Why Shanghai

Name: Why Shanghai
ISBN: 9787208195394

Shanghai MuseumShanghai People's Publishing House · ChinaJun 2026

4.2

Word count: 66K words
Chapters: 19
ISBN: 9787208195394

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Summary

The book is divided into four units, each with three sections, and each section takes a major national treasure as its point of entry to describe the society, culture, and economy of that period.

Unit One, "Sea-Land Changes and the Light of Civilization," uses the Gang Bodies and the skull of Shanghai's first man as points of entry to describe the landscape of the Shanghai region in ancient times and the traces of early humans.

Unit Two, "One River and One Creek and the Rise to Prominence," uses changes in the waterways of the Huangpu River and Wusong Creek as points of entry to describe Shanghai's rise from Qinglong Town and its extension along Wusong Creek until it became an important port.

Unit Three, "A Famous Jiangnan City and a Gathering of Talents," focuses on Shanghai's achievements in education, calligraphy, and painting since the Song and Yuan dynasties, especially during the Ming and Qing.

Unit Four, "A World City and the Meeting of East and West," describes the intellectual sparks produced by East-West cultural exchange after the opening of Shanghai as a port, which drove the city's modernization.

Editor's review

Compiled by the Shanghai Museum, this book presents Shanghai's history in four units and twelve chapters. Its distinctive approach is to open each chapter with a national treasure, using the object to bring to life the society, culture, and economy of its era. Unit One begins with the Gang Bodies and the skull of Shanghai's first human, tracing ancient land-sea changes and the dawn of civilization. Unit Two follows the shifting waterways of the Huangpu and Wusong Rivers, showing how Shanghai grew from the rise of Qinglong Town into a major port. Unit Three focuses on Shanghai's achievements in education, calligraphy, and painting from the Song and Yuan dynasties, especially the Ming and Qing. Unit Four recounts the intellectual sparks and modernization that came with East-West convergence after the port opened. By using objects as evidence of history and revealing the large through the small, the book makes macroscopic urban history concrete and perceptible. It serves as an accessible introduction to Shanghai's urban heritage and as companion reading before or after a museum visit to deepen understanding of the exhibits.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers seeking a systematic understanding of Shanghai's urban history, as an introductory text
Visitors preparing to visit the Shanghai Museum or related exhibitions, to learn the background in advance
Primary and secondary school history and local-studies educators, for designing teaching materials that use objects as historical evidence
Readers interested in Jiangnan culture, port cities, and the history of East-West exchange

Not a good fit for

Researchers seeking professional archaeological reports or detailed source criticism; the book is positioned as a popular narrative
Readers hoping for in-depth thematic analysis of Shanghai's modern political economy
Those who prefer fiction or purely recreational reading and have little interest in historical topics

Reading tips

Read through in the order of the four units to first establish a chronological framework from antiquity to the opening of the port.
When a specific object is discussed in each chapter, consult museum exhibit images or visit in person to deepen impressions.
When reading Unit Two, refer to a map of Shanghai's waterways to understand the relationship between waterway changes and the rise and fall of the port.
After finishing, use a timeline to sort out the key points of each unit and check your understanding.

About the publisher

Shanghai People's Publishing House China · Founded in 1951

Shanghai People's Publishing House is a comprehensive publisher whose list focuses on academic monographs and general-interest titles in philosophy, social sciences, politics and law, economics and management, and history. Among its books are Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties History in the Chinese Dynastic History series; The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy in foreign literature; the Wenjing Classical Translation Illustrated Edition of The Complete Greek Tragedies of Euripides; and works of social theory such as Max Weber's Economy and Society and Dialectic of Enlightenment: Philosophical Fragments. Its authors include Wang Zhongluo, J.R.R. Tolkien, Luo Niansheng, and Zhou Zuoren.

版权信息
《何以上海》编委会
前言
第一单元海陆变迁与文明之光
一海上明珠：沧海桑田与起源
二古国印迹：早期文明与高峰
三多元文化：南北交融与变迁
第二单元一江一河与商贸之路
一青龙巨镇：辐辏交通与崛起
二吴淞古江：东南都会与发展
三黄浦潮涌：江海通津与兴盛
第三单元江南名邑与人文荟萃
一文教之乡：文脉传承与底蕴
二书画千年：海上韵致与创新
三锦绣乾坤：巧夺天工与审美
第四单元世界都市与中西交汇
一新变之义：西风东渐与创造
二万国建筑：现代都市与兼容
三光明摇篮：时代风云与奋斗

FAQ

Is this book a general history of Shanghai?

The book presents Shanghai's history from antiquity to the period after the port opened in four units, covering land-sea changes, the rise of the port, Jiangnan culture, and East-West convergence, within a general-history framework. However, it unfolds by opening each chapter with a national treasure and emphasizes using objects as evidence of history, which differs from a general history laid out dynasty by dynasty.

Can readers without a history background understand it?

Compiled by the Shanghai Museum for general readers, the book uses objects as entry points to discuss society, culture, and the economy, and its narrative is relatively concrete and perceptible. Readers without a history background can establish a basic framework by reading the units in order; when encountering place names or waterway changes, reading alongside a map will make it smoother.

What do the four units cover?

Unit One covers land-sea changes and the dawn of civilization, opening with the Gang Bodies and the skull of Shanghai's first human. Unit Two covers the one river and one creek and the rise to prominence, following changes in the waterways of the Huangpu and Wusong Rivers. Unit Three covers the famous Jiangnan city and its cultural riches, touching on education, calligraphy, and painting from the Song and Yuan dynasties, especially the Ming and Qing. Unit Four covers the world city and East-West convergence, introducing the modernization process under East-West cultural exchange after the port opened.

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About the author

Shanghai Museum Author

Founded in 1952 and located at 201 Renmin Avenue, Huangpu District, Shanghai, the Shanghai Museum is among the first national key museums jointly built by the central and local governments and among the first national first-class museums. It specializes in collecting, researching and exhibiting ancient Chinese art, with more than 1.02 million objects in its collection across 33 categories, including bronzes, ceramics, painting and calligraphy. Beyond exhibitions and research, the museum also takes part in compiling and publishing catalogues, readers and archaeological documentary books, covering such categories as culture, historical reading, classic works, documentary literature and health, with five titles listed in the database. Among them, "Why Shanghai", "China in 70 Cultural Relics" and "A Manual of Civilizational Comparison" address general readers, using the collection and cultural relics as threads to tell cultural and historical stories; "Lanting (Close Reading Series)" focuses on close reading of classic works; and "Archaeology · Ancient Port: Excavation and Discovery at Qinglong Town, Shanghai" presents archaeological excavation and research. Public information is limited, and the style and influence of these publications await further understanding through the works above.