Impressions of Shanghainese: part 3

Teacher C is really a teacher before he retired. He is a faumous professor in his field in a key university of China in Shanghai. I met him in the summer of 2006 while I came to Shanghai for the first time to work here as an intern.At that time, he was 73 years old. My acquaintance with him is accidental. After a few honest contacts, he agreed to come to see me by my invitation. And in that hot day, he really dropped by the Xintiandi-my company's event place with sweaty shirts and big beads of sweat in his head, which indeed inspires me and touches my heart.

My essential intercourse with him started from that time. He told me about his capitalistic family background and sufferings after liberation for that. His temporal enagagement was to contribute to philosophy on big topics though he had been teaching technical and engineering related courses before. Our first meet ended in a good atmosphere. And we agreed to further contact each other later. My first impression of him is that he is amiable, easy-going, informative and in good style.

By time and our relationship goes, I know he is practical obviously, much more practical than I can stand. I visited him several times all together. Each time, I was imposed on many deep ideas insightful into life and society. He kept talking for few hours himself. I had few chance to cut in and could feel no existance of myself. His thoughtful points and broader vision than what I could imagine at that time flied over me. Actually, I was not understanding them fully at that moment. However, now I seem to get them across with a lot of realistic social experiences and increasing cultural knowledge. He is wise and good at threading topics out in simple words from their big side with missing their trivial facts.

He spent most of his time infusing me his research outcome on practical marriage and life road. And I was listening to him almost all the time with a few simple reply to his questions he asked me. From the talks between us, I really learned a lot from him especially theoretical knoledges about such aspects which are tested to be true after I entered my society. However, in his words, his efforts and beneficial classes are not free. I need to do something to thank for him and to continue to learn from him.

He is belonging to senior people at his real age. However, his state of mind is still young. He wants to pick up a companion who can go over his rest life with him and asks me to help for exchange. Since his future life is much more spiritual than physical, much more cultural than materialistic, he puts quite strict standards on suitable partner choices. In his words, the partner should be young, beautiful, kind, considerate and no more than 35 years old with no heavy burden or too much family worries. Actually it's best for a choice to be single at her thirties. She also should have potential to grow under his instructions. Moreover, the partner should perform like a wife to take care of him but as the status of an Ayi which means she has no right to share his heritages after he dies.

To find out a suitable one is really not an easy thing. 3 years more past, according to what I know, he still does not have such people to live with. I pity for him and hope he could "succeed" soon. Life is realistic, and why are not our standards practical?

Impressions of Shanghainese: part 2

Teacher B is a retiring female public servant in Huangpu district. According to her imposing self introduction, she had served the business part and has wonderful past and experiences. Since she has cancer, she has to leave her post before her required serving time. For that serious illness, she had been diagnosed to only have a few months to live. The hospital ever suggested her to enjoy her rest time of life, which once frustrated her. However, late, She learned Qi Gong accidentally( one old Chinese superstitious Martial art which is said to have some magical effects) and outlived the forecast time of the hospital. She therefore braged to me she would have died long before if she has no blessings of the God and practices Qi Gong.

She is so talkative and has too many things to disclose to her listener. When I stood in front of her, it's almost all her personal talk show. She closely spread her family background and her glowing past. Her husband is said to be unreadable sometimes, because he always restricts her "impressive" interaction with her strange friends. She went on talking about her contribution to the Shanghai municipality. Our first meet was out of her house when I was searching objective houses. To demonstrate me some prooves, she asked me to wait and returned to fetch some letters that the relative government offices replied to her for her feedback of problems she has ever seen or met. She probably will be a good teacher at school if she tries. Her patience and staidness are really what a qualified teacher is required.

She turned her tune and continued her next topic, without caring about my implications that I had to deal with some of my personal things. To show my attention and respect, I was miserably hung there. She listed out her contact with a French guy whose rental house is just beside. The guy was said to like to talk to her since she is one of the less kind people who could speak French unbelievably. He had no good experience in China and would leave soon. However, to memorise his acquaintance with her, he decided to send Teacher B an important gift. Following the etiquette that courtesy demands reciprocity, she also gave out something in the bottom of her value box. It is the silver badge of one of the time-honored brand in Huangpu district. It's very very precious.

We went on with our talk. She moved to narrate her disgust toward one of her neighbor living in the upstairs. The landlord rented his house to several girls who engage in special escort services. Actually, people in Teacher B's age is essentially tired of such profession doers. And for their disturbing noises every night about their flushing services, it is untolerable for Teacher B any more and time to do something to compell these prostitutes out there. On this point, She dialed 110 several times. Her efforts really worked. These callets left away. She succeeded.......

In order to find suitable place to live, I contacted her several days later after our first meet. I felt some changes of her this time. She was originally acommodating and careless of reward. When I had asked for her help to recommend me rental residency choices, she quickly agreed happily. But this time she conveyed her unwillingness and expecting difficulties on fulfilling that. Meanwhile, She enquired if she could get something back. Yes, she really could. In fact, she indeed came to my company to take some little gadgets. She should very like them.

Impressions of Shanghainese: part 1

To people from other provinces to shanghai, we may hear some about shanghaiese through experienced others during our growth or education. Our initial and general impression of some shanghaiese should be like this: to men, they should be much of some female characters what impress us. While to women, in the opposite way, they may be much of some male characters that we always think of. However, that is not a whole picture and not necessarily true.

As far as I am concerned, I have seen some typical old shanghaieses since I come to this city. From them and my explanation, you may know more about them and the Shanghaiese in your eyes. One fact is when we come to someone who are old than us, we'd better call than a teacher to show our respect instead of Aunt or Uncle. Similarly, i will list the following Shanghaieses out with a common appellation "Teacher" and talk of their stories.

Teacher A is one of my colleagues. He is kind and lives in the prosperous spot of the famous Nanjing road. It's said people living there must have some background. He is one of the examples to prove that. However, he, in his fifties, is out of his in some way bright past and glowing youthhood. Life is real. Though he needs not to worry about basic necessities of life, work is a must to engage himself in. Teacher A really has some good experiences that can be informative to us around and especially youths. From him, I learn what is sales and how the sales companies run when I worked in my present company as an intern in 2007. At that time, he seemed to have good relationship with colleagues and I was very grateful to him. But things change by the time. He is not popular again now to colleagues in his level and also to managers.

He is disgusted especially for his "outspokenness" and priggishness. He is easy to speak a lot of bald-faced words to female colleagues. Though he is disliked for that, he takes no step to convert the fact other than complaining of the other colleagues. Oh, poor guy. He always splurges he is right at this or that. However, he should know there is really somewhere of himself that need to improve for good relationship. In addition, his another representive personality such as people who get permanant residence permit in big city like Shanghai is canny or in other words selfish. He can accept others' offerings while being together. But, his response to that is even the pitch that every employee is not easy to survive and it's not good to waste money. You may agree with him on every word from him on his comment. But it's hard to accept his overall argument.

To me, his striking weakness is up to his self-righteousness. One ridiculous point of his is he can see through every move of others. He would rather draws near to someone in bad quality who always gives him some offerings. I always doubt about people why they are so easy to confuse good and bad. To people who have passed their middle age, I don't think they lack of fundmental moral sense.Is that just because of some small boons and sexual attraction? Unbelievable.