Images of Shanghai from the Golden Era

[Chasseur]

The magazine Foreign Policy often has photo essaies on the history of various locations.

They have a good one on Shanghai which I find one of the most interesting locations in the 1930s.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/08/13/once_upon_a_time_in_shanghai_1930s#0

 

[Talbot]

Simply amazing....

 

[St. Louis]

Wonderful images. For some reason, as I was looking at these photos, Marlene Dietrich's famous line kept running through my head: "It took more than one man to change my name to Shanghai Lil." I imagine this is the environment where she would have been indulging in her antics.

 

[Carmen Del Rio]

There's a wonderful documentary called Legendary Sin Cities: Paris, Berlin, and Shanghai available on Netflix (no longer on Instant Watch, sadly hwell for those who would like to delve a little deeper into this period of Shanghai's history. I highly recommend it

 

[TomS]

Terrific. Thanks for sharing...

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Whitey Smith and his Hotel Majestic Dance Orchestra -- Nighttime In Old Shanghai (1929)

[video=youtube;6g8yjzPD5cs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g8yjzPD5cs[/video]

Ginger Zheng Zhi Xiao -- The Love That You Can't Get

[video=youtube;cVTUunPlERg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVTUunPlERg[/video]

 

[Shangas]

[video=youtube;0zejtfo_Too]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zejtfo_Too[/video]

The Shanghai International Settlement (ca. 1842-1943) was a direct result of the Opium War of the 1830s and 40s. The Settlement was a HUGE center for trade, commerce, expatriates, sex, drugs, opium, gambling, and a safe haven for the persecuted Jews of the Nazi Regime. Something like 30,000...mostly German Jews...migrated to Shanghai for safe refuge, between 1933-1941. They would stay there...in relative safety...until 1945. Thereafter, they were evacuated, or booked passage, on ships going to England, Europe, America, Canada and Australia. By the fall of the Republic in 1949, there were virtually none left.

 

[vitanola]

[video=youtube_share;olyYvYE6Zlo]http://youtu.be/olyYvYE6Zlo[/video]

 

[jlee562]

Awesome, though I'm a Foreign Affairs guy myself . Although they don't have photo essays!

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Now this looks interesting. This intro is from a Chinese drama series called Shanghai Bund.

[video=youtube;r-s-oq7T5Ok]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-s-oq7T5Ok[/video]

 

[Stearmen]

A Douglas Dolphin over Shanghai 1934. If this doesn't give you a seance of intrigue in the Golden Age, nothing will!

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

A familiar sight in the Huangpu River were the USS Augusta (CL-31), flagship of the Asiatic Fleet and its counterpart/nemesis IJN Izumo, flagship of the IJN's China Area Fleet.

USS Augusta
The "Augie Maru" arrived on station as flagship of the Asiatic Fleet in 1933 under the command of one Capt. Chester W. Nimitz.

IJN Izumo

 

[Chasseur]

Awesome, though I'm a Foreign Affairs guy myself . Although they don't have photo essays!

The articles in Foreign Affairs are generally of higher quality, but Foreign Policy has a better (and more fun website) and I give them credit for being innovative. Though they do turn out a fair bit of fluff pieces. However, Survival is my favorite of general readership IR/Security journals. I always joke with my students Survival is what Foreign Affairs should be

One of those rare moments I actually talk about work on the forum You are a SAIS grad right?

On another note Foreign Policy has run several of these historical photo essays in the past. They had a great one on Kabul back in the 1950s and 60s and it was fun to see photos of Afghan college girls with bobbie sox and bouffant hair dos.

 

[rocketeer]

[video=youtube_share;olyYvYE6Zlo]http://youtu.be/olyYvYE6Zlo[/video]

As featured in Gold Diggers of 1933 or Footlght Parade? Cagney or Powell? Cagney looks better with a Chicago Piano than in dancing shoes.

I have a big bunch of National Geographic from the 1930s to wars end. Some great features on the far east.

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

Must be Footlight Parade with Cagney. Great movie.

 

[rocketeer]

Must be Footlight Parade with Cagney. Great movie.

Thats the one with the water ballet, da da da da daaaaa were calling You hoo hoo hoooo. My favourite Busby Berkley scene, well, equal to Carmen Miranda's Tootie Fruty hat.
Oh, and Shanghai Lil was played by? Ruby keeler, surly not.

 

[Shangas]

[video=youtube;s9dYDoI5OLA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9dYDoI5OLA[/video]

From Here to Shanghai.

When listening to this, remember that it IS nearly 100 years old, so don't get too offended.

Ching Ling Foo (mentioned halfway through the song) was a Chinese magician (died 1922).

 

[vitanola]

Then of course there is "Sing-Ling-Foo". "Chinese" Ragtime!

[video=youtube_share;whDcOa8gyTw]http://youtu.be/whDcOa8gyTw[/video]