ISSN: 2977-814X

ISSUE DOI: https://doi.org/10.51596/sijocp.v4i1

Volume 4 Issue 1

journal.spacestudies.co.uk

“Shanghai in the Night”: A Study of Urban Memory

on Ballroom Dance Culture Based on the Republican

Shanghai Films (1920s-1940s)

Qiyun Tan, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Michigan State University,

East Lansing, United States

Yiqiao Sun, College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Zhejiang University,

Hangzhou, China

@2024 Qiyun Tan, Yiqiao Sun

Published by SPACE Studies Publications owned by SPACE Studies of Planning and Architecture Ltd.

To cite this article:

Tan, Q., & Sun, Y. (2024). Shanghai in the Night: A Study of Urban Memory on Ballroom Dance Culture based

on the Republican Shanghai Films(1920s-1940s). SPACE International Journal of Conference Proceedings ,

4(1), 52–71. https://doi.org/10.51596/sijocp.v4i1.49

tanbeiyixiaotqy@gmail.com

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative

Commons Attribution(CC BY) license

This article is published at journal.spacestudies.co.uk by SPACE Studies Publications.

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SPACE Studies Publications

ISSN: 2977-814X

ISSUE DOI: https://doi.org/10.51596/sijocp.v4i1

Volume 4 Issue 1

journal.spacestudies.co.uk

“Shanghai in the Night”: A Study of Urban

Memory on Ballroom Dance Culture Based

on the Republican Shanghai Films

(1920s-1940s)

Qiyun Tan, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing,

United States

Yiqiao Sun, College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

Article History:

Received October 7, 2023

Accepted March 22, 2024

Published Online July 31, 2024

https://doi.org/10.51596/sijocp.v4i1.49

Abstract

In the rapid process of modernisation, Chinese metropolises like Shanghai have gradually tended

towards a homogenization – the city’s identity formed by its semi-colonial history, vernacular

architecture, and locals’ habits has been largely replaced by modernist design, culture and

lifestyle. To retrieve the vanishing urban memory, this study aims to use ﬁlm as a method to trace

back Shanghai’s past to one of its most distinctive urban images - the ballroom dance culture in

the Republican era. The popularity of ballroom dancing represented Shanghai’s modern qualities,

deeply inﬂuenced by Western lifestyles, which imparted the city with a unique charm of blending

cultures. This study utilises ﬁlmic materials to explore the ballroom dance culture from an urban

perspective. More precisely, after collecting all Republican Shanghai ﬁlms (1920s to 1940s), a

qualitative analysis was conducted to examine the related information embodied in ﬁlmic images.

Through the lens of ﬁlm, the urban memory of ballroom dancing is deconstructed into two facets:

the venues and the participants. The venues are classiﬁed according to theirarchitectural features,

while the participants are explicated in terms of the character traits represented. Furthermore,

the study interprets the ﬁlmmaker’s intention and viewpoint, as well as public attitudes toward

ballroom dance culture, to unravel the social ideology of the time. By reviving such unique urban

memory, this research polishes the city’s cultural image and strengthens the local spirit, thus

providing valuable insights for the development of Shanghai by projecting its past into the future.

Keywords: Republic

an era, ﬁlm, Old Sha

nghai, ballroom da

nce culture, ballr

oom dance hall, urba

n

memory

1. Introduction

In China’s massive urbanisation process, metropolises like Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen have

witnessed rapid construction, renovation, and transformation. However, such urban development

Corresponding Author: Qiyun Tan, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering,

Michigan State University, East Lansing, United States tanbeiyixiaotqy@gmail.com

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SPACE Studies Publications

achieved through monetary accumulation lacks cultural meaning. The jungle formed by steel and

concrete has led these cities toward homogenisation, making them indistinguishable from other

international metropolises. Modernist designs overwrote the city’s past, erasing its local identity

and gradually fading its urban historical memory. To make a city more vibrant and attractive,

it is crucial to preserve and strengthen its cultural and local identity. Focusing on Shanghai,

a representative international metropolis known for its thriving commerce, modernity, and

openness, this research aims to explore and revive Shanghai’s unique urban memory, thereby

delving into its cultural essence and making it more attractive in its future development. This, in

turn, will stimulate local economic growth and cultural development, as well as provide reference

insights for the development of other cities.

To polish Shanghai’s cultural image, it can be traced back to the Republican era, when ballroom

dance culture was one of its signiﬁcant urban features. Since the opening of Shanghai in 1843,

ballroom dance has entered the city along with foreign expatriates. However, at that time, the

number of ballrooms was limited – their scale was small, and they were usually afﬁliated with

hotels, restaurants, clubs, cafes, and so on – rarely appearing as independent establishments

(Ma & Bai, 2007). Moreover, in the feudal society, Chinese people were deeply inﬂuenced by the

traditional ideology of “no intimacy between men and women”, which led to difﬁculty accepting

this “improper’ form of embracing dance. Thus, in this historical time, ballroom dance was conﬁned

to Westerners and didn’t become popular among the Chinese community. The victory of the

1911 Revolution marked the arrival of the Republican era, a sign of the end of over two thousand

years of feudal autocracy in China. From then on, China entered a period of modernisation,

moving from feudal to modern society and from agricultural to industrial civilisation. As the

birthplace of modern urbanism in China, Shanghai witnessed the collision and fusion between

Western foreign civilisation and traditional Chinese culture. Shanghai, as the commercial centre

of China, in particular the which served as the concession area and the gathering place for

foreigners, nurtured a blend of Chinese and Western cultural entertainment under the stimulation

of a developed commodity economy and entertainment industry- the ballroom dance culture.

