Shanghainese Review: Less Talk, More Culture

Author: Qian Naiying
Author Country: China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-09-01
Features: The Shanghai dialect complex of "Shanghai people from other places" is something that hometowners can hardly imagine. Studying Shanghai dialect in other places is a pleasure, even a bit of pride—"The accent remains unchanged, but the hair has turned gray." Everything has been assimilated by the local customs and culture of other places, while the mother tongue accompanies me throughout my life, reminding me of where my "roots" are and where my "source" lies—how wonderful that is! Can the Shanghai dialect complex of "Shanghai people from other places" be understood by the locals?
Excerpt: Tracing the history through Shanghai place names
Place names in Shanghai dialect nouns hold special research value because they are passed down through generations, possessing strong stability and continuity, while carrying a strong local flavor. The proliferation, migration, social changes, and cultural integration of Shanghai people are all reflected in the place names of Shanghai, leaving traces of layered historical development. In the Shanghai area west of the boundary now known as "Gangshen," many ancient place names are still preserved, reflecting the lives of the earliest inhabitants of Shanghai.
In the Qing Jiaqing Unified Gazetteer, under the jurisdiction of Songjiang Prefecture, it is recorded that there was a "Sha Gang Tang" (sand dune pond) 40 li east of Qingpu County. "Sha Gang" refers to one of the "Gangshen" south of the former Hudu River, and "Sha Gang Tang" was an overflow channel along the "Gangshen." Today, there is still a "Beisha Gang" flowing through "Sha Gang An Village" to the Huangpu River. The town name "Wai Gang" in Jiading is also related to "Gangshen."
In ancient times, Lake Tai was called "Zhenze," and the marshy areas east of it left behind many ancient place names ending with "Ze," such as the original cultural site of Shanghai, "Songze." Additionally, nearby, the current "Jinze" in Jinshan and "Shengze" in Wujiang still retain ancient place names.
The earliest method of farming used by the indigenous people was called "pu," which refers to the earliest agriculture in the local area. During the Qin Dynasty, the area including present-day Jiading, Minhang, Songjiang, and the northern part of Qingpu was established as "Pu County," and today, Jiading still has the place name "Pu Xiangong."
The Songjiang River (also known as Qinglongjiang, later renamed Wusongjiang) flows through areas where the districts of "Songjiang" and "Qingpu" are still preserved.
Shanghai was originally a fishing village called "Yubin." Fishermen used a fishing tool called "hu" (meaning "fish weaver," both "hu" and "zhan" are Wu dialect words), which is the origin of Shanghai being abbreviated as "Hu." The ancient Songjiang River flowed into the sea and was called "Hu Hai" or "Hudu," hence Shanghai is also known as "Hudu."
The western part of Shanghai is said to have been the fiefdom of Chunshen Jun Huangxi of the Chu Kingdom during the Warring States period, which is why Shanghai is also called "Shen." The Huangpu River is also known as "Huangxi Pu" or "Chunshen Jiang."
The term "South River, North River" refers to the general naming convention in China, where rivers in the north are called "rivers," while those in the south are called "rivers." This is a significant difference in Chinese river naming. Therefore, major river systems like the Huangpu River and Wusong River are called "rivers" in Shanghai, and are also referred to as "pùs," such as "Qingpu" and "Huangpu." The pronunciation of "river" and "pù" is related to ancient Yue dialect and shares roots with South Asian languages, representing the earliest layer of historical and cultural naming in Shanghai.
The urban area of Shanghai and the eastern part of Shanghai were settled later, and many place names were established after the Tang Dynasty, continuing the extension of southern Chinese naming conventions.
In the Water Conservancy Book by Jia An during the Xining period of the Northern Song Dynasty, several pùs near the southern mouth of the Songjiang River were called "Shanghai Pù," "Xiahai Pù," "Nanji Pù," "Jiangzhi Pù," and "Lanmi Pù." "Shanghai" as a place name originated from this.
