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10/15/1993 - """The Color of Money"": Shanghai Impressions" by Cheng Li

NOT FOR PUBLICATION wrrHOUTWRITER SCONSENT INSTITUTEOFCURRENTWORLDAFFAIRS TH ECOLOROFMONEY SHANGHAIIMPRESSIONS Shanghai China October Mr PeterBirdMartin Executive Director Institute ofCurrentWorldAffairs WestWheelock Street Hanover NH03755 U S A DearPeter AstheairplanewasabouttolandattheHongqiaoAirportinShanghai Itook alookoverthe citythroughthe window Myfirstimpressionwas color ormore precisely thelackofcolors ShanghaiseemedtostillhavethecolorwithwhichIhad beensofamiliar MymemoriesoflifeinShanghaiwereallinshadesofgray The skyis Theroadis Thebuildingisgrey Therain I could nothelpbut recite thefamouspoem Feeling bytheyoungChinese poetGu Cheng Fromthesky youcouldhm dlyseeanygreenofgrassorcoloredroofsof housesinthecity Achimneyinadistantplacewasreleasinggreysmoke itmust beblacksmokeifyouwatcheditnearby Shanghaihasbecomeevenmorepolluted because oflarge scale constructions recent years Who Shanghai become cosmopolitan citybeyond recognitionevenforShanghaiese Iwondered IfIwasstruckbyseeinghowmuchwasthesameas Ilookedthroughthe airplanewindow Iwasmuchmore struckbythings thathavechangedwhenthe taxitookmetodowntownShanghai Anewdistrict theHongqiaoEconomic DevelopmentZone withquiteafew luxurioushotels andfancyoffice buildings emerged ThisplacewasmerelyemptylandorvegetableplotswhenIlefteightyears ChengLi isaanICWAfellowstudyingthepoliticaleconomyofthecoastofChina Since Irtstimte Current World Affairs Crane Rogers Foundation provided fellowships enable outstandingyoungadultstoliveoutsidetheUnitedStatesandwriteaboutinternationalareasandissues Endowed bythelateCharlesR Crane theInstituteisalsosupportedbycontributionsfromlike mindedindividualsand foundations Shanghai withits millionresidents isthe largest cityin Chinaand ofthelargestintheworld Because ofShanghai pivotal position incommerce andculture foreigners often compare Shanghai withotherforeigncities People calledShanghaithe Paris ofAsia prior Communistrevolution More recently foreignvisitors likenedShanghaito Brooklyn NewYork During several decades Shanghaihaslagged behindmanyother cosmopolitan cities East Asia Tokyo Taipei RossTerrill distinguishedChinaexpert observed thatmodern HongKongwas builtonthe ruins ofShanghai capitalists fleddownthe China coastwhenthe communists mainland smostpopulous Astreetscene theHongqiaoEconomicDevelopmentZone The newly built ShanghaiInter nationalTrade Center Westin PacificShanghai andShartaxPlaza theHongqiao Economic DevelopmentZone Inthe earlyyears ofpost Mao reform Chinese governmenthad policy favorabletoothercitiessuchasBeijing Canton andthenewly builtShenzhen The appearance ofShanghai didnotchangemuchin firstfour decades ofthe People RepublicofChina JamesFallows thenTheAtlanticMonthl sseniorcorrespondent totheFarEast published aicle entitled Shanghai Surprise inthejournal July1988 Whatreallysurprisedhimwasnotsomethingnewinthecity butthe buildingsandstreetsthatremainedthesameoverahalfcentury Inhiswords visitingShanghaiwas rollingtimebackfiftyyears Onlysincethebeginning ofthe 1990s didShanghaibeginits serious effortto becomeaborn againgiantcity Shanghaihassignedacontractwiththecentral governmentwhich allowsthemunicipalgovernmenttohavemoreinitiatives developinglocaleconomyandattractingforeigninvestment AccordingtoJiefang Daily officialnewspaper inthe Shanghaihas attractedmoreforeign investment yearthan duringthepreviousten years terms ofboth amountofmoney numberofprojects Among largest transnational corporations inthe world nowhavebusiness Shanghai theyhave invested billionandhave operated projects Oct Municipalofficials claimed thatShanghai shouldbecome nomic financial andtradecenterin theFarEast inthebeginning ofthenextcentury Thecity completedmore municipal works years thanitdidintheprevious decades accordingtothe citygovernment Asia highesttelevisiontowerand largest shopping center nowunderconstruction Two bridgesandanewtunnel wererecentlycompletedto YangpuBridge thelongestcable stayedbridgeinthe linkthewestsideofthecity world isopenforusethismonth