Dance halls, parks, and cinemas- these public spaces collectively constitute the material carriers

of “Modernity.” The term “Modernity” became the keyword of Shanghai culture during the

Republican era, and Shanghai’s ballroom dance culture was one of the icons standing for this

modern cultural atmosphere. It not only represented the unity of the global and the local, but

also reﬂected Shanghai’s modernity during the Republican era. The Carlton Ballroom, founded

on Park Road in 1923, was the ﬁrst ballroom in China established by Chinese entrepreneurs (Xue,

2000). From then on, ballroom dance halls in Shanghai have sprung up like mushrooms after

rain, spreading throughout the city. Dancing girls became a popular profession, and Western-

style ballroom dance became one of the mainstream lifestyles among people in Shanghai¹. In the

early 1920s, Shanghai earned the reputation of ‘Paris of the East’ due to its numerous ballroom

dance halls (Clifford, 1991).

The main reasons for the ﬂourishing development of dance culture in Shanghai during the

Republican era can be summarised as follows: Firstly, the “New Culture Movement” during the

Republican era ignited a revolution against old traditions, accelerating the acceptance of Western

culture in Chinese urban society. People’s ideological concepts gradually changed, and they no

longer regarded ballroom dancing as a “dangerous trend”; instead, it became a fashionable and

attractive entertainment activity accepted and embraced by the people of Shanghai. Secondly, the

women’s liberation movement that emerged from the late Qing Dynasty, including abolishing foot-

binding, promoting female education, and advocating for marital freedom, signiﬁcantly elevated

the social status of Chinese women and enabled them to participate in social activities (Gui, 2013).

Some women chose to become dancing girls to make a living. Particularly, the abolition of foot-

binding enabled women to have the physical ability to dance. Thirdly, during urbanisation, a large

number of rural residents migrated to Shanghai in search of opportunities. With the increase in

urban population, there was a growing demand for social and entertainment activities (Ren, J.,

1996). Fourthly, Shanghai during the Republican era was already the sixth largest city in the world

and the foremost industrial, commercial, and ﬁnancial centre in the Far East. As an international

metropolis, it was characterised by abundant capital, ﬂourishing commerce, numerous media

journal.spacestudies.co.uk

53

outlets, and relatively sound legal systems, and these factors provided the material foundation for

the successful commercial operation of ballroom dance halls in Shanghai. Thus, the prosperity

of Shanghai’s ballroom dance culture resulted from China’s liberal political atmosphere and

ideological liberation movement at that time, as well as stimulation from developed capital and

media, which led to the popularity and prosperity of Shanghai’s ballroom dance culture in the

last century.

This study focuses on the ballroom dance culture of old Shanghai in a particular historical period

within the Republican era. Although the Republican era generally refers to the years 1911-1949,

the ﬂourishing development of ballroom dance culture in Shanghai occurred after 1920. As

mentioned above, the ﬁrst ballroom established by Chinese was in 1923. Moreover, after the 1911

Revolution, although the new regime abolished the barbaric custom of foot-binding, women who

had previously bound their feet still experienced difﬁculty moving, and dancing girls had to pace

back and forth in the dance hall for hours (Deng, 2022). The ballroom dance industry in Shanghai

didn’t thrive until after girls who hadn’t undergone foot-binding grew up (after 1920) (Xue, 2009).

Therefore, although historically the Republican era generally refers to the years 1911-1949, the

main scope of this thesis is from 1920 to 1949. Currently, there is limited research in architecture

and urban studies on ballroom dance culture. In the ﬁelds of history and sociology, research on

ballroom dance culture is also in its early stages, with research directions primarily focused on

two aspects:

• Research on Dancing Girls in the Republican Era: Yang and Wan, from a historical

perspective, compare dancing girls of the Republican era with the courtesans of Shanghai

at that time, deﬁning the identity of dancing girls at that time and arguing that dancing girls

and high-end courtesans fundamentally share continuity (Yang & Wan, 2011). Ren Wenhui,

with a dual perspective in dance history and dance culture, also delves into the identity of

dancing girls during the Republican era. She argues that dancing girls embody three identities:

independent women, commodiﬁed products, and objects of sexual fantasy (Ren, 2017). Ma

Jun, from a historical perspective, studied the livelihood of native Shanghai dancing girls in the

mid to late 1920s, including their backgrounds, sources of income, and the public perception of

dancing girls (Ma, 2013). Deng, also from a historical perspective, investigated native Shanghai

dancing girls but focuses on their livelihoods from 1932 to 1937. He studied the demographics,

work, and income of the dancing girl community during that period using sources such as

newspapers, magazines, and dancing girls’ diaries (Deng, 2022). The aforementioned studies

analyse the dancing girl community from a macro perspective. However, Sun Qinan’s study

zooms in on a speciﬁc individual from a microscopic perspective. She provides a narrative

account of the life of Chen Manli, a popular dancing girl at the Paramount Hall at that time,

giving us further insights into the lives of prominent dancing girls during that period (Sun, 2010).

• Research on the Ballroom Dance Halls of the Republican Era: From a historical and

cultural perspective, Lee Ou Fan broadens the scope to encompass the entire entertainment

industry in Shanghai, including ballroom dance culture, painting a picture of ‘modernity’ of

Shanghai’s nightlife during the Republican era (Lee, 1999). Andrew D. Field, also from a historical

and cultural perspective, is more focused on ballroom dance culture. He explored the formation

and development of dancing girls during the Republic era by examining historical materials

such as magazines, newspapers, novels, and city guides from 1920 to 1949 (Field, 1999). These

scholars have relatively broad research scopes. Zhang Lei, on the other hand, focuses on

ballroom dance halls. From both historical and artistic perspectives, he explores the historical

origins, aesthetic characteristics, and temporal inﬂuences of ballroom dance in Shanghai

(Zhang, 2014). Ma and Bai, taking a perspective from the ﬁeld of social management, focused

on ballroom dance halls in Shanghai under different administrative regions. (“Three Realms

on Both Sides of the Rivers”, i.e., public concessions, French concessions, and Chinese areas).

