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
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| 赔 賠 | to compensate for loss; to indemnify; to suffer a financial loss | |
| 难得 難得 | seldom; rare; hard to come by | |
| 客气 客氣 | polite; courteous; formal; modest | |
| 总算 總算 | at long last; finally; on the whole | |
| 师傅 師傅 | master; qualified worker; respectful form of address for older men | |
| 闯 闖 | to rush; to charge; to dash; to break through; to temper oneself (through battling hardships) | |
| 肩 肩 | shoulder; to shoulder (responsibilities etc) | |
| 偷偷 偷偷 | stealthily; secretly; covertly; furtively; on the sly | |
| 也好 也好 | that's fine; may as well; (reduplicated) regardless of whether ... or ... | |
| 有力 有力 | powerful; forceful; vigorous | |
| 一下子 一下子 | in a short while; all at once; all of a sudden | |
| 场面 場面 | scene; spectacle; occasion; situation | |
| 倒是 倒是 | contrary to what one might expect; actually; contrariwise; why don't you | |
| 完了 完了 | to be finished; to be done for; ruined; gone to the dogs; oh no | |
| 敲 敲 | to hit; to strike; to tap; to rap; to knock; to rip sb off; to overcharge | |
| 不许 不許 | not to allow; must not; can't | |
| 提起 提起 | to mention; to speak of; to lift; to pick up; to arouse; to raise (a topic, a heavy weight, one's fist, one's spirits etc) | |
| 匹 匹 | mate; one of a pair | |
| 劝 勸 | to advise; to urge; to try to persuade; to exhort; to console; to soothe | |
| 得了 得了 | all right!; that's enough! | |
| 夹 夾 | to press from either side; to place in between; to sandwich; to carry sth under armpit; wedged between; between; to intersperse; to mix; to mingle; clip; folder; Taiwan pr. [jiá] | |
| 全都 全都 | all; without exception | |
| 乘 乘 | to ride; to mount; to make use of; to avail oneself of; to take advantage of; to multiply (math.); Buddhist sect or creed | |
| 骂 罵 | to scold; to abuse; to curse | |
| 立 立 | to stand; to set up; to establish; to lay down; to draw up; at once; immediately | |
| 害 害 | to do harm to; to cause trouble to; harm; evil; calamity | |
| 只不过 只不過 | only; merely; nothing but; no more than; it's just that ... | |
| 硬 硬 | hard; stiff; solid; (fig.) strong; firm; resolutely; uncompromisingly; laboriously; with great difficulty; good (quality); able (person); (of food) filling; substantial | |
| 拼 拼 | to piece together; to join together; to stake all; adventurous; at the risk of one's life; to spell | |
| 辛苦 辛苦 | exhausting; hard; tough; arduous; to work hard; to go to a lot of trouble; hardship(s) | |
| 碎 碎 | (transitive or intransitive verb) to break into pieces; to shatter; to crumble; broken; fragmentary; scattered; garrulous | |
| 价 價 | price; value; (chemistry) valence | |
| 欠 欠 | to owe; to lack; (literary) to be deficient in; (bound form) yawn; to raise slightly (a part of one's body) | |
| 撞 撞 | to knock against; to bump into; to run into; to meet by accident | |
| 可惜 可惜 | it is a pity; what a pity; unfortunately | |
| 可怜 可憐 | pitiful; pathetic; to have pity on | |
| 骗 騙 | to cheat; to swindle; to deceive; to get on (a horse etc) by swinging one leg over | |
| 厉害 厲害 | (used to describe sb or sth that makes a very strong impression, whether favorable or unfavorable) terrible; intense; severe; devastating; amazing; awesome; outstanding; (of a person) stern; strict; harsh; shrewd; tough; (of an animal) fierce; (of a resemblance) striking; (of liquor or chili pepper) strong; (of bacteria) virulent | |
| 聪明 聰明 | intelligent; clever; bright; smart; acute (of sight and hearing) | |
| 吓 嚇 | to scare; to intimidate; to threaten; (interjection showing disapproval) tut-tut; (interjection showing astonishment) | |
| 恨 恨 | to hate; to regret | |
| 陪 陪 | to accompany; to keep sb company; to assist; old variant of 赔 | |
| 肯定 肯定 | to be certain; to be positive; assuredly; definitely; to give recognition; to affirm; affirmative (answer) | |
| 搞 搞 | to do; to make; to go in for; to set up; to get hold of; to take care of | |
| 可 可 | (prefix) can; may; able to; -able; to approve; to permit; to suit; (particle used for emphasis) certainly; very | |
| 笨手笨脚 笨手笨腳 | clumsy; all thumbs | Xiehouyu |
| 热闹 熱鬧 | bustling with noise and excitement; lively | Xiehouyu |
| 苦 苦 | bitter; hardship; pain; to suffer; to bring suffering to; painstakingly | Xiehouyu |
| 云彩 雲彩 | (coll.) cloud | Colloquialism |
| 见阎王 見閻王 | (coll.) to meet one's maker; to kick the bucket; to die | Colloquialism |