杭州觀察（九）
二零零三年十一月八日
馮儁熙
上海隨想
上海，在重拾它昔日的繁華與輝煌。
終於有機會到上海去了。久仰你的大名，願一睹你的風采。外灘的金碧夜色，徐匯的紫綠霓虹，浦東的摩登商廈，豫園的古色園林。上海，一個令人流連忘返的地方。
看見你今天昂首闊步的高速發展，老房子整批整區的被清拆，新樓房如雨後春筍的被建成，大街小巷車水馬龍，櫥窗裡中外貨品琳瑯滿目，一路上年輕男女衣著光鮮，令我想起你二三十年代時，十里洋場，冠蓋雲集的日子；也叫我憶起我香港八九十年代時，紙醉金迷，泡沫經濟的歲月。
南京路步行街
Nanqing Road Pedestrian
Zone (One of the busiest shopping area in Shanghai)
你的市長說，香港有廿五歲，而你則只有十五歲。但其實，你的成長來得比我們早。就從１８４２年開始算算吧。鴉片戰爭清廷戰敗，與英國簽訂南京條約，割讓香港島，並開放五口通商，你是其中之一。如果香港作為一個殖民地，是英國在華南經商的基地和在中國的政軍總部的話，那麼他們在你那兒劃出的租界，就是他們在華東和整個長江流域的基地。可以說，大家起步時間其實差不多。
但到了上世紀二十年代，你已是全中國最繁盛的都會，富商巨賈雲集，文人學者薈萃。「海派」是時髦的象徵，Shanghai是西化的先鋒。史家黃仁宇在其文章中，提到當日的你是中國的文化城，各種報章雜誌期刊，以至中小學的教科書，都在你那兒出版。「而且上海出產所有的國產電影，對內地年輕人的影響無可衡量。．．．．．．眾人都說凡世界上所有新出品，本地尚不能買到，立即見於上海。．．．．．．因為操滬語的人總是得風氣之先．．．．．．我們對這種方言也頗為傾慕。」(1)
可惜時不與你，八年抗戰，加上國共內戰，你的光榮不再。後來你給「解放」了，一時紅旗飄揚，老外都跑光了，而你的西化前衛愛自由的性格，卻成了你的罪過。霞飛路改名淮海中路 (2)，聖約翰大學給解散而各系歸併入其他大學，外灘的匯豐銀行大樓成了上海人民政府辦公室，而其大廳上的西洋壁畫則給塗料覆蓋了４２年。(3)
姓社？姓資？
Socialism? Capitalism?
（攝於上海一公園）(Photos taken in
a park in Shanghai.)
而香港呢？戰前還只是一個平平無奇的轉口港，戰後卻成了國共內戰的難民營。不知多少人是從你上海那兒逃了過來。腰纏萬貫的富商巨賈，在此從新創業，身無分文的貧苦大眾，則為此提供了廉價的勞動力。文人學者棲身於此，以求薪火相傳，教徒信眾避難於此，為保信仰自由。當你還在竭斯底里地打倒「封、資、修」的時候 (4)，香港已由一個轉口港，發展成一個工業城市。到大陸「摸著石頭過河」去改革開放時，香港已經過海成仙，搖身一變成為國際金融中心。在大陸買不到的東西，可以在香港找到。香港的新聞報導成了真相的代名詞。香港的名星成了大陸青少年的萬人迷，港產電影與流行音樂更使粵語得到前所未有的重視。是不是與上引黃仁宇的描述很相似呢？只可惜，我描述的是香港，而不是你。
所以你覺得心有不甘，誓要重拾你昔日的光輝。你發憤向上，積極進取，經過四分一個世紀的努力，終於爭取到長三角龍頭的地位，連杭州這歷史古都，人間天堂，都要甘於當你的後花園。你的東方明珠廣播電視塔號稱亞洲第一高塔，全球第一輛載客磁懸浮火車也在你那兒投入服務。
而香港呢？經濟泡沫在金融風暴下爆破，港英時代的高地價政策的後遺症漸次湧現，香港面對經濟轉型，失業率高企的慘況，在董建華糊里糊塗的管治下，香港渡過了六年半的悲情歲月，我們對政府的信心蕩然無存，而曙光初露也許還要再等三年半。
真正民主何時有？
When will there be true
democracy?
