Cui Zengqi: Writing about Lao Carat (picture)

Cui Zengqi: Writing about Lao Carat (picture) Phoenix City Cui Zengqi Recently, my cousin from Shanghai came to the United States to talk with me and talked about childhood anecdotes. He asked me: Do you still remember...

Phoenix City Cui Zengqi Recently, a cousin from Shanghai came to the United States to talk to me and talk about childhood anecdotes. He asked me: Do you still remember the "Lao Ke, La" in Shanghai? What a familiar title. They were a group of people we envied and yearned for when we were children. We had secretly imitated and learned their style and style.

Lao Kela is like this

Lao Kela is the general name for a group of men with special tastes living in Shanghai. In our memory, the old carats we see on the street always wear straight suits, and the trousers must be pressed straight; they usually do not wear suits, and often wear plaid or striped suit jackets with brown, black, and white trousers to show the difference from BOSS. On hot days, put on shirts of various colors, and the collars must be ironed straight; wear sparkling pointed leather shoes on your feet; in summer, put on a pair of white or brown and white three-toe hollow leather shoes, with your hair parted in a regular manner. But he is definitely not as oily as "Xiao Kai"; he wears a pair of black sunglasses, a peaked cap or a gift in the sun, a pipe in his mouth, and sometimes a stick in his hand that symbolizes civilization. At that time, the children called it a dog-beating stick, which not only prevents dogs from biting, but also prevents bad guys from attacking. He walked with his head held high, looking like a gentleman. Sometimes we would pretend to imitate them in a naughty manner, but he would pick up a civilized stick to drive us away and say: "Little poke guy, get out of here, or I'll beat Tenon to death." Most of them work in foreign merchants' firms or banks. They speak half Shanghainese and half English. When you ask them "How are you doing?", the reply will definitely be "I am Ok". The Shanghainese mixed with English is to show their difference in knowledge and wealth. "Yangjingbin" is their daily language. Their income is higher than that of domestic employees. They go to Western restaurants, cafes and Paramount dance halls, and watching imported movies is their hobby. They imitate British gentlemen in every move, they are gentle and have special taste in every gesture. In Shanghai before liberation, they were a civilized and educated group of people. , in the eyes of us children, they were our future role models. After liberation, Lao Krabu became popular, and the workers, peasants and soldiers were the role models to follow. However, the Laokela people are not included as landowners and capitalists and are targeted for overthrow and transformation. According to class composition, they belong to the petty bourgeoisie at most. They live a relatively good life, but they rely on the wages they earn from their own labor to maintain consumption, and they exploit others. What's more important is that these Lao Kela don't like to interfere with politics and are harmless to the regime. No matter you are the Kuomintang or the Communist Party, Lao Kela doesn't care. I will still be my Kela, so no one will care about them during the regime change. Although the style of this group of people does not conform to the trend of the new era, they can only be included as objects of unity. In the first thirty years of the new regime, economic exchanges with Western capitalist countries were almost cut off. These old karats in Shanghai lost the soil for survival and development and gradually disappeared from people's sight. Nowadays, it is difficult to find the image of Lao Kela not only in Shanghai, but also in the United States and Canada.

Coincidentally, when we were chatting on the wheel and recalling the past of Lao Kela, we were surprised to find an old man in his eighties who looked like Lao Kela in his clothing and temperament. We approached him as if we had discovered a rare treasure, looking for opportunities to chat with him. Unexpectedly, our standard Shanghainese also aroused his interest in us. During the conversation, I learned that he is a graduate of St. John's University and an alumnus of Nanyang High School five years before me. At that time, those who graduated from Nanyang High School with an average score of 80 or above could be directly recommended to Covenant University. This man graduated just as the Chinese government was changing. He moved to Hong Kong with his family, and then came to the United States. Decades have passed, but the local accent has not changed, and the imprint left on his life during his teenage years has remained indelible. Lao carat is something that was formed during China's colonial era. In China's feudal era, it should be those literati. Now in China after the reform and opening up, a new group of high-paying white-collar workers working in many foreign-funded enterprises seems to be taking shape. They are also well-educated, and have even studied abroad. They have generous incomes, attend high-level halls and dance halls, and send their children to international schools. But there is more of a foreign style in them, but the charm of Lao Kelat cannot be found. History often has similarities, but it is never a simple repetition.