| Shanghai has become "The City" of China in the past one and half centuries due to its very high status in terms of China's modernization and urbanization. However, the recognition of Shanghai's cultural identity has always been characterized by ambiguities. The occurrence of Shanghai is a symbol of the extensive and profound social and cultural transformations that happened in China at the turn of 20th century. These transformations have led to enormous discrepancies between modern and traditional Chinese cultures and generated a variety of ambivalences in society today, such as the confusion of Chinese cultural identity and the depreciation of traditional cultures. A further exploration on these transformations would be helpful to shed light on current perplexities and disturbances.;Courtesan novels (xiaxie xiaoshuo) set in Shanghai, booming between 1890 and 1910, are the first group of literary works that intended to fashion a physical and cultural image of the metropolis. As the first wave of depictions the city, Shanghai courtesan novels deeply influenced their countless latecomers, such as the New Sensation-oriented Writers (Xin ganjue pai), Eileen Chang, and Wang Anyi. These novels both conspicuously and subtly represent contemporary opinions and attitudes toward the city. Within them, one finds powerful and often contradictory themes---modernity and depravity, attraction and rejection, obsession and revulsion. Through analyzing these novels, we can bring the vivid and authentic urban life of a century ago back to life. Studies on the Shanghai courtesan novels may not only the more specific and detailed process of modernization and urbanization in China, but also indicate the significance of these novels in the transformations of Chinese language and literature at the turn of 20th century. |