They provide insights into the management systems, operational methods, and government

policies that regulated the ballroom dance hall industry across different administrative regions

from 1927 to 1943 (Ma & Bai, 2007). Xue Liyong, Gui Qiang, and Lu Zhigen, take speciﬁc high-

end dance halls as their starting point, offering a clear understanding of the high-end dance

halls during the Republican era. Among them, Xue Liyong focused on the Paramount Hall,

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using a narrative approach to introduce its history, architectural decor, management systems,

and more (Xue, 2000). Gui Qiang discussed in more detail the development history of

Shanghai’s ballroom dance hall industry, including the songs performed, the ballroom dance,

and the fate of dancing girls, with a particular focus on the Paramount Hall as a representative

case (Gui, 2013). However, these studies remain relatively broad in scope and lack depth. Due

to Lu Zhigen’s ﬁrsthand experience working at the Ciro’s Dancing Palace in the 1940s, the

information he provided is more detailed and speciﬁc. Through oral history provided by Lu

Zhigen and interviews conducted by Sun Qin’an, they provide speciﬁc details about the Ciro’s

Dancing Palace during the 1940s, including its history, operational and management systems,

operating hours, customers, working and income of the dancing girls, as well as the prohibition

of dancing after the founding of the People’s Republic of China. This work offers valuable

ﬁrsthand historical materials and provides us with a clear understanding of the situation in

high-end ballroom dance halls at that time (Lu & Sun, 2007).

Nevertheless, there is a gap in research analysing the consumer groups of ballroom dance

culture. Secondly, most studies focus on a macroscopic level of analysis, with few exploring the

ballroom dance culture from the micro and daily perspective. Moreover, these studies rely on

traditional historical documents such as newspapers, magazines, and personal notes, as well as

social research methods like interviews. Using these traditional sources and research methods

makes it challenging to obtain a daily, micro perspective, and they lack a sense of space and

immersive experience. In response to these issues, this study draws on the ﬁelds of architecture

and urban studies, using old ﬁlms shot in Shanghai during the Republican era (1920s-1940s) as

the main research material to investigate ballroom dance culture in Shanghai during that period.

As a relatively new form of audiovisual medium, ﬁlms offer several advantages for our research:

• Visual Historical Records: Old ﬁlms shot in the Republican era possess an inherent

historical value. Through these ﬁlms, we can gain insights into the architecture, urban

landscapes, indoor and outdoor environments, people’s clothing and attire, their behaviours,

and even the accents and speech patterns of that time, dating back a century. While some

scenes may be staged and not represent authentic settings, directors and producers usually

aimed for authenticity and made efforts to make the scenes as true to life as possible, so these

scenes still have historical value. Furthermore, all the ﬁlms analysed in this study are shot on

location. Any scenes or screenshots that are not actual settings will be identiﬁed and explained

in this article.

• Microscopic Perspective: Films provide us with a personal, daily, micro-level perspective

to understand the ballroom dance culture of that era. Conventional historical sources such

as books, archives, chronicles, or guides mostly provide a macro-level narrative. They can’t

immerse us in the historical context of that time, making it difﬁcult for us to intuitively experience

the daily life of a micro-level individual.

• Sense of Space: We can visually and intuitively explore scenes of Republican-era

Shanghai through ﬁlm, from a room to the entire cityscape, encompassing both outdoor and

indoor spaces. Outdoor spaces include buildings, streets, transportation, public areas, and

leisure spaces; indoor spaces include living spaces, interior decoration, furnishings, etc.

• Audio: As a visual-audio medium, ﬁlm has an advantage when it comes to music,

including background music, musical interludes, the voices and accents of the characters,

and the natural background sounds in the city. Textual materials can potentially be subject to

censorship or even alteration; music is much more difﬁcult to manipulate. The rhythm, melody,

and other musical elements can convey the director’s intended ideology and reﬂect societal

trends at that time. Dialogue captures accents and speech patterns of the time, adding depth

to the historical context. Moreover, since the subject of our study is the ballroom dance culture

of the Republican era, the information conveyed by music is particularly sensitive and holds a

unique signiﬁcance.

• Plot: The storyline of a ﬁlm can reﬂect the director’s preferences, the mindset and ideology

of the director and screenwriter. From there, we can further explore the societal background

and the underlying societal trends at that time.

journal.spacestudies.co.uk

55

In summary, ﬁlm, as an emerging audiovisual medium, brings us new insights into this study.

Films provide a personal, daily, and micro-level perspective for understanding the ballroom dance

culture of the Republican era in Shanghai. Furthermore, the sense of space and elements such

as audio can convey a stronger impact. These factors can make us feel more immersed in the

historical context of that time, enabling us to better comprehend and analyse the ballroom dance

culture of the Republican era, which conventional historical sources can’t provide. This study

primarily utilizes old ﬁlms shot in Shanghai in a particular historical period within the Republican

era (1920s-1940s) as the main research material and, from the perspectives of architecture and

urban studies, deconstructs the ballroom dance culture of Shanghai in a particular historical

period within the Republican era (1920s-1940s) into two parts: the places where ballroom dance

culture occurred and the primary participants of ballroom dance culture. Among these, the places

where ballroom dance culture occurred are explored in terms of spatial layout, architectural

decoration, and etiquette norms. The participants in ballroom dance culture mainly include

dance hall customers and dancing girls. The character traits, attire, and character images of

these individuals in the ﬁlms are analysed. From a third-party perspective, the ideological stance

of the ﬁlmmakers and society’s perception of ballroom dance culture at that time are dissected,

along with an analysis of the social context and prevailing societal trends of the era. This deepens

our understanding and knowledge of ballroom dance culture. In addition, this study also utilised

historical documents, archival records, and oral history interviews as supplementary materials

to ensure the comprehensiveness and accuracy of the research. Through this research, we aim

to assist Shanghai’s recovery of its urban memory, explore cultural essence, maintain its cultural

charm and local identity in the future urbanisation process, enhance its attractiveness, and

increase its soft power and international competitiveness. Thereby, it offers reference insights

and reference points for the development of other cities.