Thisisoneoftwo totheeastside Pudong bridgeswhichlinkthewestsideoftheHuangpuriverto where China largest Pudong economic emerging Shanghai however isfacedwithanumberofseriousproblems Manymajor projectsinthe includingthePudongEconomicDevelopmentZoneitself lackedcapital Managerial andtechnicalpersonnel greatlyneeded Intermsof livingconditions agreat numberofpeople still livein slums Athree generation familylivingina singleroom stillnotunusualinthis crowded Shanghai traffic farfrom dealforamodern cosmopolitan Taxi drivers alwaysproudof theirdrivingskills Ifone candriveinShanghai hewill havenoproblem drivingin ataxi saidtome suddenlymade turninthemiddle ofthe streetwhenhe sawthe trafficjam ahead Another majorproblem forthe thedeteriorationofits environment Accordingtoa recent investigation total publicparks inthe going leased eitherpartiallyor entirely toforeigncompanies TrafficjamsalongZhongshanbeiRoad Ihaveobserved Xi nminwanb Sept thissceneeverymorningfromthehotelIstay Shanghai Theywillno receiveda 150millionloanfromtheWorldBankthismonth longerbe public norparks foritstransportationimprovements Despite alloftheseproblems onecansenseoptimismthatShanghai residents haveaboutthefuroreofthecity LookathowmuchShanghaihasaccomplishedduring thepastthreeyears especiallyinmunicipalworks ShanghaiwillsurpassHongKongina coupleofdecades anassistanttothecity stopofficialssaidtome Evenduringthefirst threedecades ofthePRC workingShanghaiese willinglyorunwillingly havegreatly contributedtotheeconomyofthecountry Theywillnotmissanyopportunitytoimprove theirownwell being Whatimpressedmethe however accomplishment ofneW office buildingsormodernhotels buttheclothesthatShanghairesidentswore Iwasstruckby theirelegantstyles sophisticatedtaste andindeed variouscolors IntheirtriptoChina afterthe CulturalRevolution ArthurMiller adistinguishedAmerican playwright andhisphotographerwifenotedthattheChinesewere alldressedprecisely thesame theSunYat senjacket WesternerscallittheMaojacket ingreyordarkblue Conformityinbehavior clothes andin color thewaythattotalitarianregimes destroy individualityandpluralitywithinsociety Throughconformity rulingelitesareableto eliminateanypotentialdissent Thefruitofconformityisuniformity AsVaclavHavel dissident turnedpresidentofthe CzechRepublic Observed standardized creates standardize dcitizenswithnowills oftheirown Butnowyoucan hardlyanyonewhowears theSunYat senjacket streets Shanghai IthoughtIshouldbuysomeasgiistogivemyfriendsinAmericaortowear myselfwhenI teach Chinese politics atHamiltonCollege nexttime Iexplainedmy plantoanAmericanfriend She thought itwas great Itwillbe She Unfortunately department stores Shanghai still selltheSunYat jacket rouwant tobuya SunYat senjacket My former classmate college wanted tomake surewhether understoodmecorrectly People willthinkyou ChineseRipVanWinkleifyou aSunYat senjacket Among Chinese leaders onlyDengXiaoping stillwears theSunYat jacket added mayborrow Mr Deng butyouneedto hurry BothherhusbandandI Awestern styledressedbrideandherfriendwaitingfor laughed theweddingguestsinfromofarestaurantonNanjingRoad Although theSunYat senjacket available inthe stores ofShanghai greatvarietyofclothing thatpeople likeMichaelJacksonwear WhenIleftShanghaiin1985 thecityhadonlyahandfulofdepartmentstores andacoupleofsupermarkets Butnowyoucanfindseveralofthesestoresinevery districtofthecity KatherineRoth myfellowFellowintheArabiannations wrote aboutherdisappointmentwhenshewantedtobuysomenecessitiesinAlgeria I wenttothelocalgrocerandaskedforcoffee None Sugar None Tea None Butin Shanghai inthemostoftheMorn Pop shops youcanfindNescaf Marlboro cigarettes Heinekenbeer California Pistachios andeven SwitzerlandSeaShell chocolate Someofthegoodsareproducedbyajoint ventureinChina Iwas astoundedbythe abundance ofmarketsupplies Shanghai Anewlybuiltsix storyshoppingcenterinXujiahui Thestoresellsluxurious importedgoods whichattractfiurmorewindowshoppers realbuyers Shanghai whateverNewYorkhas amanagerinthenewly built floorshopping theShanghaiOrient ShoppingCenter saidto Hehadbeeninthe United States andvisited severaldozen pping malls