Shanghai Lady

Name: Shanghai Lady
ISBN: 9787108063656

程乃珊SDX Joint Publishing Company · ChinaJun 2025

4.2

Word count: 119K words
Chapters: 39
ISBN: 9787108063656

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Summary

She loves food—catch a whiff of candied roasted chestnuts and she can't move a step further; she chases fashion—even in turbulent times she'd use discarded electrical coils to curl her hair; she chases idols—tracking them all the way to a Beverly Hills encounter and a hug-and-photo with Gregory Peck... Born in 1946, she was a true blueblood, yet closer to today's young people than anyone. She is a daughter of Shanghai—or rather, she is Shanghai itself: seemingly docile amid the shift between old and new eras, yet stubbornly steadfast, round on the outside and square within, content in her own joy. And so the words that flowed from her pen... legends lie dormant in ordinary alleys, brimming with a singular vitality. Though she has been gone for five years, her fervor for life still buzzes eagerly on the page, infecting all who make and read books.

Editor's review

Shanghai Lady is the crowning work of Cheng Naishan's later years, distilling her observation of and deep affection for Shanghai over more than half a century. Unlike conventional nostalgic essays, this book takes "Lady" as its entry point, precisely capturing the unique temperament of Shanghai women—a blend of East and West, both modern and traditional. Cheng's brushwork is as fine as gongbi painting: from the piping on a qipao to the style of a coffee cup, from the courtyard of a shikumen to the plane trees of the French Concession, every detail carries historical memory and cultural code. The "Shanghai Lady" she portrays is not a stereotype but a vivid collective—they might be salesgirls at Wing On Company, graduates of missionary girls' schools, or socialites aging gracefully in the lanes; together they form the softest yet most resilient texture of the city. Reading this book, you will not only feel the charm of old Shanghai but also understand how Shanghai-style culture achieves its most vital transmission through women. Cheng's writing transcends simple nostalgia: through women's fates she refracts the city's transformations, giving history warmth and breath.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers with a strong interest in Shanghai-style culture and Shanghai history
Literature lovers who enjoy seeing an era's changes through individual fates
Researchers focused on modern Chinese women's life history and social change
Readers who appreciate delicate, graceful, richly visual prose

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting fast-paced, plot-driven fiction
Readers with little interest in regional culture who seek universally applicable views

Reading tips

Reading alongside other works by Cheng Naishan, such as The Blue House and The Financier, offers a fuller understanding of her Shanghai narrative system
Pay attention to descriptions of material details—clothing, food, home furnishings—as these are key codes for understanding Shanghai-style culture
Consider comparing the scenes in the book with today's Shanghai on the ground to feel the layering of history and the continuity of urban memory

About the publisher

SDX Joint Publishing Company China · Founded in 1932

SDX Joint Publishing Company is a publisher known for its humanities and social science titles, covering classics, culture, history, social fiction and politics. Its catalogue of 826 books includes Chinese and foreign literary classics such as The Scholars, Camel Xiangzi and Selected Short Stories of Chekhov, scholarly works such as Studies of Chinese Cave Temples, A Study of the Tuoba History (Revised Edition) and The Nine-Rank System: A Prehistory of the Imperial Examination, and translations such as Red Star Over China and Notes from the House of the Dead. Its authors include renowned Chinese and foreign writers such as Wu Jingzi, Lao She, Su Bai and Chekhov, as well as scholars and translators such as Chen Xiaoming, Wang Benhua, Guo Changbao and Zhu Xiansheng. Its publishing character lies in balancing the popularisation of classics with academic depth, with attention to textual quality and the transmission of knowledge.

版权信息
总序她多么爱生活，爱得太多太多
四季歌
就这样慢慢敦化成上海女人
我的妈妈
荣贞阿婆
上海街情话
镜花缘
做头发
髻
女人和帽子
花边
旗袍吟
高跟鞋
女儿经
小姊妹
绢头
结绒线
女红和铁蝴蝶
女人和床
红豆曲
她喜欢吃甜的
老公如老酒
太太万岁
上海女人的“作”
介绍朋友
由上至下和由下至上
仕女图
上海女人
上海小姐
一枝花
小家碧玉
亭子间的女人们
申家姆妈
交际花
女裁缝
保姆
上海煞女
代跋

FAQ

How does this book differ from Chen Danyan's works on Shanghai?

Cheng Naishan's writing is more rooted in local experience and family memory; she came from a Shanghai financial family, and her pages carry the warmth of a firsthand witness. Chen Danyan takes more the perspective of a cultural observer, emphasizing Shanghai imaginings from an international angle. Together they form twin gems of Shanghai writing.

Do the "Shanghai Ladies" depicted in the book still exist today?

The traits Cheng portrays—a blend of East and West, a concern for dignity, an inner toughness—can still be seen in variations and inheritances among Shanghai women today. Though the outward forms have changed, the spiritual core—a refined pursuit of life and a supple resilience in the face of change—remains traceable.

What is the historical value of this book?

As firsthand non-fiction, the book offers a wealth of vivid primary source material on daily life, especially details of middle-class Shanghai women's everyday life around 1949, making it an important supplement to official historical records—though it should be noted that it carries a filter of personal emotion.

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About the author

程乃珊 Author

Cheng Naishan is a Chinese-language author known for writing about Shanghai's urban memory and everyday culture, with four of her works included in this collection. Her writing centers mainly on essays and social-science subjects, and her representative works include Shanghai Lady, Shanghai Color, Shanghai Memory, and the series collectively known as Cheng Naishan's Shanghai Story Trilogy. These titles suggest that her writing revolves around the city of Shanghai, focusing on urban life, its people, and the everyday details of changing times, with a strong sense of regional culture and nostalgia. Her prose tends toward the plain and delicate, often beginning from concrete scenes of daily life to sketch Shanghai's distinctive urban character, giving her a recognizable voice among readers of similar writing. Public information about her personal life—such as her birth year, native place, and education—is limited, so her works themselves remain the main way to understand her writing.