Tradition and Change in Urban China: a Critical Hermeneutic Inquiry of Language, Culture and Identity in Shanghai

"Tradition and Change in Urban China," an anthropological research study, explores the issue of Shanghainese identity viewed through the lens of critical hermeneutic theory. Historical underpinnings of Shanghai society include Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, and the tradition of Dynastic rule; more recent influences upon Shanghainese identity include Maoism, Communism, and particularly the ten-year Cultural Revolution. The government's One-Child Policy created a generation of youth who seem alienated from society, burdened with responsibilities, and lonely within a city of 22 million people. The youth of modernity have no brothers of sisters, previously so inherent to family structure within China. Finally, exposure to democracy, free speech, and other ideas of Western culture also influence Shanghainese identity today. Research findings bring to light both the complexity and contradictions of present-day Shanghainese identity. Filial piety is readily apparent in Shanghai, a tradition that dates back to the sixth century B. C. E., and, more specifically to Confucius. Strongly dedicated to family, these same youth appear drawn to Western fashion; they consider and reflect upon a Western model of democracy, and an expansion of human rights in China. Citizens of Shanghai appreciate the current higher standard of living; however, material possessions alone cannot satisfy yearnings for rights to relocate within China, or to travel abroad, or perhaps to have more than one child in urban areas. At the same time, the people of Shanghai are typically loyal to China, and willing for changes to occur gradually over time. In sum, this text highlights how remnants of the historical past in China influence present-day modes of being in Shanghai. The old and the new are juxtaposed in modern times, as traditional Chinese music, opera and calligraphy endure; concurrently, there is also appropriation of Western fashion and enjoyment of Western film. In the Shanghainese society of today, one finds a people who are talented, creative, entrepreneurial, multilingual, and extremely gracious in manner. The people of Shanghai face challenges such as pollution and unemployment, and yet they persevere and endure, as they have through much more difficult days past. Shanghainese identity holds a confluence of the historic and recent past, with hopefulness in the present for the possibility of further change in days yet to come.