Memories of Chinese New Year in Old Shanghai

新年快乐！Xin Nian Kuai Le! As we welcome the Year of the Dragon in a world of WeChat hongbaos and electronic firecrackers, we wondered: what was Chinese New Year like in old Shanghai? So we went to the experts: the men and women who grew up here. Here are their memories of Shanghai Chinese New Years past, from the 1930s to the ‘70s.

George Wang – 1930s

“Before the end of the lunar year, families would prepare a xie nien ceremony, giving thanks for the year. A table would be set up with all the food, amidst candles and incense, as a sacrifice to the gods and ancestors. There had to be a big piece of pork (or pig’s head), a carp and a chicken.

The fish had to be facing into the house, with its tail towards the front door. The chicken had to be placed the other way around, with its head towards the door. Why? Because dust was considered wealth in this kind of ceremony and when a chicken scratches the ground for food, which way does the earth fly? After we had kowtowed to the gods and our ancestors, Mother boiled the chicken and used the water to make a delicious rice cake soup. That was the only time in the whole year that we were able to enjoy such a treat before going to bed.

When I woke in the morning on New Year’s Day, the first thing I did was put my hand under my pillow and there, as if by magic, I would find a small packet of money wrapped in red paper, my yasuiqian. It could not have been more than a few coppers, but we were never disappointed. We would put on whatever new clothes Mother and Grandma had managed to make for us, and go downstairs for breakfast.”

– George Wang, 96, describing his childhood in the Kaochangmiao neighborhood in the 1930s in Shanghai Boy, Shanghai Girl: Lives in Parallel, our January 2020 book club pick.

Isabel Sun Chao, 1930s/’40s

“My paternal grandmother Qinpo, who lived with us on Zhenning Road, was the matriarch of our extended family, so at Chinese New Year all our relatives came to pay respects to their ancestors and elders, while the elders took the time to cherish us children. If anyone had had conflicts during the year, they were expected to set aside their differences and start afresh. It was at these annual rituals that I learned about multiple wives, as some relatives brought all their concubines with them.

The servants spent days preparing fresh delicacies and seasonal fruit to be placed on the long altar table. Upon arrival, every guest received a little silver bowl filled with sweet lotus seed and longyan soup. New Year’s morning began with my father Diedie facing the altar to kowtow three times, kneeling and prostrating himself so low as to touch his forehead to the ground. The deepest gesture of respect was sangui jiukoushou, “three kneelings and nine head knockings.”

–The late Isabel Sun Chao, who died last March at 92, describing Shanghai in the 1930s and 40s. Isabel and her daughter Claire Chao are the authors of Remembering Shanghai: A Memoir of Socialites, Scholars and Scoundrels. For our review, click here.

Lynn Pan, 1940s

“At my grandfather’s home on Carter Road (Shimen Yi Lu), people came to visit or pay their respects (bainian), including the King of Beggars. A table was set up for ancestor worship, and my father would go down on his knees to pay obeisance. The dandy that he was, as he knelt he’d flip back the flap of his silk changpao, showing the Russian sable lining underneath.

“I liked the niangao, the New Year Cakes; the Eight-Treasure Rice. Firecrackers too, and lanterns on the Fifteenth Day. And being given yasuiqian, the hongbao given to children.”

– Lynn Pan, describing Shanghai in the 1940s. Lynn is the author of numerous books about old Shanghai, including our favorite, Tracing It Home: Journeys Around A Chinese Family, which focuses on her family’s old Shanghai story.

Ni Ayi, 1950s

“We had tangyuan as soon as we woke up. Back then we didn’t have much food and not much oil. Everything was rationed, so if we had a chicken, it was a treat.

We’d make chicken in different ways. Drunken chicken, for example: cook it, salt it, slice it then marinate in bai jiu for two days before eating it. We always had Shanghai hong shao rou (braised pork), air-dried fish, and eel.

One New Year must-have was danjiao – egg dumplings, which we had in a chicken soup. The filling is minced pork, diced ginger, egg, spring onion, Shaoxing wine. Absolutely compulsory!

We’d cook dishes and leave them in the kitchen and people would come by and eat because all the restaurants would be closed.”  

– Ni Ayi, a lifelong Shanghai resident who grew up in Jing’an, describing Shanghai in the 1950s and 60s.

David Chien, 1970s

“We got extra “Spring Festival” ration coupons for Nianyefan [Reunion Dinner]. We’d make danjiao and set off firecrackers – firecrackers were definitely the highlight for the kids!

In those days, you’d only have New Year treats once a year, and because you didn’t have much the rest of the year, it made it very special.”

– D. Chien, describing Shanghai in the 1960s-70s

First published on January 26, 2020, the Year of the Rat.