（圖：上海的選舉海報）(Photo: Election posters in Shanghai)
這個時候，你的市長說，香港有廿五歲，而你只有十五歲。我也不知道究竟是恭維的客套話，還是意味深長的諷刺。(5)「這位大哥有很多值得我學習的地方，只可惜他已經廿五歲了，沒辦法再長高了，求學的黃金機會也過去了，就讓我迎頭趕上，青出於藍吧。」
上海，上海。你畢竟已重現昔日的繁華與輝煌，重拾過去的自信與鬥志。但你至少還是有十多二十年的路要走。只願你有一天能像香港一般，能享受真正的言論自由與文明法治就好了。
原著為中文，英譯本完成於二零零三年十一月十四日
照片在二零零三年十一月十九和二十日加入。
修訂於二零零三年十二月五日
註釋：
(1)
黃仁宇《放寬歷史的視界》（新世紀版，北京．三聯．２００１年３月第二次印刷）頁２８５，２８６．
(2)
霞飛路，原名西江路，後改名寶昌路，是法租界內最繁華的一條道路。１９１４年，曾在上海工作的法國東路軍總司令霞飛 (J.J.C.Joffre)
在保衛巴黎與及第一次馬恩河戰役中，屢建軍功，被譽為法國的救星，故上海法租界政府易寶昌路之名以其名。１９４３年，易命泰山路。１９４５年，易命林森中路。１９５０年，為紀念淮海戰役，易命淮海中路。資料來源：http://shanghai.online.sh.cn/big5/eat/jd/jd_01.htm
(3)
楊嘉祐《上海老房子的故事》（上海人民出版社，１９９９年第一版，２００３年２月第五次印刷）頁３０，３２．
(4)「封、資、修」：指封建主義、資本主義和修正主義。後者是指蘇聯領導人赫魯曉夫在斯大林下台後所推行的非斯大林化政策。打倒「封、資、修」的時候：這裡是借指文化大革命。
(5)
以上觀點取自香港商業電台節目黃毓民的「政事有心人」，而以下的引號裡的說話是我的創作。
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Observations in Hangzhou (9)
8th November,
2003.
Isaac Chun Hai Fung
Shanghai: some random thoughts
Shanghai, is recapturing its glory and glamour of the past.
At last I got the opportunity to visit Shanghai. Having heard of
your great name for ages, I was delighted to see your charisma for myself. The
golden evening of the Bund, the colourful neon lights of Xuhui,
the modern commercial buildings in Pudong, and the
classical Chinese garden of Yuyuan. Shanghai, a place
where one can linger on staying forever.
Having seen you developing in full confidence --- old houses are
demolished in patches or zones; new buildings are constructed as bamboo shoots
growing after rain; streets and roads are full of traffic; in the showcases of
shops are dazzling display of goods from all over the world; on the streets,
young lads and lasses are in their trendy fashion of the day…. I thought of
your golden age in the 1920s and 30s when it was the meeting point of the rich
and those in power; and remembered the golden era of my Hong Kong in the 1980s
and 90s, when everyone was so absorbed in the bubbles of economic
development.
Your mayor said that Hong Kong is now 25 years
old, but your are only 15. But actually, you grew up
far before we did. Let’s start with 1842. In that year, the Imperial Qing Dynasty was defeated by the British Empire in the (first)
Opium War and signed the Nanking Treaty, which ceded Hong Kong to Britain and opened five
ports for Sino-British trading, of which you were one. If Hong Kong as a colony
was the stronghold of British trade in southern China and the headquarter of
British politics and military in China, then the British concession that they
had drawn up in you, was their base in Eastern China and the whole region
through which the Yangtze River flowed. So one can say, we started roughly at
the same time.
上海老房子
Old Shanghai buildings
Into the 1920s, you had already become the most splendid city in China, the club house
of rich merchants and wealthy entrepreneurs; the forum for scholars and
academics. The Shanghainese were symbols of fashion. Shanghai was the pioneer
of Westernisation. The historian Ray Huang mentioned in his essay, that in
those days, you were the cultural city of China, all sorts of
newspapers, magazines and journals, and even textbooks for primary and
secondary education were published in you. “Furthermore, Shanghai produced all
national movies. Their influence on the youth in the inland was immeasurable….