2. Classiﬁcation of Ballroom Dance Culture Venues in Shanghai During the

Republican Era

The dance hall is an important place where ballroom dance culture occurs. By the early period of

1949, there were 269 dance halls in Shanghai; however, only over 20 of them possessed legitimate

operating licenses (Lu & Sun, 2007). The ballroom dance halls in Shanghai during the Republican

era were also divided into high-end and low-end dance halls. While dance halls of different levels

exhibit varying interior designs, customer demographics, and hospitality protocols, both high-end

and low-end dance halls imply a certain degree of erotic undertones. In addition, ballroom dance

was a common hobby and popular recreational activity among the upper echelons of society at

that time, with social attributes. For instance, in upscale restaurants, luxury villas, and other public

or residential spaces, ballroom dance as a post-dinner pastime serves social, entertainment,

and enlivening purposes. This study deﬁnes the characteristics of different types of dance halls

through the spatial settings and the usage behaviours depicted in ﬁlms.

2.1. High-end Dance Hall

In general, during the Republican era in Shanghai, high-end dance halls referred to luxurious

venues catering to the upper echelons of society and foreign guests for leisure and entertainment

purposes. Many of these dance halls became iconic landmarks in Shanghai at the time, such

as the International Hotel, the Little Club, Paramount Hall, the Metropole Garden & Ballroom,

and St. Anna Ballroom, among others (Lee, 1999). For instance, in the ﬁlm The Spring River

Flows East (1947), Paramount Hall is mentioned in characters’ dialogues, indirectly referencing the

residence location of Manager Cui, a business magnate in the automobile industry. Compared to

other buildings in the city, the architectural style and interiors of these high-end dance halls are

quite lavish and extravagant. They can be seen as material manifestations of the localisation of

Western foreign culture in Shanghai or, in other words, Shanghai in the Republican era, a semi-

colonial metropolis, bore the inﬂuence of Western modern culture. As a result, these dance halls

represent the collision between Western modern civilisation and traditional Chinese ways of life

and thought. An example of a typical high-end dance hall is St. Anna Ballroom, featured in the

ﬁlm The New Year’s Gift (1937) (Figure 1a). Its architectural style is modern Western, constructed

from marble, and the bilingual signs in Chinese and English gleam brightly due to decorative

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lighting. The lavish decorations extend to every corner of the interior. Taking examples from The

Spring River Flows East (Figure 1b), the interiors of these high-end dance halls feature neon lights,

coloured silk fabrics, ﬂowers, balloons, and so on. At the centre of the dance hall is a spacious

dance ﬂoor, surrounded by tables and chairs. On the tables, there are arrangements of ﬂowers,

table lamps, beverages, and refreshments. People dance gracefully to the singing of the singing

girls and the accompaniment of the band. The owners of high-end dance halls often spare no

expense in creating top-notch orchestras, and they even hire foreign bands.

Figure 1a. The exterior architecture of a high-end

dance hall (St. Anna Ballroom). Source: ﬁlm The

New Year’s Gift (1937)

Figure 1b. The interior decor of high-end dance

halls (in Chongqing). Source: from ﬁlm The Spring

River Flows East (1947)

As mentioned earlier, the primary clientele of high-end dance halls are Shanghai’s elite, both local

and foreign. Customers come to these dance halls to seek excitement after dining at restaurants

or attending theatres. Normally, they come with their extramarital partner to spend leisure time

and strengthen their relationships – with a sexual undertone. For instance, in the movie The New

Year’s Gift, the theatre manager went ballroom dancing with his extramarital partner at the St.

Anna Ballroom despite having an engaged ﬁancée. In The Spring River Flows East, the personal

secretary of the department store owner, Zhang Zhongliang, conceals his marital status to

invite the owner’s “Sugar Daughter”, Miss Wang Lizhen, to revel at the dance hall. For the upper

echelons of society, attending high-end ballroom dance halls entails adhering to certain etiquette

(Field, 1999). Wang Dingjiu wrote a laymen’s Guidebook titled “Guide of Shanghai”, which, from

the customers’ perspective, outlines some of the hidden rules to follow when dancing at high-

end dance halls. First, customers should drive to the high-end dance hall, because the dancing

girls often look down upon those who can’t afford a car. Additionally, dressing appropriately is

essential, preferably in Western-style suits (Wang, 1932). These hidden rules are also reﬂected in

ﬁlms. For instance, the theatre manager in The New Year’s Gift and Zhang in The Spring River

Flows East, when they go dancing to the high-end dance hall with their extramarital partner, are

chauffeured in cars. The men or the dance hall’s security personnel open doors and escort the

women into the car, exemplifying gentlemanly demeanour.

2.2. Low-end Dance Hall

Compared to those far-famed high-end dance halls, there were a greater number of low-end

dance halls in Shanghai in the Republican era (Lee, 1999). As reﬂected in The New Year’s Gift,

the spaces of these low-end dance halls are relatively more constrained. A small storefront,

bearing a signboard displaying the name of the dance hall on top. Compared to their high-end

counterparts, these low-end dance halls also lack ornate decorations, and their entrances are not

equipped with security guards (Figure 2a). The entrance of the dance hall is usually afﬁxed with a

poster or an election signboard. As the customers who frequented these low-end establishments

typically had limited ﬁnancial means, these low-end dance halls often engage in price wars to

attract customers. For instance, they wrote like “Ten dances for One Yuan” or “Twenty dances for

One Yuan” on the posters or signboards, along with “Free Tea and Snacks”. Some dance halls

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57

use novel gimmicks to attract customers, including “Balloon Releases”, “Secret Gifts”, and even

“Striptease Performances”; the erotic implications are more pronounced (Figure 3). Despite the

interior space of these dance halls being cramped and compact, their spatial layout is similar to

the high-end dance halls: featuring a central dance ﬂoor surrounded by tables and chairs. On the

tables, there are arrangements of ﬂowers and beverages, etc. (Figure 2b). The interior decoration

of these low-end dance halls is relatively minimal, lacking the lavishness of high-end dance halls.

