Living in Shanghai | Sha Qingqing x Jin Ying: Those Who Left Shanghai
Shanghai has never been just a city. It is a flowing memory, an emotion repeatedly written. Some stay, and some leave; and those who leave rediscover Shanghai in their retrospection. Through words, images, and sound, they carry the emotions and memories of this city to distant places, and in the tense of a foreign land, piece together a Shanghai that has never truly departed. The subtle shift in Eileen Chang’s writing style before and after her departure from Shanghai, the “counterpoint” aesthetics of Liu Yichang and Wong Kar-wai, and observations of the “Magic City” from overseas…… all provide important perspectives for understanding the complexity of Shanghai. These perspectives are sometimes infatuated, sometimes critical, sometimes firsthand, sometimes translated. Thus, those who left Shanghai allow us to see the rich faces of Shanghai.