Shanghai, 1842-1949: Library Edition

Rating:
Summary: Myth as history
Review: Contrary to other reader's reviews, I found Shanghai to a disappointing book. The writing style is very florid, indeed verging on overblown. On page one Shanghai is described as "the most pleasure-mad, rapacious, corrupt, strife-ridden, licentious, squalid and decadent city in the world." Each fresh page relentlessly strives to better this excitable list of adjectives.

Although Stella Dong works hard to convey the atmosphere of old Shanghai, what her book does not do is provide a clear history of the city. Dates are very confused and the narrative thread lost in favour of colourful stories. This is not a book to read if you are looking for a coherent explanation of the Taiping rebellion the Opium wars or the rise of communism around Shanghai.

Several reviewers have commented on the book's exhaustive research. That may be correct but I note that Dong cites only secondary sources in English.

Overall, readers wanting a more nuanced appreciation of Shanghai would do well to look elsewhere. Those who want a racy read might be happier but it is difficult to escape the feeling that this book only adds to the myths about Shanghai rather than improving our understanding.

Rating:
Summary: Solid History of a Sinful City
Review: Stella Dong's "Shanghai 1842-1949: The Rise and Fall of a Decadent City" is a thorough overview of China's most notorious city during its most notorious era.

As Dong's text explains, Shanghai rose to prominence in the late 19th century as a treaty port. Several nations-Britain, US, and France- had gained special status through a series of treaties and thus were allowed to conduct business as if the city were their own. And there were plenty of businesses to conduct--from the importing of opium to the exporting of tea and other goods. Each colonial group lived in its own area complete with its own customs and social hierarchies.

Likewise, with the increased affluence of the city, a wealthy Chinese class also emerged, though once again it tended to live and socialize only within its own boundaries.

With so many people making so much money and so few (legal) rules to follow, Shanghai eventually became a swinging city of sin. By the 1920's, the city became synonmous with sex, opium, jazz, brothels, and pleasure in just about any form. As Dong notes, while the sinners broke all legal rules, they still followed the social stratification of the city: the british patronized British brothels, the Chinese went to Chinese brothels and so on.

Of course, with the invasion by Japan and then the fall to the Communists, the good times ended in Shanghai and most of the colonials left. I felt that Dong could have kept the reader more abreast of Chinese history in the earlier parts of the book to make the latter events (e.g., why the country was so open to communism when a city like Shanghai was not) more understandable. In addition, she introduces certain colorful Shanghai characaters-the writer Emily Hahn for instance-and then loses them.
However, this book is a good, workmanlike introduction to a very interesting city in a very interesting time. I would recommend it to those readers looking for a general overview of the history of the city. If you want more depth, you may want to read this book in conjunction with more rigorous studies or simply look elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: An eye-opener
Review: Until I read Stella Dong's "Shanghai," I had no idea that Shanghai was the opium capital of the East, nor that it had more prostitutes than any place in the world, nor that it was the most revolutionary spot in China. My grandparents are from Shanghai, but growing up in Santa Barbara, I never knew that there was such an exciting place in China. At first I was a little wary of this book because I feared Dong, though Chinese, would depict Chinese as all criminals and dope addicts, but actually, I came away with a fuller sense of the Chinese as people. Yes, their are some low-lifers in "Shanghai," but many heroes as well. I enjoyed "Shanghai" a lot. It made a bit of my family's history come alive for me. Also it was a very enjoyable read--full of humor and subtle wit.