Figure 2a. The exterior architecture of low-end

dance halls. Source: from ﬁlm The New Year’s

Gift (1937)

Figure 2b. The interior decor of high-end dance

halls. Source: ﬁlm The New Year’s Gift (1937)

Figure 3. Posters and signboards at the entrance of the low-end dance halls. Source: ﬁlm The New

Year’s Gift (1937)

Unlike high-end dance halls, the clientele of low-end dance halls mainly comprises the middle

and lower classes in Shanghai, including workers and various foreign soldiers stationed in the

city (Field, 1999). They come here for entertainment and indulge in drinking, sometimes even

to select potential sexual partners, treating this place as a prelude to a brothel². These low-end

dance halls did not have the hidden rules that govern interactions between the customers and

dancing girls, unlike high-end dance halls. Just as portrayed in movies, customers here are not

only ﬁnancially limited but also lack manners, such as getting into arguments. For example, in

The New Year’s Gift, a construction foreman is enticed by the signboard advertising “Striptease

Performances” and enters the low-end dance hall. However, he doesn’t know how to dance,

and accidentally steps on his dancing partner’s feet. This leads to an argument between the

customer and the dancing girl. Subsequently, the construction foreman slaps the dancing girl

and overturns the table.

2.3. Other Venues

In addition to places like dance halls with implicit erotic undertones, the ballroom dance culture

also carries a social function in higher social circles, appearing in daily activities of upper-class

individuals, such as friend gatherings, celebrations, and more. After a good meal, ballroom

dancing often becomes an entertainment activity to enliven the atmosphere. At such times,

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the venues for ballroom dance are not limited to dance halls but also appear in the luxurious

villas of the upper echelons of society. For example, the ﬁlm The Spring River Flows East depicts

Zhang Zhongliang and Wang Lizhen’s wedding. During the wedding celebration, the newlyweds

performed a tango in front of the crowd (Figure 4a). Furthermore, the ballroom dance culture

can also be found in upscale restaurants. For instance, in the ﬁlm The Spring River Flows East,

after the victory of World War II, people returned to Shanghai to celebrate. Ballroom dancing

takes place during banquets (Figure 4b). The ballroom dance culture not only swept through

Shanghai but also rapidly spread to other cities in China. After the Japanese army occupied

Nanjing, Chongqing served as the “Provisional Capital” during World War II; a large number of

elites and wealthy merchants converged there. At that time, they brought ballroom dance culture

to this city. In the ﬁlm Eight Thousand Li of Cloud and Moon (1947), there are scenes where upper-

class individuals are dancing in upscale restaurants in Chongqing (Figure 4c).

Figure 4a. Ballroom dance culture in luxurious

villas of upper-class individuals. Source: ﬁlm The

Spring River Flows East (1947)

Figure 4b. Ballroom dance culture in upscale

restaurants. Source: ﬁlm The New Year’s Gift

(1937)

Figure 4c. Ballroom dance culture in upscale restaurants. Source: ﬁlm Eight Thousand Li of Cloud and

Moon (1947)

elites and wealthy merchants converged there. At that time, they brought ballroom dance culture

to this city. In the ﬁlm Eight Thousand Li of Cloud and Moon (1947), there are scenes where upper-

class individuals are dancing in upscale restaurants in Chongqing (Figure 4c).

Similar to high-end dance halls, ballroom dance events held in luxurious villas or in upscale

restaurants and other public or residential spaces also require emphasis on etiquette. Usually,

the host would invite someone to dance at the gathering. The invited people often modestly

decline at ﬁrst. During this moment, some might also help enhance the atmosphere, such as

suggesting piano accompaniment or offering complimentary words to make it livelier. Only after

this encouragement do the invited people start their performance. As demonstrated in the ﬁlm

The New Year’s Gift, the banker invites the singing girl Miss Yang to perform “The Ballroom

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59

Table 1. The similarities and differences between different ballroom dance culture venues.

High-end Dance Hall Low-end Dance Hall Other Venues

Exterior

Architecture

The architectural style and The storefront of such ballrooms Ballroom dance takes place

decoration of such ballrooms is often relatively small and lack in luxurious villas, restaurants

are often ornate and ﬂamboyant, ornate decorations.

mostly in the Western modern

architectural style.

or international hotels, with a

Western modern decor style.

Interior Decor

The lavish decorations extend Despite the interior space of Ballroom dance takes place in

to every corner of the Ballroom, these dance halls are cramped villas or upscale restaurants,

including neon lights, colored silk and compact, their spatial layout where the decorations are also

fabrics, ﬂowers, balloons, and so is similar to the high-end dance luxurious, with both Western and

on.

halls: featuring a central dance Chinese styles of decor.

ﬂoor surrounded by tables and

chairs. The interior decoration

of these low-end dance halls is

relatively minimal, lacking the

lavishness of high-end dance

halls.

Customers

The primary clientele of high-end The clientele of low-end dance Participants are also upper-class

dance halls is Shanghai’s elite, halls mainly comprises the middle individuals. After satisfying

both local and foreign. and lower class in Shanghai, good meal, they often engage

a

including workers and various in ballroom dance as an

foreign soldiers stationed in the entertainment activity to enliven

city.

the atmosphere.

Etiquette

Customers drive to the ballroom, Low-end dance halls did not Usually the host would invite

and attire must be appropriate, have the hidden rules that someone to dance. The invited

preferably Western-style suits. govern interactions between the people often modestly decline

The gentlemen should escort customers and dancing girls. at ﬁrst. During this moment,

the ladies to the car, displaying The customers here not only are everyone applauds or suggest

gentlemanly manners.

ﬁnancially limited but also lack of piano accompaniment, etc., to

manners.

heat up the atmosphere. Only

after this encouragement does

the invited people start their

performance.

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Song”. Miss Yang declines initially due to a sore throat, but a lady present suggests that she can

provide piano accompaniment for Miss Yang, and it’s only after this that Miss Yang Lijuan starts

her performance. Similarly, in the ﬁlm The Spring River Flows East, Zhang’s friend invites him

and Wang to perform a tango. Zhang initially declines, and it’s only when the department store

owner Pang Haogong steps in and invites the couple that they ﬁnally start their performance.

This article presents a holistic table to illustrate the similarities and differences of these ballroom

dance halls (Table 1).

