Stateless in Shanghai: Living History with Liliane Willens

What was it like to grow up, from birth into young adulthood, in Old Shanghai? Glamour, chaos, deprivation, hope? Yes, yes, yes, and yes.

The delightful Liliane Willens, our guest in the ‘Living History’ series, was born in Shanghai in 1927 to stateless Russian Jewish parents and lived here – through the glamorous 1930s, the Japanese occupation, civil war, and the early years of the Communist era – until 1951.

Here’s a roundup of snippets from Liliane on different aspects of life in Old Shanghai, from her memoir, Stateless in Shanghai.

ON FOOD

“Sometimes, when Old Amah had a few extra copper coins to spare, she bought a piece of tofu fried in sizzling oil which she blew upon before handing it to me.