Shanghai culture and contemporary society

Shanghai Culture

Shanghai harbors an exceptional culture that has been influenced by both East and West. The city, whose name literally means "onto the sea," has a history that dates back to the time of the Song dynasty (960-1279). During the nineteenth century, its importance as a major port area was realized after China began trading with the West. Since then, Shanghai has grown to become China's largest and most economically prosperous city.

Shanghai's surging economic expansion can mainly be attributed to its strong manufacturing and technology sector. Recently, it has also experienced successful growth in the banking and finance sectors. The city contributes towards 20-25% of China's overall tax revenue, giving it a strategic political and economic importance to the country.

China's 2000 census stated that Shanghai's population was 16.738 million, which includes the 3.871 million migrant workers who come from various other parts of China. Recent statistics from 1997 showed that the average family size in Shanghai was 3.06 persons per family. Nuclear families made up 70.5% of its population, which in turn consisted of 55.8% of them being couples with children and 14.69% being childless couples. Extended families, which consist of three generations of relatives living together, made up 20.7% of the population and single-parent households made up 8.8%.

The natives of Shanghai are known as Shanghailanders; they are the descendants of immigrants who arrived from the Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. Shanghailanders speak a language known as Shanghainese, which is a dialect of Wu Chinese. Shanghainese is distinct from Shanghai's official language, which is Standard Mandarin.

Shanghai is home to several different religions; the majority of its residents practice Buddhism. The Longhua temple and pagoda, which contains several remarkable monuments of Buddha, Jade Buddha Temple and Jing'an Temple are all symbols of Buddhism in the city.

Shanghai is also home to members of the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faiths. Catholicism was introduced to Shanghai in 1595 AD; the Dongjiadu Church is the oldest church in the city. Shanghai also has a sizable Protestant population. Islam was introduced to Shanghai in 1275 AD, when its first Muslim residents began living in Songjiang County; the Songjiang Mosque was constructed in 1341. Finally, Shanghai has a small population of Jewish residents, who immigrated there during WWII, when Shanghai was the only city in the world that was willing to take in Jewish refugees.

Citizens of Shanghai celebrate two major holidays during the year. These include the Chinese New Year, which is celebrated sometime around late January or early February, and the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is celebrated either in September or early October. The New Year is observed much the same way Christmas is observed in the West, with parties, the exchanging of gifts, and the decorating of homes with lights. The Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated with people hanging special lanterns at home and eating moon cakes, which are made with sesame, eggs, and ground lotus.

Shanghai cuisine is a derivative of the Nanjing, Hangzhou, and Suzou styles of cooking and also contains elements that are unique to it. It is often considered to be sweet and oily as compared to other forms of Chinese cuisine. Examples of some famous Shanghai dishes include Drunken Chicken, Shanghai Noodles and Dumplings, and Sweet and Sour Braised Meat. Besides having its own culinary style, Shanghai also boasts of maintaining its own unique style of fashion. For example, the cheongsam is a moderation of the traditional Chinese qipao garment, which is a type of women's dress.

The Shanghai variation contains Western styled influences, which include making the dress more tight fitting and high cut, unlike the traditional style.

Modern Chinese art and literature predominantly originated from Shanghai. The "Shanghai Style," which used to be considered an inferior form of Chinese art, displays several unique features. One such feature is that it is able to incorporate many elements, both traditional and non-traditional, into its method. This is the reason why many forms of modern Shanghai art contain Western inspired influences within them. Another such feature is that Shanghai art is able to quickly change its methods in favor of newer and more improved ones. It will discard any conventional methods its views as being outdated and explore for other artistic options.