3. The Customers of the Ballroom Dance Hall

With the development of the economy, Shanghai’s nightlife has reached new heights. Young

people who had experienced the ideological liberation movement gradually squeezed foreigners

out of the ballroom dance halls, and these Chinese individuals also began to consume generously

in the dance halls (Field, 1999). This study therefore chooses the representative customers of

ballroom dance halls depicted in ﬁlms as the study subject.

3.1. The Image of the Ballroom Dance Hall’s Customer in Film

While the venues where ballroom dance culture occurred varied slightly, there was a certain

uniformity in the portrayal of ballroom dance hall customers in ﬁlms from the Republican era.

In these ﬁlms, the “enthusiasts” of the ballroom dance culture usually appeared as antagonistic

characters. Most of them are a classic stereotype of the upper class in Republican Shanghai,

who are dressed elegantly, shrewd in character, and enjoy pursuing material and sensual

pleasures. This feature is demonstrated directly in the ﬁlm The Spring River Flows East, where

the transformation of the protagonist Zhang Zhongliang’s character portrayal from positive to

negative is directly mirrored in whether he frequents dance halls. Initially an upright, patriotic

young man, Zhang abandoned his original wife in desperation during World War II and attached

himself to Miss Wang Lizhen, the “Sugar Daughter” of the department store owner. He also took

on the role of the owner’s personal secretary. Unable to resist temptation, Zhang gradually fell into

decadence in the ﬂashy world of Chongqing, frequenting dance halls and other entertainment

venues, turning into a pleasure-seeking puppet (Figure 5). Following his decadence, Zhang paid

more attention to his attire and appearance, transitioning from a simple ﬂat-top haircut to an

ostentatious pompadour, complete with ties and a small moustache, smoking cigars, embodying

the image of a slick businessman, and stating, “In today’s Shanghai, one can’t step out without

several stylish outﬁts.”

Figure 5. The character image of Zhang Zhongliang, after his decadence. Source: ﬁlm The Spring River

Flows East (1947)

In ﬁlms made in Republican Shanghai, customers of ballroom dance halls consisted not only of

male characters but also of female characters, who appeared in antagonistic roles as well. For

example, in the ﬁlm mentioned above, Wang Lizhen was a female worker at the Heshun Silk

Factory. After the outbreak of World War II, she sought refuge with the owner of a department

store, Pang Haogong, and became his “Sugar Daughter”. Her personal life was chaotic, as

she was involved in multiple inappropriate relationships with upper-class gentlemen. After

Zhang Zhongliang arrived in Chongqing, she gradually lured him into decadence. They started

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61

frequenting dance halls and other entertainment venues together and eventually married. She

was ruthless and cunning, using her connection with the company owner as her “Sugar Daddy”,

displaying a very dominant personality. When she discovered that Zhang still had his original wife,

Sufen, she not only forced him to divorce her but also coerced Sufen into suicide. Wang was

also highly intelligent. When she needed something from others, she could also act coquettish,

especially in front of her “Sugar Daddy” – the company owner. Wang placed great importance

on her appearance. After Zhang returned to Shanghai, she insisted that he buy several quality

coats for her, with good fabrics. In the ﬁlm, she sported a short hairstyle, presenting a conﬁdent

and assertive image. She adorned herself with valuable accessories such as rings, earrings,

necklaces, and more (Figure 6). Sometimes she wore a cheongsam, while at other times, she

chose dresses. She applied makeup and wore bold lipstick, exuding an impression of being

spirited, daring, and proactive.

Figure 6. The character image of Wang Lizhen. Source: ﬁlm The Spring River Flows East (1947)

In addition to well-developed protagonists, the ﬁlm also features many brieﬂy depicted but highly

typical supporting characters with negative images. These characters also frequent the dance

halls for indulgence. For example, in Eight Thousand Li of Cloud and Moon, the cousin of the

female protagonist Jiang Lingyu, Zhou Jiarong, serves as an antagonist and is also a regular

customer at the ballroom dance hall. During World War II, he engaged in speculative business

in Chongqing and usually invited female partners to upscale restaurants for dinner and dancing

together. (Figure 7a). After World War II, he used manipulation and deceit to seize property from

an old woman in his role as a local ofﬁcial. He is characterised by his oily, ingratiating, frivolous

demeanour, smooth-talking manner, chaotic personal life, lack of empathy, and willingness to

do anything to achieve his goals. He sports a pompadour and often wears uniforms or suits,

complete with ties, presenting a slick-looking appearance in the ﬁlm. In the ﬁlm The Spring River

Flows East, Manager Cui is also a regular customer at the ballroom dance hall with a chaotic

personal life. He lives near the Paramount Hall, and even though the female protagonist, Wang

Lizhen, is already married, he often ﬂirts with her. His usual outﬁt is a suit with a tie. He usually

wears a hat and smokes a cigar when he goes out (Figure 7b). He is skilled at observing people’s

words and demeanour; he is brazen, always echoing Pang Haogong’s opinions. (The department

store owner) In the ﬁlm The New Year’s Gift, the theatre manager, despite having a ﬁancée, takes

his extramarital partner to the St. Anna Ballroom for entertainment. He also dresses impeccably

in a well-ﬁtted suit with a bowtie. When going out, he wears a coat and a hat (Figure 7c).

3.2. The Reﬂection of Ballroom Dance Hall Customers’ Portrayal

Jacques Le Goff employs the term “mentality” to refer to “something beyond history.” He

believes that mentality itself is a structure, and “individuals may not necessarily be aware of this

structure, as it reveals non-individualised content within their thoughts” (Goff, 1985). Kracauer’s

reﬂections on ﬁlm history are quite similar to Le Goff’s insights. Kracauer stated, “Films reﬂect not

obvious beliefs, but psychological tendencies – those deep-seated collective psyches that more

or less expand into the unconscious” (Kracauer, 1947). The musings of these cultural scholars

provide a new perspective for us to examine the ballroom dance culture of Shanghai during

the Republican era through the lens of ﬁlm. Why do the customers who frequently visited the

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ballroom dance halls often appear in a negative portrayal in the majority of ﬁlms? Or why do

directors or screenwriters usually place these antagonist characters in venues like ballroom

dance halls when designing scripts?

