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@ 51041 老上海印象
A 外灘的夜景真美啊！
Wàitān de yèjǐng zhēn měi a!
The night-time scenery on the Bund is really beautiful!
B 當年的十里洋場，就是這幅景象吧。
dāngnián de shílǐyángchǎng, jiùshì zhè fú jǐngxiàng ba.
This must have been how it looked back in the old days when there were tons of foreigners here.
A 我想那時候更瘋狂。 各色人物都來上海灘謀生 。洋人在租界大興土木，馬路上黃包車、電車四處衝，黑幫流氓到處廝殺。 你想想那場面！
wǒ xiǎng nà shíhou gèng fēngkuáng. gèsè rénwù dōu lái Shànghǎi tān móushēng . yángrén zài zūjiè dàxīngtǔmù, mǎlù shàng huángbāochē, diànchē sìchù chōng, hēibāng liúmáng dàochù sīshā. nǐ xiǎng xiang nà chǎngmiàn!
I think it was even crazier back then. All kinds of characters came to seek their fortune in Shanghai. Foreigners built all kinds of stuff in the Concessions, and there were rickshaws on the roads, and streetcars rushing all over the place. Underworld thugs were killing people right and left. Imagine that!
B 上海開埠以後，各路外國人、華僑，還有全國各地的移民都湧進來找機會，怪不得說上海是冒險家的樂園。
Shànghǎi kāibù yǐhòu, gèlù wàiguórén, huáqiáo, háiyǒu quánguógèdì de yímín dōu yǒng jìnlái zhǎo jīhuì, guàibude shuō Shànghǎi shì màoxiǎnjiā de lèyuán.
After the foundation of Shanghai, there were foreigners and overseas Chinese everywhere. Lots of Chinese immigrants also rushed into Shanghai looking for opportunities. No wonder everyone said that Shanghai was a ``Paradise for Adventurers."
A 是啊！當時上海連簽證都不要，外國人能自由出入。好多在國外混得平平的人，在上海白手起家，成了大資本家。相比之下，國內來上海討生活的人就艱苦多了。好多人都是生活在最底層的苦力或是小商販。
shì a! dāngshí Shànghǎi lián qiānzhèng dōu bù yào, wàiguórén néng zìyóu chūrù. hǎoduō zài guówài hùn de píngpíng de rén, zài Shànghǎi báishǒuqǐjiā, chéng le dà zīběnjiā. xiāngbǐzhīxià, guónèi lái Shànghǎi tǎo shēnghuó de rén jiù jiānkù duō le. hǎoduō rén dōu shì shēnghuó zài zuì dīcéng de kǔlì huòshì xiǎo shāngfàn.
Yeah! At that time, you didn't even need a visa to come to Shanghai. Foreigners could come and go at will. A lot of people who were just muddling along came here from abroad. Starting from scratch, they became big capitalists. In comparison, Chinese who came to Shanghai to make their living had it a lot tougher. A lot of people lived on the lowest level of society, doing hard manual labor or working as small merchants.
B 不過這樣的人也有出人頭地的。你看杜月笙、黃金榮。後來都成了統治上海的老大。
bùguò zhèyàng de rén yě yǒu chūréntóudì de. nǐ kàn Dù Yuèshēng, Huáng Jīnróng. hòulái dōu chéng le tǒngzhì Shànghǎi de lǎodà.
But there were also some stand-outs among people like that. Think of Du Yuesheng and Huang Jinrong. Later on, they became the big bosses who ran Shanghai!
A 你說的怎麼都是黑社會呀？
nǐ shuō de zěnme dōu shì hēishèhuì ya?
How come you're talking about the underworld?!
B 黑道當時在上海吃得開嘛。不過當然也有正經工作、賺乾淨錢的人。
hēidào dāngshí zài Shànghǎi chī de kāi ma. bùguò dāngrán yě yǒu zhèngjing gōngzuò, zhuàn gānjìng qián de rén.
At that time, the underworld called the shots in Shanghai! But of course, there were also people with regular jobs who earned clean money.
A 哎，有錢的、沒錢的、比上不足，比下有餘的就這麼同住在一個城市裡。 為生活打拼，為名利打拼。
ai, yǒuqián de, méi qiánde, bǐshàngbùzú, bǐxiàyǒuyú de, jiù zhème tóng zhù zài yī ge chéngshì lǐ. wèi shēnghuó dǎpīn, wéi míng lì dǎpīn.
Oh, rich people, poor people, better than some and worse than the rest: all lived together in this city. They went all out to survive, and to make a name for themselves.
B 那時候那麼多人湧到上海，要生存下去，肯定要拼命。如果機遇好，說不定還能成大事呢。
nàshíhou nàme duō rén yǒng dào Shànghǎi, yào shēngcún xiàqu, kěndìng yào pīnmìng. rúguǒ jīyù hǎo, shuōbudìng hái néng chéng dàshì ne.
At that time, so many people flooded into Shanghai. If you wanted to survive, you definitely needed to go all out. If you had good luck, it might turn into something big!
A 現在上海好像又回到那個時代了。 又有那麼多外國人、中國人到這兒找上海夢。現在站在外灘，就能感覺到這個城市的活力。
xiànzài Shànghǎi hǎoxiàng yòu huí dào nàge shídài le. yòu yǒu nàme duō wàiguórén, zhōngguórén dào zhèr zhǎo Shànghǎi mèng. xiànzài zhàn zài Wàitān, jiù néng gǎnjué dào zhè ge chéngshì de huólì.
It looks like Shanghai has gone back to that time again. Once again, there are so many foreigners and Chinese coming here to look for their Shanghai dreams. Now, standing on the Bund, you can feel the vitality of this city.
B 是啊。不過現在來上海，沒簽證可不行。
shì a. bùguò xiànzài lái Shànghǎi, méi qiānzhèng kě bùxíng.
Yeah. But these days, you can't come to Shanghai without a visa.
Key Vocabulary
外灘 Wàitān The Bund
十里洋場 shílǐyángchǎng city full of foreigners
各色 gèsè every kind of
謀生 móushēng to earn a living
洋人 yángrén foreigner
租界 zūjiè Concession
大興土木 dàxīngtǔmù to build vigorously
黃包車 huángbāochē rickshaw
四處 sìchù all over the place
黑幫 hēibāng gangs
流氓 liúmáng hooligan
廝殺 sīshā to kill
開埠 kāibù to build a city
華僑 huáqiáo overseas Chinese
冒險家 màoxiǎnjiā adventurer's
混得平平 hùn de píngpíng to go through life in a mediocre way
白手起家 báishǒuqǐjiā to build up from nothing
討生活 tǎo shēnghuó to eke out a living
苦力 kǔlì coolie
小商販 xiǎo shāngfàn small merchant
出人頭地 chūréntóudì to stand out among your peers
杜月笙 Dù Yuèshēng Big-eared Du
黃金榮 Huáng Jīnróng Huang Jinrong
吃得開 chī de kāi to be welcome
比上不足，比下有餘 bǐshàngbùzú , bǐxiàyǒuyú to be better than some but fall short of the best
打拼 dǎpīn to go all out
名利 míng lì fame and gain
成大事 chéng dàshì to make it big
Supplementary Vocabulary
黑白兩道 héibáiliǎngdào illegal and legal methods
知足常樂 zhīzúchánglè to be happy with one's lot in life
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