inNewYorkand NewJersey Couldyou tellme anythingthatNew Yorkcityhas Shanghaidoes challengedme Ithought forawhileandthen rememberedwhat Ihave missedsomuchsince I United States A fresh bagel AnAmerican student toldmeafew daysagothatseveral AlonglinewaitinginfrontofKentuckyFriedChicken The hotelsindowntbwn KFChasalreadyestablisheditselfasthetopfast foodrestaurant Shanghaidohavewell inChinawithstoresthroughoutthecountry bakedfresh bagels Seeingplentifulgoods inthe shops ofShanghai evenmoreimpressive realizethatonlyafewyearsagosomenecessitiessuchassugar meatrequiredgovernmentcoupons In1982 anarrogantAmerican James Kenneson wroteanarticle inHarper magazinewhichwas entitled China Stinks expressinghisdistainofChinaandtheChinese Hewrote VhenAmericansare bored theytendtogooutandbuysomething Thereisverylittletobuy Locally madeclothing isveryshoddyandyears offashion evenbyChinese standards April1982 Hecou ldneverhaveimaginedthattenyearsafterhewrotethat articlethereissomuchtobuyinChina Anyonewillseetheironywhenreading Kenneson sarticleagain Idon tknowwhattheauthorwouldcommentwhenhe foundthatChinese locallymadeclothing floodedAmerican department stores Sears Mart Starting lastyear luxuriousjoint venture department stores beganto sprout raremushroomsinthemain streets ofShanghai NanjingRoad Huaihai Road andSichuanRoad Thesedeluxestoresmainlydealinimportedgoods especiallyinternationallyfamousbrand names Theoverallshockinglyhighpricesin these stores remindmeofmyreactionwhenIhappenedto visitfashionable storesonMadisonAvenueandFifthAvenue ofNewYorkCity APierre CardinT shirt probablyone ofthe leastexpensiveitems kindofstore Shanghai costs US AGucci sells US It costs years salary amanwhowas window shoppingtoldhis CanordinaryChineseaffordtheseexpensivegoods Iaskedthecouple Ofcoursen Bothofthemsaidatthesametime Theycalled themselves gongxinjieceng salaryearners atermwhichhasbeenwidelyusedin pastfewyears distinguish thosewhomaketheirlivingthroughgovernmentor enterprise salaryfromthosewho private entrepreneurs We always hesitant cometo places Thereissomuchnice smffthatwewouldlike tobuy butwecan afford wifesaid Using fashionable expression ofShanghaiese psychological imbalance thehusbandadded Some market analysts believe thatthe current consumption level ofChinese citydwellers notmatch target market ofthe luxuriousdepartmentstores Hong cheng avery deluxedepartmentstore Nanjing forexample Amulti nationalexpensivejoint venturedepartment recentlyclosedbecauseithad storeinNanjingRoad onlywindowshoppersbutnorealbuyers Someothermarketanalysts however holdadifferentview Manyinternationalretailcompanieshavecontinuedtoopen expensivedepartmentstores intheform ofjointventures China major cities ThelargestdepartmentstorebuildinginAsia ajointventurewiththeJapanese underconstructioninShanghai sPudong Thisdepartmentstore whenitis completed willbetwentypercentbiggerthanMacy inManhattan Whoaretheconsumersofluxuriousgoods China srapidgrowthratesand economic mechanisms stockmarketand private enterprises produced forthefirsttimeinChinesehistory anembryonicformofmiddleclass At present theemergingbusiness class includesmainlythe followinggroups though theycanoverlap urbanentrepreneurs ruralindustrialists speculatorsin thestockmarket realestateagentsoragentsofotherbusinesses undervound agents managersincollectivefirmswhoearnprofitthroughcontracts governmentofficialswhohavemadefortunes through corruption Chinese representativesforforeignfirms Chineseexecutivesinbigjointventures scientistsandengineerswhoholdpatentsorreceivemajorawards sportstars andfamous artists Chinesewhousedtowork abroad especially inJapanand Australia wheretheysavedagreatdealofmone smugglers and14 professional girls OrientalHollywoodHeidis Theserichpeople calleddahu thatmaybe translated bigmoney Therichestofthemusuallyownthree storyhouses driveLincoln TownCarsorMercedes wearRolexwatches andappearinpublicplaceswithbody guardsandpersonalsecretaries Thepropertyofdahuvaries butnoonewillbe consideredadahuifheorshedoesnothaveover1millionyuan US Itis unknownhowmanymillionairesChinahasatpresent Accordingtoa1992surveyof private enterprises