Shanghai : literary imaginings of a city in transformation Scheen, L.M.

Shanghai : literary imaginings of a city in transformation

Scheen, L.M.

Citation

Scheen, L. M. (2012, January 26). Shanghai : literary imaginings of a city in transformation. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/1887/18418

Version: Not Applicable (or Unknown)

License: Licence agreement concerning inclusion of doctoral thesis in the Institutional Repository of the University of Leiden

Downloaded from: https://hdl.handle.net/1887/18418

Note: To cite this publication please use the final published version (if

applicable).

To my parents Anette Ölander and Chris Scheen

© 2011, Lena Scheen

Cover picture: Eu-Min Foo and Lena Scheen

Printed by Wöhrmann Print Service, Zutpen, The Netherlands

S HANGHAI

L ITERARY I MAGININGS OF A C ITY IN T RANSFORMATION

L ENA S CHEEN

PROMOTIECOMMISSIE

Promotor: Prof. Dr. Maghiel van Crevel

Overige leden: Dr. Dina Heshmat

Prof. Dr. Michelle Huang (National Taiwan University) Prof. Dr. Frans-Willem Korsten (Universiteit Leiden en Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam)

Prof. Dr. Luz Rodriguez

S HANGHAI

L ITERARY I MAGININGS OF A C ITY IN T RANSFORMATION

PROEFSCHRIFT

ter verkrijging van

de graad van doctor aan de Universiteit Leiden, op gezag van Rector Magnificus Prof. mr. P.F. van der Heijden,

volgens besluit van het College voor Promoties te verdedigen op donderdag 26 januari 2012

klokke 16.15 uur

door

Lena Maria Scheen

geboren te Leidschendam, Nederland in 1974

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Writing a dissertation is like living in a metropolis, as described by the sociologist Georg Simmel. On the one hand, the joy of freedom and endless opportunities; on the other, the anxiety of loneliness and feeling lost. I immensly enjoyed doing the work for this dissertation; but it would not have been possible without the inspirational support of many scholars and friends.

First, I want to thank the two teachers who guided me through the PhD trajectory. Maghiel van Crevel, your door was always open, even when it was closed. You invariably offered feedback on my work at lightning speed, and always kept me alert. More importantly, I will never forget your support during my illness.

Anne Sytske Keijser, I still remember your words on my very first day in China Studies: “You’ll survive.” Well, you were right, but you probably didn’t realize how much you would contribute throughout the long journey. You’re one of the most erudite persons I know, whose knowledge crosses boundaries of popular and high culture, classical and modern Chinese, Mainland and Greater China, and so on.

Almost every PhD student at times doubts their own ability and the relevance of their work. I have been fortunate enough to meet many scholars along the way whose inspirational thinking and personalities helped me overcome such doubts, and reminded me of the pleasures of academic work. I will take this opportunity to thank the following people in particular. Jeroen de Kloet, you challenged and stimulated me intellectually with your sharp thinking, your creative mind, your contagious enthusiasm, and even your black humor, as in reminding me not to die before our edited volume was finished. Robin Visser, your work has deeply inspired my writing and thinking. Barend ter Haar, you stopped me from giving up on myself.

And Michel Hockx, our discussions have helped me to critically reflect on my work.

This dissertation is also the result of the support of several institutions. In the first place, the Leiden University Institute for Area Studies LIAS, where I had the good fortune to hold a fully funded PhD research position from 2005 to 2010. I am thankful to the staff for their assistance and creating a sense of home: Ilona Beumer, Wilma Trommelen, Willem Vogelsang. I thank the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS), for offering me time off to write my PhD proposal and sponsoring my attendance at the ICAS in Shanghai. I thank in particular Wim Stokhof, IIAS director at the time. I have learnt a lot from your optimism and flamboyance, such as how to bring bad news as if it were good news. A piece of advice I still apply, even to myself. I am also indebted to the following institutes in China for their kind hospitality: Peking University, Jiaotong University, Fudan University, and the Shanghai Academy of Social Science (SASS).