Figure 7a. The Image of a regular customer of

a ballroom dance hall in the ﬁlm (supporting

characters). Source: ﬁlm Eight Thousand Li of

Cloud and Moon (1947)

Figure 7b. The Image of a regular customer of

a ballroom dance hall in the ﬁlm (supporting

characters). Source: ﬁlm The Spring River Flows

East (1947)

Figure 7c. The Image of a regular customer of a ballroom dance hall in the ﬁlm (supporting

characters). Source: ﬁlm The New Year’s Gift (1937)

This is related to the socio-cultural context of the Republican era. These ﬁlms were mostly shot

in the 1930-1949, a time when left-wing ideologies were strongly inﬂuential in society. The “New

Culture Movement” erupted in 1915, followed by the “May Fourth Movement” in 1919. Movies

were seen as tools for social education, particularly for educating young people. Early Chinese

ﬁlms did not lag behind the “New Culture Movement”. While entertaining audiences, ﬁlms also

propagated social ideology and modern ideals. In a sense, it served as a unique medium (Zhang,

1999). Especially after the start of the War of Resistance Against Japan in 1931, the newly ignited

patriotic sentiments led people to favour ﬁlms with patriotic educational signiﬁcance—a trend of

“Turning Left” emerged in the wave of Chinese ﬁlmmaking styles (Shu, 1994). The ﬁlms analysed

in this paper were created by left-wing ﬁlmmakers such as Shi Dongshan, Cai Chusheng, Yuan

Muzhi, Xia Yan, and others, working in left-wing studios like “Lianhua Film Company” or “Mingxing

Film Company” during the period of 1930-1949. All these ﬁlms can be labelled as “left-wing ﬁlms”

(Du, 1988). According to Pickowicz’s deﬁnition of left-wing ﬁlms, they involve a “marriage between

classic plot drama and elementary Marxism” (Pickowicz, 1993). The “Elementary Marxism” refers

to themes centred around the working-class underprivileged masses and expresses sympathy

towards them, which aligns well with the themes of the ﬁlms analysed in this study. For instance, in

the ﬁlm The Spring River Flows East, Zhang Zhongliang, revels in a life of extravagance with Miss

Wang Lizhen, the “Sugar Daughter” of the department store owner, engaging in ballroom dance

and enjoying lavish seafood, such as large lobsters and hairy crabs air-shipped from Calcutta

and Yangcheng Lake. In contrast to Zhang’s indulgent, decadent lifestyle, his abandoned wife

and his elderly mother are suffering the brutal oppression of the Japanese invaders. Similarly, in

the ﬁlm Eight Thousand Li of Cloud and Moon, director Shi Dongshan employs contrast to shape

the character Zhou Jiarong, carrying a strong element of criticism. During World War II, when

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63

resources were scarce and famine was rampant, Zhou engaged in proﬁteering and hoarding

goods. While Zhou indulges in lavish dining at upscale restaurants and dances ballroom dance

with a female partner, the scene shifts abruptly; his younger female cousin Jiang Lingyu is

shown enduring hunger and homelessness. She is part of a drama troupe promoting resistance

to the masses on the frontline of the war, spreading the message of resistance amid hardship.

The majority of the members within the drama troupe suffer from stomach ailments due to

malnutrition. Zhou employs cunning methods to seize properties, including that of an old woman.

The old woman, being the victim of oppression, also represents a member of the working-class

underprivileged masses. Thus, while criticising capitalists, these ﬁlms also express sympathy

for the working-class underprivileged masses and call for social fairness. This aligns with

the concept of “Elementary Marxism” and constitutes the core ideology of left-wing ﬁlms. It’s

not difﬁcult to understand why left-wing ﬁlms of that time tended to portray customers who

frequented the ballroom dance halls as antagonistic characters – most of them are wealthy

people living an upper-class life. At a time when the country was facing the crisis of Japanese

invasion and most of the working-class underprivileged masses were struggling for food and

shelter, these wealthy customers showed no patriotic enthusiasm, sympathy, or compassion.

They were obsessed with pursuing their own material pleasures and sensory stimulations,

without directing their ﬁnances towards resisting the Japanese invasion, aiding the country,

supporting the underprivileged people and other noble causes. Instead, they chose to indulge

themselves in high-consumption places like ballroom dance halls for enjoyment. Thus, at that

time, the manner of these wealthy customers who sought entertainment at ballroom dance halls

was seen as a selﬁsh act. Therefore, these left-wing ﬁlms aim to criticise the selﬁsh capitalists,

express sympathy for the working-class underprivileged masses and call for social equity. This is

the central theme of left-wing ﬁlm, reﬂecting the purpose of the directors and screenwriters who

created these ﬁlms. The messages conveyed by these left-wing ﬁlms were explicit: ballroom

dance halls are places of moral corruption. The customers who frequented these dance halls

were depicted as morally degraded. Simultaneously, the ﬁlms also conveyed the message that

Western culture, material values, sexual desires, and money were portrayed as corrosive forces

within Chinese society (Field, 1999).

4. Singing Girls and Dancing Girls in Ballroom Dance Hall

In addition to the ballroom dance hall’s customers, another prominent group that represents

ballroom dance culture in ﬁlms is singing girls and dancing girls. In the 1920s, with the decline

of the feudal system and the rise of commercial and political elites embracing Western trends,

the social freedom and mobility of urban women began to expand. (Field, 1999) Stimulated by

the burgeoning magazine industry, radio broadcasts, and the ﬁlm industry, the Republican era

(1920s-1940s) in Shanghai gave birth to a new set of professions, including songstresses, movie

stars, singing girls and dancing girls (Field, 1999).

