Don't do it, being a Shanghai man

Author: Qin Lin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-03-01
Features: This book, with over 100,000 words of critique, may not be every word a gem, but it is free of sarcasm, ridicule, abuse, mockery, and challenges. Yet, this does nothing to diminish the force of cultural critique. Among them, the essay "On the 'Astute'—A Brief Discussion" stands out for its individuality. The author, through four arguments—"The 'Astute' Lies Not in Clarity," "Astuteness in Calculation," "Astuteness in Subtlety," and "How Astute Are the 'Gatekeeping Astute'"—strongly supports the main thesis of the "Brief Discussion," overturning the long-standing social consensus that "Shanghai men are astute." This book is a work of cultural critique. There are few compliments in the text, which is perfectly normal. If one expects this book to praise a bit before delivering a few rebukes, as if writing an eight-legged essay, then it wouldn’t be cultural critique—it would be a summary report. Moreover, writing summary reports has never been the spirit of those engaged in cultural critique. It is not Qin Lin’s spirit either. Dalian people say they are Dalian people, but they don’t say they are Northeasterners! Xiamen people say they are Xiamen people, but they don’t say they are Fujianese; Shanghai people say they are Shanghai people, but they don’t say they are Chinese; Shanghai men say they are men, but they don’t say they are Shanghai men.