Walking through Shanghai and meeting Shanghai people sometimes evoked an alienating feeling of being physically in my research subject. However, the scholars and writers I met in Shanghai were so open and friendly that I would almost forget

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the initial, formal reasons why I asked them to meet. Our discussions of Shanghai and literature ranged far and wide, and well beyond Shanghai and literature. My deepest gratitude goes to the following scholars, who offered me their time and expertise, always providing me with new insights: Cai Xiang, Chen Xiaoming, Jia Yanyan, Wang Jin, Wang Xiaoming, and Yuan Jin. I am equally thankful to the following authors for their kindness and willingness to meet, even though I would never ask them about their own work. Thank you so much, Ding Liying, Jin Haishu, Jin Yucheng, Mian Mian, Shen Haobo, Wang Anyi, Yin Huifen, and Zhang Min. In addition, I would like to thank Ju Xiaowen and Yu Jun for their friendship and for introducing me to writers, editors and artists in Shanghai. Yu Jun, when I asked you your opinion about Shanghainese literature, you gave me a brilliant lecture on the difference between Dutch and Italian classical painting. I was amazed by your knowledge and insights; however, I am still waiting for an answer.

Maria Montessori once said that the first duty of an education is to stir up life, but leave it free to develop. I am thankful to the teachers who forced me to look for the right questions, but gave me the freedom to search for the answers on my own, in particular Peter van Schie, Gerard van Rossum, Kristopher Schipper, Lloyd Haft, Wilt Idema, Jeroen Wiedenhof, and P.C. Paardekoper.

Where colleagues turned into friends, friends turned into colleagues. Our inspiring conversations broadened my perspective beyond my own research, while our laughter kept everything in perspective. Thank you, Annika Pissin, Behnam Taebi, Benjamin van Rooij, Ethan Mark, Francesca Dal Lago, Jeroen Groenewegen, Lokman Tsui, Paul van Enckevort, Shih-Chi Wang, and Wouter Feldberg. I thank in particular my two paranimfen Daan Kok and Willemijn Waal.

And thank you Johan Herrenberg, for your help, comments and inspiration.

Support takes many forms. I am thankful to Katrien Overmeire for cutting out every single article on China in NRC Handelsblad. Thank you, lieve Jaffie Hülsenbeck, Gezina Oorthuys, and Melissa Kwee, for your friendship and mental coaching, often in the form of encouraging text messages when I was hiding in some library. I thank my sister Indra Scheen for her love and support. Lieve Indra, your courage to follow your own path has been my guiding example.

I dedicate this dissertation to my parents Chris Scheen and Anette Ölander. Lieve Chris, thank you for your unshakable confidence in me, telling me it was simply that I was a late bloomer whenever I failed. Although I hope to find a job abroad, I hate to think of missing out on our brainstorm sessions, long conversations, heated discussions, and even our fights about politics. Lieve Anette, I once heard someone say that if a mother sees her child unwittingly walking towards a hole in the ground, she should shout a warning. But if the child has its eyes wide open, a mother can only place a safety net in the hole, and wait patiently for the child to fall. I cannot count the times you did this for me, without ever losing your confidence in me, or making me feel I disappointed you, or making me feel less loved – always just being there. And the day I found myself at the bottom of the darkest, deepest hole, it was you who made me climb out of it. Jag älskar dig så mycket.

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This study uses the Hanyu Pinyin !"#$ system of Romanization for Chinese names and words, except for the names of historical figures that are better known in another Romanization (e.g. Sun Yatsen). At first mention of Chinese personal and geographical names, important Chinese terms, and the titles of literary works, I include the original characters (e.g. Beijing %&). Only when a term or name features centrally more than once at widely separated points, I include the characters more than once. In addition, all characters used are found in the glossary. In transcribing personal names, I follow the Chinese custom of placing family names before given names (e.g. Chen Huifen).

I use in-text references (as distinct from footnotes) for straightforward citations without any additional text, except citing more than three authors at the same time.

All Internet pages cited were last accessed in July 2011.

All translations are mine, unless otherwise indicated.