whichwas conductedbytheDevelopmentResearch Centerunder theStateCouncil therewere5 000millionairesinChina WenhuiDai Oct Buttherealnumbershouldbefarbiggerthanthis Forinstance altogether340 000unitsofluxuriousapartmentsorhouses eachunitcostsover millionyuan inthe country approximatelyhalfofthe purchasers wereChinesecitizens Shenzhencityitselfhas1000millionaires Oneoutoftenof themhasmorethan10millionyuan Itwasestimatedbysomeresearchersthat Chinaalreadyhas aboutonemillionmillionaires Inacountrywith billionpeople thenumberofseveralhundredthousandor evenonemillion isperhapsnegligible ButthenumberofChinesemillionaires increasing Agreatnumberofmillionaires donotcomefrommajorcities ShanghaiorBeijing butfromsomepreviouslypoorruralareas Forexample Baoding Hebei province about millionaires Moreimportantly standard oflivingofthepopulation awholehasbeen improved ThesavingsofShanghairesidentsareestimatedtoreach14billionyuan bythe of1993 about34 higherthan ofthe previous JiefangDai Oct ThisisthefirsttimeinthehistoryofShanghaithatthesavingsof residentsbroketherecord of10billionyuan Comparedwiththepre reformyears wheneverythingrequiredcoupons familiesdidn thaveenoughfood ourlifeisluxuriousnow achildhoodfriendofmine saidtome HeopenedasmallrestaurantinShanghaitwoyearsagoandmade profit Whenyou times asmuchmoneyas usedto youfeelrich hesaid Heplanstoopenabiggerrestaurant with80tables nextyear InShanghai approximately100newprivaterestaurantsareopened everyday While Shanghai residents bettertodaythan fiveyears theydo notnecessarilyfeelhappier Wehaveasenseofunfairnessandinjusticeaswesee especiallythose corruptgovernmentofficials makingmoneylike snowballand spendingmoneylikewater amiddle agedwriterwhomIinterviewedmadehispoint usingaliteraryexpression YoumusthavereadScottFitzgerald snovelGreat Gatsbv Heasked Yes Isaid IhaveadmiredFitzgerald stalenttomakethereaderseethe hypocrisyand decadenceunderlyingthesuperficialsplendorofamysteriousNew Yorker Gatsby ProbablyGatsbywouldhave feltdwarfedifhehad thewaythatthe Chinesedahu spentmoney Hegavemeanexample Ninepeoplewenttoafancyrestaurantfordinner TherestauranthadfamousbrandbottlesofX O cognac Eachcosted18 000yuan US andtheyordered three bottles Theymusthavedr unkthemlikedrinkingQingdaobeer thewriter ThedifferencebetweenAmericanGatsbyandChinesedahu isthattheformer spenthisownmoneywhile lattermore oftenthan notspentthemoneyofthe public foreigncompanies Ina localnewspaperin Shanghai Ireadanepisode about anewlyrichdahu Hewenttoafancydepartmentstoretobuyasportcoat Buttheshopassistantin thestoredidn tallowhimtotryonthecoat becauseshedoubtedhecouldafford Thedahuwassoangrythatheboughtthis 000yuansportcoatimmediatelyand thenused pairs ofscissors dozens ofpieces front ofthe assistant thecultofmoney asthenewspapereditorcommented hasbecome prevalent Manypeople especiallyintellectuals critical ofthetendencytoward moneyworship society though sometimes tokeep abreastwith thisnew socialnorm WangLing nothisrealname wasaclassmateofmineinthe DepartmentofForeignLanguages attheEastChinaNormalUniversityin Shanghai Helovedliterature especiallytheworks ofWilliamFaulknerandJohnSt einbeck continuedhispostgraduatestudyin Americanliterature Afterreceivinghis master sdegree hebecamealecturerinthedepartment Iwasveryhappytotalk withhimsincewehadn tseeneachotherforeightyears Afteranexchangeof amenities Iaskedhimtotellmeabouthisprofessionalactivities Itisverycommon theUnited States friends former classmates colleagues academia abouteach other professional activitieswhentheymeet conferences elsewhere Howis yourresearchgoing I asked Myresearch Heseemed entirelyunpreparedfor question What syourcurrentresearchproject Irepeatedmyquestion Areyoukidding ThisisChina nottheUnitedStates Idon thaveany research project Auniversityteacher shouldbe firstconcerned aboutwhetherhe shecanearnenoughmoneyto supportoneselfor family Hecontinued Todayispayday butIcallit painday LookathowmuchI earnedforthemonth 300yuan US includingboth salaryandbonus Nowadays chicken costs My monthly salarycan chickens Howmuchdoes associate professor professor I asked Probably associate professor professor