Everyone said that whenever there were new products, even though they were not
sold locally, they would be on the market in Shanghai…. Because those who speak Shanghainese were
always in the lead…. We quite admired this dialect.”
However, your heydays were gone. Through eight years of Japanese
invasion and the Chinese civil war afterwards, your glory had faded. Later you
were “liberated”. All in a sudden, red flags were
flying everywhere. Foreigners had all run away. But your Westernised,
avant-garde and freedom-seeking personality had turned into your sin. Avenue Joffre was renamed Central Huai-hai Road. St. John’s University was dissolved
and its departments merged into other universities. The HSBC building in the
Bund became the offices of the People’s Government of Shanghai and the Western
pictures on its wall and ceiling of its lobby was white-washed for 42 years.
What about Hong Kong? A normal entreport before the WWII, it had become the refugee camp
of the Chinese Civil War. Many people had escaped from you at that time. With
their capital, merchants and entrepreneurs started their business again here.
The poor mass provided them with cheap labour. Scholars and academics moved
here to continue their teaching and research. Religious believers took refuge
here for freedom of faith. When you were still fanatically fighting against
“Feudalism, Capitalism and Revisionism”, Hong Kong had developed
from an entreport to an industrial city. When the
mainland struggles to reform itself and open-up, Hong Kong has been
transformed into an international financial centre. Whatever goods are
unavailable in the mainland, they are available in Hong Kong. The news
reports from Hong Kong had become the pronoun for
truth and facts. Pop-stars from Hong Kong became idols of
teens in the mainland. Movies and Canton-pop produced in Hong Kong made its
audience to set great store by the Cantonese dialect unprecendentedly.
Is this description similar to that of Ray Huang? Unfortunately, whom I have
described was Hong Kong, not you.
So, you were not content to lag behind. Determined to recapture your
glory in the past, you worked very hard and kept forging ahead. After an effort
of a quarter of a century, you eventually became the leader in the Yangtze
River Delta. Even Hangzhou, the historical
capital and the “paradise on earth”, is willing to become your backyard. Your
Oriental Pearl Broadcast TV Tower was said to be the tallest in Asia. The first
magnetically levitated train for passenger transport is going into service in
you.
The glamour of Putong at night with its Oriental Pearl Tower
浦東夜色
(Due to my negligence, the
date on the photo is wrong. It was actually taken on 1st November 2003.)
(由於我的疏忽，照片上的日期是錯的，這照片實際上是攝於２００３年１１月１日)
What about Hong Kong? The economic bubbles
burst under the East Asian Financial Crisis. The after-effects of the “high
land price policy” of the British Hong Kong government gradually emerged. Hong Kong is facing a
transition period in its economy and the unemployment rate is staying sadly at
a high level. Under the confusing and chaotic leadership of our Chief Executive
(i.e. mayor) Tung Chee-Hwa,
Hong Kong had past through a miserable period of six and a
half years. We have lost our confidence in our government completely. And the
dawn is going to come only in three and a half years.
Right at this moment, your mayor said, “Hong Kong is 25 while Shanghai is 15”. I am
not sure whether it was a flattery pleasantry, or a profound caricature. “This
brother has many things which worth me learning. But unfortunately, he is now
25 already. He can’t grow taller anymore and his golden period of learning has
gone as well. So let me try hard to catch him up and supersede him.” (My own
interpretation)
Shanghai, Shang Hai.
After all, your glory and glamour in the past have now re-emerged and you have
recaptured your self-confidence and determination. But there are still ten or
twenty years to go. May I wish you that one day you can enjoy the genuine
freedom of speech and a civilised rule of law like that in Hong Kong.
***
I have found an interesting article written by a
Westerner on the Shanghainese dialect and his own
experience in Shanghai:
Graham Earnshaw's Shanghainese
http://www.earnshaw.com/past_version/earnshaw9602/sanghe.htm
The article was originally written in Chinese. The
English translation was finished on 14th November, 2003.
Photos added on 19th & 20th November 2003.
Revised on 5th December, 2003.
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