly won, are not willing to let go easily, and are always vigilant to prevent accidental loss of interests.And this character trait has a long history.Let’s take a look at the comments of Chinese and foreign figures on Shanghainese in the 1850s: The first governor of the British Concession in Shanghai discovered after arriving in Shanghai, "Shanghai people are almost a completely different race from Cantonese... Cantonese are aggressive and aggressive, while Shanghainese are gentle and gentle; Southerners are radicals, while Wu people are moderate. Since ancient times, the people of Shanghai have always obeyed the local government in power, while in Guangdong, political conspiracies and rebellions are always brewing." A popular metaphor expresses the different behaviors and mental states of Shanghainese and Cantonese: Cantonese walk quickly when encountering a green light, and walk around when encountering a red light; Shanghainese walk slowly when encountering a green light, and walk slowly when encountering a red light. The lights dare not go, but they also accuse others of walking around, calling for the establishment of more red lights.The "full utilization policy" noted in Guangdong's experience means that everything that is not prohibited in the document can be done.The understanding of the Shanghainese in implementing the policy is: only do what is allowed in the document, and implement the strictest lower limit within the scope of the policy. Su Song and Tai Dao Wu Xi said, "The local people tend to be tricky but not ruthless, and there are few gentry and giants. That is, the second and third office directors, but the orders are signed and answered, and the orders are only sincere, and there are no outstanding talents."And Qin Rongguang, an authentic Shanghai local cultural person, also blamed himself, "The people's sentiments are the best in my city, and a corrupt official is a hero." Zheng Shao, a member of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai CPPCC and a researcher at the Shanghai Development and Reform Research Institute, believes that "There are various reasons for this, perhaps because Shanghai is located in a secluded corner of the sea, with rich soil and water. , so he has nothing to ask for, and he does not want to take risks."He gave an example: Li Hongzhang first found a local Shanghai ship merchant Zhu’s brother to organize the establishment of the Shipping Merchants Bureau.In the end, they found Xu Run and Tang Tingshu, wealthy businessmen in Guangdong, and they did what they said. They not only invested all their belongings, but also mobilized their clansmen, relatives and friends to invest together. After several years of struggle, they finally achieved success.As a result, China Merchants Steamship Co., Ltd. has survived to this day as China's first modernized national shipping company. "Every time I read this, I am overwhelmed." Even the literati who are well-read in poetry and books, as long as they are "Shanghai people", they will always be able to avoid this "beautiful" that is too focused on gains and losses.Yang Dongping pointed out in the book "City Monsoon" that "Shanghai writers are too 'good'": "They are very sensible, very standardized and very self-conscious, with few mistakes, few outrageous and few sharp edges. The combination of well-behaved and vulgar forms a "sweet" Greasy, sticky quagmire, so that everyone is happy to indulge in it and not think beyond it, dare not go beyond'. They always expect the applause of the society and lose nothing, or the minimum input and maximum output, which requires accurate detection of climate , a knack for 'spotting' and a knack for hitting the 'edge'—that was the only risk worth taking." Yang Dongping said, "The talented playwright Sha Yexin is one of the Shanghai intellectuals with a strong sense of justice and chivalry." Ye Xin "jokingly set the principles for himself, which are not lacking in the 'smartness' of the Shanghainese: stand out for the new without innovation, worship the foreign without fawning over the foreign, deviate from the classics without rebellion, and do not make trouble when you commit crimes." Therefore, don’t touch Shanghainese’s money for anything, and you can’t go beyond the Shanghainese rules of keeping money.Otherwise, you are a typical "linveqin", that is, "do not understand, do not understand, and are confused".In Zhou Libo's words: "What is Carrying Wuqing? It means dancing a sword in front of Guan Gong, setting up a porridge stall in front of a restaurant, counting yuan at the door of a bank, talking about 'money laundering' in front of Ah Bian, and saying 'Shanghai Pai Qing' in front of Zhou Libo." mouth'."