Many places in Shanghai are named with "pù," such as "Zhoupu," "Yuepu," "Pengpu," and "Yangshupu." Most of the examples mentioned above no longer have rivers with the same name.
Smaller rivers in the Shanghai area are often called "bān," which is a river name characteristic of the Jiangnan region around Lake Tai. The larger rivers in Baoshan include the "Yuna Zhan Bān." Place names like "Zhaojia Bān," "Lujia Bān," "Zhanghua Bān," "Nantang Bān," "Yangjing Bān," and "Beiqi Bān" are now dry.
Other water-related suffixes in the Jiangnan region include "jing," "gǎng," "táng," and "dàng." For example, "Hengliao Jing" (in Songjiang) is a river name, while "Caohe Jing," "Bailian Jing," "Si Jing," "Feng Jing," "Zhu Jing," "Liu Jing," and "Dong Jing" are all town names. "Daliu Gǎng," "Hengjing Gǎng," and "Xiangdang Gǎng" (in Songjiang) are water names, while "Mao Gǎng" is a town name. "Xupu Tang" (in Jinshan), "Si Jing Tang" (in Songjiang), and "Bushi Tang" (in Qingpu) are water names, while "Liantang," "Wuli Tang," and "Puhui Tang" are place names. "Shihu Dàng" (in Songjiang) and "Dianshan Dàng" (in Qingpu) are place names.
"Xi" is a common water-related suffix in southern Zhejiang but rarely used in Shanghai. In Qingpu, there is a town called "Fengxi."
Land protruding from the bank of a watercourse is called "yan," and the earthen embankment for flood control is called "wei." Jinshan has the famous town of "Zhangyan," while Qingpu has place names like "Zhangyan," "Gangxu," and "Guanziwei."
Compared to Qingpu, Songjiang, and Jinshan, the place names in these areas are more ancient, and there are still place names with suffixes like "ku," "dai," "du," and "dian," such as "Changhe," "Chenhe," "Linjia Dai," "Shaji Dai," "Chendu," and "Longdian."
Additionally, "qiao" (bridge), "ting" ( pavilion), "du" ( ferry), "xiang" (lane), and "si" (temple) are common place name suffixes that stand out in rural areas, such as "Mishi Du" and "Shenxiang." These reflect the second layer of southern cultural accumulation.
The third layer of culture is the southward spread of northern written language, representing northern orthodox culture in place names. Due to the relatively late land formation in the eastern part of Shanghai, it is easy to find place names reflecting this superficial culture, such as the "tun" in "Zhaozhen," the "jiao" in "Zhujiajiao," the "tuan" in "Daituan," the "dian" in "Luodian," the "lu" in "Gulu," the "chang" in "Xinchang," the "pu" in "Shiliupu," and the "zhen" in "Meilongzhen."
For example, the newly opened "Dianpu River," "Sutang River" (in Fengxian), and "Chuanyang River" (in Pudong) are all called "river," showing the significant influence of northern culture on the cultural identity of Shanghai people.
Many place names exhibit the phenomenon of overlapping suffixes. For example, "Yangjing Bān," "Xiangdang Gǎng," "Hengjing Gǎng," "Caohe Jing," and "Shenjing Tang." Generally, this can be understood as follows: For example, "Hengjing Gǎng" was originally called "Hengjing," but the suffix "jing" gradually lost its meaning of "water," so it was modeled after the suffixes of surrounding rivers and added "gǎng" to it. The place name "Caohe Jing" is an example where three characters with the meaning of "river" are stacked. Similar to how "Wuxian" became "Wuxianxian" after being promoted to a city, Songjiang also has "Qianpu Jing."
From these overlapping names, we can see the trajectory of local governance and cultural changes, as well as the historical accumulation. Due to the inheritance of place names, some retain very ancient names with archaic characters no longer in use today, such as "song," "pu," and "he." The character "hua" in "Longhua" is pronounced like "hua," the character "yi" in "Guyiyuan" is pronounced like "qi," and the character "ze" in "Jinze" is pronounced like "shi." These provide evidence for studying the changes in ancient pronunciation or local dialects.