Flowers of Shanghai

Flowers of Shanghai 1998

海上花 hǎishàng huā

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”.

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4.02 Intermediate

Vocabulary

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啥 啥 shá dialectal equivalent of 什么; also pr. [shà] HSK 6
入 入 rù to enter; to go into; to join; to become a member of; to confirm or agree with; abbr. for 入声 HSK 6
同 同 tóng like; same; similar; together; alike; with HSK 6
啦 啦 lā (onom.) sound of singing, cheering etc; (phonetic); (dialect) to chat HSK 6
口口声声 口口聲聲 kǒu kou shēng shēng to keep on saying (idiom); to repeat over and over again Idiom ∼HSK 5
无底洞 無底洞 wú dǐ dòng bottomless pit Xiehouyu ∼HSK 5
为难 為難 wéi nán to feel embarrassed or awkward; to make things difficult (for someone); to find things difficult (to do or manage) Xiehouyu HSK 5
搞不好 搞不好 gǎo bu hǎo (coll.) maybe; perhaps Colloquialism ∼HSK 5
收拾 收拾 shōu shi to put in order; to tidy up; to pack; to repair; (coll.) to sort sb out; to fix sb Colloquialism HSK 5
老爷 老爺 lǎo ye master, sir ∼HSK 5
蕙 蕙 huì species of fragrant orchid ∼HSK 5
贞 貞 zhēn virtuous, chaste, pure; loyal ∼HSK 5
么 麼 me interrogative particle (variant of 嘛) ∼HSK 5
沈 沈 Shěn sink, submerge; addicted to; surname ∼HSK 5
洪 洪 Hóng vast, immense; flood, deluge ∼HSK 5
魁 魁 kuí chief; leader; best; monstrous ∼HSK 5
凤 鳳 Fèng male phoenix; symbol of joy ∼HSK 5
翠 翠 cuì color green; kingfisher ∼HSK 5
珠 珠 zhū precious stone, gem, jewel, pearl ∼HSK 5
漱 漱 shù gargle, rinse; wash, scour ∼HSK 5
芳 芳 fāng fragrant; virtuous; beautiful ∼HSK 5
淑 淑 shū good, pure, virtuous, charming ∼HSK 5
姘 姘 pīn illicit sexual relations ∼HSK 5
甫 甫 fǔ begin; man, father; great; a distance of ten li ∼HSK 5
戏子 戲子 xì zi (derog.) opera singer; actor ∼HSK 5
缘 緣 yuán karmic affinity ∼HSK 5
桂 桂 Guì cassia or cinnamon ∼HSK 5
大洋 大洋 dà yáng ocean; (old) silver dollar; (slang) Chinese yuan ∼HSK 5
侄子 姪子 zhí zi brother's son; nephew ∼HSK 5
福寿 福壽 fú shòu happiness and longevity ∼HSK 5
帐 帳 zhàng tent; account ∼HSK 5
大老婆 大老婆 dà lǎo pó primary wife ∼HSK 5
寿 壽 Shòu old age, long life; lifespan ∼HSK 5
看戏 看戲 kàn xì to watch a play; to watch passively (i.e. from the sidelines, from the crowd) ∼HSK 5
噗 噗 pū burst ∼HSK 5
颠 顛 diān top, peak, summit; upset ∼HSK 5
羹 羹 gēng soup, broth ∼HSK 5
什么话 什麼話 shén yāo huà what kind of talk ∼HSK 5
交待 交待 jiāo dài variant of ∼HSK 5
滩 灘 tān bank, a sandbar, shoal; rapids ∼HSK 5
媒人 媒人 méi ren go-between; matchmaker ∼HSK 5
葛 葛 Gě edible bean; surname ∼HSK 5
哝 噥 nóng whisper ∼HSK 5
可好 可好 kě hǎo good or not?; luckily; fortuitously ∼HSK 5
褂 褂 guà jacket, overcoat, coat; gown ∼HSK 5
小姑 小姑 xiǎo gū father's youngest sister; husband's younger sister; sister-in-law ∼HSK 5
痴 痴 chī foolish, stupid, dumb, silly ∼HSK 5
呤 呤 líng purine ∼HSK 5
听戏 聽戲 tīng xì to attend an opera; to see an opera ∼HSK 5
砂锅 砂鍋 shā guō casserole; earthenware pot ∼HSK 5