Flowers of Shanghai 1998
海上花
At the end of the 19th century, Shanghai is divided into several foreign concessions. In the British concession, a number of luxurious “flower houses” are reserved for the male elite of the city. Since Chinese dignitaries are not allowed to frequent brothels, these establishments are the only ones that these men can visit. They form a self-contained world, with its own rites, traditions and even its own language. The men don’t only visit the houses to frequent the courtesans but also to dine, smoke opium, play mahjong and relax. The women working there are known as the “flowers of Shanghai”.
Vocabulary
Filter the words you want to study before watching.
| 回 迴 | to circle; to go back; to turn around; to answer; to return; to revolve; Hui ethnic group (Chinese Muslims); time; classifier for acts of a play; section or chapter (of a classic book) | |
| 钱 錢 | coin; money; unit of weight, one tenth of a tael 两 | |
| 请 請 | to ask; to invite; please (do sth); to treat (to a meal etc); to request | |
| 这里 這裡 | here | |
| 叫 叫 | to shout; to call; to order; to ask; to be called; by (indicates agent in the passive mood) | |
| 非常 非常 | very; really; unusual; extraordinary | |
| 听 听 | smile (archaic) | |
| 几 几 | small table | |
| 起 起 | to rise; to raise; to get up; to set out; to start; to appear; to launch; to initiate (action); to draft; to establish; to get (from a depot or counter); verb suffix, to start; starting from (a time, place, price etc); classifier for occurrences or unpredictable events: case, instance; classifier for groups: batch, group | |
| 起来 起來 | to stand up; to get up; also pr. [qǐ lái] | |
| 一起 一起 | in the same place; together; with; altogether (in total) | |
| 看到 看到 | to see | |
| 月 月 | moon; month; monthly | |
| 觉得 覺得 | to think that ...; to feel that ...; to feel (uncomfortable etc) | |
| 还是 還是 | still (as before); had better; unexpectedly; or | |
| 话 話 | dialect; language; spoken words; speech; talk; words; conversation; what sb said | |
| 比 比 | Belgium; Belgian; abbr. for 比利时 | |
| 今天 今天 | today; at the present; now | |
| 打 打 | to beat; to strike; to hit; to break; to type; to mix up; to build; to fight; to fetch; to make; to tie up; to issue; to shoot; to calculate; to play (a game); since; from | |
| 还有 還有 | furthermore; in addition; still; also | |
| 快 快 | rapid; quick; speed; rate; soon; almost; to make haste; clever; sharp (of knives or wits); forthright; plainspoken; gratified; pleased; pleasant | |
| 找 找 | to try to find; to look for; to call on sb; to find; to seek; to return; to give change | |
| 新 新 | new; newly; meso- (chemistry) | |
| 吃 吃 | to eat; to consume; to eat at (a cafeteria etc); to eradicate; to destroy; to absorb; to suffer (shock, injury, defeat etc) | |
| 谁 誰 | who; also pr. [shuí] | |
| 喜欢 喜歡 | to like; to be fond of | |
| 跟 跟 | heel; to follow closely; to go with; (of a woman) to marry sb; with; compared with; to; towards; and (joining two nouns) | |
| 这些 這些 | these | |
| 地 地 | earth; ground; field; place; land | |
| 怎么 怎麼 | how?; what?; why? | |
| 你们 你們 | you (plural) | |
| 前 前 | front; forward; ahead; first; top (followed by a number); future; ago; before; BC (e.g. 前293年); former; formerly | |
| 家 傢 | used in 家伙 and 家俱 | |
| 后 后 | empress; queen; (archaic) monarch; ruler | |
| 事 事 | matter; thing; item; work; affair | |
| 走 走 | to walk; to go; to run; to move (of vehicle); to visit; to leave; to go away; to die (euph.); from; through; away (in compound verbs, such as 走); to change (shape, form, meaning) | |
| 时候 時候 | time; length of time; moment; period | |
| 知道 知道 | to know; to become aware of; also pr. [zhī dao] | |
| 小 小 | small; tiny; few; young | |
| 呢 呢 | particle indicating that a previously asked question is to be applied to the preceding word ("What about ...?", "And ...?"); particle for inquiring about location ("Where is ...?"); particle signaling a pause, to emphasize the preceding words and allow the listener time to take them on board ("ok?", "are you with me?"); (at the end of a declarative sentence) particle indicating continuation of a state or action; particle indicating strong affirmation | |
| 再 再 | again; once more; re-; second; another; then (after sth, and not until then); no matter how ... (followed by an adjective or verb, and then (usually) 也 or 都 for emphasis) | |
| 最 㝡 | most; the most; -est (superlative suffix) | |
| 太 太 | highest; greatest; too (much); very; extremely | |
| 出 出 | to go out; to come out; to occur; to produce; to go beyond; to rise; to put forth; to happen; (used after a verb to indicate an outward direction or a positive result); classifier for dramas, plays, operas etc | |
| 天 天 | day; sky; heaven | |
| 等 等 | class; rank; grade; equal to; same as; to wait for; to await; et cetera; and so on; et al. (and other authors); after; as soon as; once | |
| 两 兩 | two; both; some; a few; tael, unit of weight equal to 50 grams (modern) or 1⁄16 of a catty 斤 (old) | |
| 多 多 | many; much; too many; in excess; (after a numeral) ... odd; how (to what extent) (Taiwan pr. [duó]); (bound form) multi-; poly- | |
| 年 年 | year | |
| 用 用 | to use; to employ; to have to; to eat or drink; expense or outlay; usefulness; hence; therefore |