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2-1 City Map and two of its stories’ first publication in Shanghai Literature ... 39

2-2 A map of Shanghai (1919), from the Library of Congress ... 43

2-3 A map of Shanghai (1904), from Darwent’s Handbook for Travellers and Residents ... 44

2-4 The cover of Shanghai Literature (1959, 1963, 1984 & 2000) ... 48

2-5 Literary Map 1: The main settings of the stories in City Map ... 58

2-6 Literary Map 2: The urban elements in the stories “Come Over” and “Hongkou Anecdote”... 71

2-7 Hand-drawn maps by Yin Huifen and Ding Liying... 74

2-8 Hand-drawn maps by Kong Mingzhu and Li Qigang... 82

2-9 Hand-drawn maps by Mi Hong and Yang Yu ... 82

3-1 The covers of Weihui’s Shanghai Babe and Ge Hongbing’s Sandbed ... 85

3-2 Painting of the song “Miss Shanghai” by Friedrich Schiff (1908-1968)... 106

3-3 The homepage of Bai Ling’s blog, the dvd cover of the movie Shanghai Baby, and Bai Ling in Cannes... 111

4-1 The covers of ‘Shanghai nostalgic’ novels ... 135

4-2 The front page of part I of The Song of Everlasting Sorrow ... 154

4-3 The front page of part II of The Song of Everlasting Sorrow ... 156

4-4 The front page of part III of The Song of Everlasting Sorrow... 158

5-1 Jin Haishu’s Deep Anxiety, and Mian Mian’s Candy and Panda ... 175

5-2 The cover of Mian Mian’s Deine Nacht, mein Tag ... 177

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...i

CONVENTIONS... iii

LIST OF FIGURES...iv

PREFACE "#$!%&"'!()!)$$*&+,!-&.&+,!(/"!()!"#$!%&"'!()!)0%"11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 2! ! ! "#$%&'(!)*'!! %(+"$3"4! 0!%$+"/-'!()!*&"$-0"/-$!&+!.#0+,#0&!0+5!.#0+,#0&!&+!*&"$-0"/-$1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 6! A Brief History of Shanghai ...5

Urban Transformation in Shanghai...14

Literature in Shanghai and Shanghai in Literature ...19

! "#$%&'(!&+)! 7088&+,.4!! 5-09&+,!7$+"0*!708.!()!7$7(-&$.1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111:;! Mapping Shanghai ...41

“City Map”: The Series and the Authors ...48

Literary Maps and Mental Maps ...54

Mapping Memories: Literary Map 1...57

A Mental Map of Hongkou: Literary Map 2...68

Concluding Remarks...84

! "#$%&'(!&#(''! .$5/%"&(+4!! -$8-(5/%&+,!"#$!%&"'!0.!)$77$!)0"0*$1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111<6! Weihui and Ge Hongbing: Life and Works ...88

Critical Reception: Selling Her Body and Selling His Intellect...91

A Complicated Love Affair: Shanghai and the Femme Fatale...106

Weihui: The Screaming Body of a Shanghai Babe ...111

Ge Hongbing: Whispering Souls on a Sandbed...118

An Imagined Love Affair: CoCo and Zhuge ...127

Concluding Remarks...132

"#$%&'(!,)-(! +(."0*,&04!!

-$."(-&+,!(*5!=/&*5&+,.!"(!-$9-&"$!"#$!80."11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 2:6!

Wang Anyi and Chen Danyan: Life and Works ...138

Shanghai Nostalgia: A Culture of Reappearance...140

Wang Anyi: The Song of Everlasting Sorrow of Shanghai’s Longtang ...151

Chen Danyan: The Literary Preservation of Shanghai Memorabilia ...161

Concluding Remarks...173

! ! "#$%&'(!,./'! $.%08$4!! (/"!()!0+5!&+"(!>0-&(/.!8*0%$.!?-$0*@!0+5!&70,&+$511111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 2A6! Mian Mian and Jin Haishu: Life and Works...177

Transformation and the Notion of Escape ...181

Mian Mian: Escape into the Crowd ...185

Jin Haishu: Escape into the Garbage Dump...197

Mian Mian and Jin Haishu: Escape into the Bathroom...203

Concluding Remarks...212

! ! .*!")*"0-1.)*! "#$!.#08$!()!0!%&"'!%#0+,$.!)0."$-!"#0+!"#$!#/70+!#$0-"!%0+!"$**1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 B2:! ! ! WORKS CITED...219

GLOSSARY...239

SUMMARY IN DUTCH...249

CURRICULUM VITAE...255

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