I Didn't Escape from Puxi
By Jian Shuo Wang on 2005-03-25 23:28 · Real Estateddjiii commented on the section about me in the article China’s Next Cultural Revolution:
You know, I can’t help thinking that your life as described in the article doesn’t really sound the same as you write about it in the blog. Do you really feel like you’ve escaped shabby housing, nosy neighbors and haggling with the fishmonger? That’s a very negative view of central Shanghai, I think, and one that I’ve never gotten reading the blog (or visiting Shanghai.) It was fun to see your name, and the most of the article is really interesting, but I thought this was an unjustified slam. What do you think?
Posted by: ddjiii on March 25, 2005 12:14 PM
I posted my answer (with small modification)
I didn’t read about the WIRED article before I wrote this blog. I would say, the majority of the content is accurate. WIRED magazine editor was very professional. They sent me a fact sheet and asked me to verify all the detail facts before they went to publish it. I had actually corrected some key facts. For example, my Goudaner is a FIAT instead of a VW.
However, as any article about me but not written by me, it is the view of the writers, instead of me. “Shabby housing, nosy neighbors and haggling with the fishmonger?” is not my previous life - I wrote about the previous life in Waltz Garden in Xujiahui on this blog. It is actually not an escape. If possible, I may move back to the central part of Shanghai, at the sake of losing the car. However, the car did change my life. If you read back and you will see how painful the decision I had made to move from Puxi to Pudong:
Continue to Seek for an Apartment
There are many articles reflecting the move from Puxi to Pudong. Of cause, I thank Lisa for putting out the article, and they have done a great job to make sure the facts are correct. I almost never saw one article on me that reflects 100% of what I am thinking. Above all, it is not my article.
Now I have learnt to value any place I have ever lived, worked. There is no bad place in the world. There is only bad mood.
Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang on March 25, 2005 01:47 PM
I can rest assure you, the spirit of Shanghai is in Puxi, although the nice life is in Pudong. It is all about choice.
8 Comments
http://www.slate.com/id/2115114/?GT1=6208
Although local people may even give you figure that shows out of every 10 of police theft reports, 7 is done by immigrant labor worker,or "Min Gong". But something I'd say here is Shanghai people are really BAD on their view of new commers. Pretty much as some Germen's attitude towards the Turks immigrants, Shanghai people tend to hold mixed feeling about people from outside, basically they don't like them, although most of themself are originally from neighbouring regions. They are more or less bit of snobbish, as if you are bringing big money in or having a nice job, they feel OK, AND, people are therefore equal on this point, which is good and not like Beijing.
This is a big topic worth writing about, I remember actually some Taiwan author wrote some book years ago.