So theycan chickensthan I Ilaughed witha sense ofbitterness Everyone universityismoon lighting Hetoldmethat nowadays veryfew scholars especiallyin humanities sciences really interestedindoing academic research Students serious about academic learningthanwewerea decade Some Ph D A candidates InfrontofabookstoreatFudanUniversity Thebooks lefttheiracademic pecificallylistedforsaleare HowtoPrepare orthe programstoworkas GRE Handbooko Foreig nTrade H clerksinjoint ventures Lawrence Lad yChatterley Aphilosophyprofessor ShanghaiNormalUniversitytoldmethat colleagues atthe ShanghaiAcademyofSocial Sciences earnedmuchmoremoney thanhedid Thisisnotbecausethegovernmentsubsidizestheacademynor ecause researchers atthe academyhavemade fortunethrough their research projects Thereasonthatscholarsthereearnmore ironically isthattheacademy hasmadeafortunebyrentingpartofitsbigbuildingtosomejoint ventures The feelingofbeingmistreatedhas spreadamongthe scholarswithwhomItalked Theyfeltthatthe government shouldpaymorethan service importance intellectuals inChina modernization Intellectuals ofcoursenotthe social groupwhohavecomplained abouttheincreasingpolarizationinsociety Manyworkershavebecome unemployedbecauseofthestructuralchangeintheChineseeconomy Chinese peasants whobenefitedfrom rural economicreform earlyyears ofthe Dengera nowfeelthattheyhavelaggedfarbehindtheurbandevelopment The Central Committee ofthe Chinese CommunistPartyrecentlyconvened special conference dealingwiththeproblemsfoundinChina svastrural areas These complaints arebothwrong headedandnear sighted adahuwhomI recentlyinterviewedexpressedadifferentview Hesaid What sthealternative If reallywants equal gobacktotheMaoera Hespoke straightforwardly thoughhedidnotgivemehisbusinessnamecardnordidheprovidemewithany biographicalbackground abouthimself PrivatizationistheonlysolutionforChina Itisnotwe theownersof privatefirms whohavecausedunemployment Wehaveactuallycreatedjobs I paymyworkersaltogether60 000yuaneverymonth Ihavecontributedtosociety Hetoldmethatheowns three factories restaurantin Shanghai Doyouthinkit appropriate scientists andprofessors vendors streets I asked Ifthey resosmart whyain ttheyrich heanswered Iwasimpressedby hisquickandconciseresponse Whichlawsaysthatschoolteachersshouldearn morethan streetvendors Youareright Thereisnosuchlawintheworld Yet Icontinuedtoask societyreallydevelop ifeveryone doingbusiness andnoone concerned aboutthe advance ofknowledge scienceandhumanities Well hekept silent I askedhim commenton people compla aboutthe corruption governmentofficials Corruptionisauniversalproblem LookatJapanwheresomanytop membersin theprevious cabinetwereinvolvedin corruption But Japanesemass media reportedthe scandals cabinetwas replaced Does China present institutionalmeansto solve these problems I interestedinpolitics I onlyconcerned about makingmoney Can anyone Chinamake moneywithoutknowing Chinese politics I asked Hesmiledanddid After couple ofminutes hetold methathehad banquetinhisown restaurant buthewould lethis chauffeur givemearidebacktothe PolicemenlineonNanjingRoadtomaintainorderon hotelwhereIlived aholidaynight Whynot Iacceptedhisoffer ItoldhimthatIhopedtohaveamore comprehensiveinterviewwithhimagaininthenearfuture Anightscene alongJinlingRoad therearenumerous24 hourrestaurants theaters night clubs Karaoke andjoint venturedeparttnent stores The chauffe urwhodrovetheblackMercedes didnotmindtakingmebackto thehotelalongNanjingRoad oneofthemostspectacularstreetsinShanghai It wasabeautifulautumnnight Theneonlightsindepartmentstores theaters restaurants Karaokebars andnightclubsmadethecitysocolorful Gonearethe dayswheneverythingwas greyandwhen someforeigners complainedthatlife Chinesecitieswasnothingbutboring ThisistheShanghaithatdiffersprofoundly fromtheShanghaiIlefteightyearsago IlikethenewShanghai especiallyitsvivid colors Onecolor however seemstobemuchmoreglaringandglamorousthanother colors Icallit thecolorofmoney borrowingh omthetitleofanAmericanmovie That colorhas constantlyworriedme Sincerely ChengLi No Lane ChangLeRoad Shanghai 200040 China Fax 2474947 Received Hanover November