4.1. The Portrayal of Singing Girls and Dancing Girls in Films

As mentioned above, the majority of the customers of ballroom dance halls were usually

portrayed as antagonistic characters. In contrast, the singing girls and dancing girls who worked

in the ballroom dance halls were portrayed with a contradictory character image. On one hand,

their attire differs from the conservative clothing of traditional women in feudal society. Their

attire is inﬂuenced by Western culture, accentuating their ﬁgures more attractively, making them

more sensual, modern, and fashionable. In the tumultuous society of the Republican era, marked

by frequent warfare and soaring inﬂation, many underprivileged lower-class people struggled to

afford basic necessities. Meanwhile, the singing girls’ and dancing girls’ luxurious attire indicated

a certain degree of material security and relatively higher living standards. Nevertheless, they

were still unable to escape the fate of commodiﬁcation in the commercial society (Ren, 2017).

Singing girls and dancing girls served as dancing partners and entertainers, whose bodies were

consumed like commodities, serving as symbols commodiﬁed by male desire (Ren, 2017). For

instance, in the ﬁlm The New Year’s Gift, the dancing girl Jiang Xiuxia’s hair is styled in short curls,

complemented by a trendy airy fringe. She wears a white ﬂuffy skirt or a ﬂoral dress with a lotus

collar, and completes the look with black stockings and shiny black high-heeled shoes, creating

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a stylish and sensual appearance (Figure 8a). Jiang’s cousin, He Rongrong, who is only 6 years

old, also has short permed curls and wears a ﬂuffy skirt along with black heeled shoes (Figure

8b). This indirectly reﬂects that she is also a potential victim of the commodity society. The

singing girl Yang Lijuan’s attire is also very exquisite: her hair is neatly arranged, adorned with

patterned metallic hairpins, and she wears diamond-shaped earrings on both ears. She sports

bracelets on both wrists, rings on her ﬁngers, and dresses in a cheongsam and high heels,

carrying a small handbag (Figure 8c). These three women share certain similarities in both

attire and temperament, conveying an impression of elegant, reﬁned bourgeois women. Their

fashionable, modern, sophisticated, and alluring appearances in the ﬁlm are quite representative

of the typical attire of dancing girls during the Republican era. Their attire not only showcases

the modern and fashionable aspects of Shanghai dancing girls but also highlights their ﬁgures

effectively. The high-heeled patent leather shoes and permed waves embodied their chic

and modern style, while the cheongsam is crucial in highlighting their ﬁgures. They dress up

exquisitely and sensually mainly to cater to the needs of male customers, as gaining the favour

of male customers was essential for their livelihood. Their commodiﬁed bodies have bestowed

upon their characters a new set of labels.

Figure 8a. The character image of Jiang Xiuxia.

Source: ﬁlm The New Year’s Gift (1937)

Figure 8b The character image of He Rongrong.

Source: ﬁlm The New Year’s Gift (1937)

Figure 8c. The character image of Yang Lijuan. Source: ﬁlm The New Year’s Gift (1937)

The commodiﬁcation of the image of singing girls and dancing girls in ﬁlms resulted from the

social environment in Republican Shanghai. Being one of China’s earliest and most commercially

developed international metropolises in the context of modernisation, the city carried a distinctive

commercial aura that shaped its culture with a prominent emphasis on commerce. The singing

girls and dancing girls were also unable to escape their commodiﬁcation within this consumer

society. Theywereregardedascommoditiesintheeyesofmen, asvictimsofmoderncommercial

culture. To maximise their value as objectiﬁed commodities, they had to invest more effort in

their appearance and attire to make themselves more attractive (Ren, 2017). This is evident in

the expensive attire worn by Jiang Xiuxia and Yang Lijuan in The New Year’s Gift. During the

Republican Era, when most people struggled to meet their basic needs, they spent a fortune

on perming their hair and wearing pricey dresses, cheongsams, leather shoes, stockings, and

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65

more. The high consumption of clothing not only indicated a prevailing trend of commodiﬁcation

in Shanghai’s urban life but also illustrated people’s infatuation with certain “commodities” - the

presentation of women’s bodies as commodities, turning them into objects of male gaze and

desire (Lee, 1999).

4.1. The Destinies of Singing Girls and Dancing Girls in Films

The contradiction of the singing girls and dancing girls is also reﬂected in the destinies of the

characters shaped in the ﬁlms. On one hand, they emerged as a new profession in Shanghai

during the 1920s, where they, as self-sufﬁcient women, symbolise a new type of female image

representative of the changing era (Ren, 2017). Compared to traditional women in feudal society,

they had the opportunity to pursue love and freedom in marriage, embodying a new lifestyle. The

girls had their glamorous side; dancing ballroom dances was a trendy and alluring entertainment

activity for young people at that time. The vibrant lifestyle of ballroom dance halls, ﬁlled with

colourful lights and wine, held great allure for them. Many dancing girls even aspired to titles like

“Dancing Queen” or “Miss Shanghai”, hoping to become renowned and envisioning a career in

the ﬁlm industry as well-known entertainers. For instance, in the ﬁlm The New Year’s Gift, the

character He Rongrong, who was only 6 years old, had a keen interest in dancing. She obtained

her family’s consent to perform on stage in a ballroom dance hall. On the other hand, singing

girls and dancing girls were still inﬂuenced by a male-dominated society and were usually unable

to control their own destinies. In the tumultuous and declining society of the Republican era,

marked by warfare and economic decline, they were usually swept along by the era’s tide,

unable to stand alone. If they lost the support of male clients, their fate could plunge into misery.

As depicted in The New Year’s Gift, after being abandoned by her ﬁancé, a theatre manager, Sun

Jiaming, the stage actress Jiang Xiuxia was forced to become a singing girl in a high-end ballroom

dance hall, the Garden Ballroom. Jiang lost the support of reliable males and experienced the

economic decline of the Republican era, which combined to create her tragic life. Eventually, she

descended from a high-end ballroom singing girl to a dancing girl in a low-end ballroom dance

hall that advertised “Striptease Performances”. A similar fate befell the character Yang Lijuan,

another singing girl in the same ﬁlm: originally invited by a banker to sing at the villa of a bank

president, Yang Lijuan lost her male clients’ ﬁnancial support after the bank went bankrupt. Out

of economic necessity, she was forced to work as a singing girl at the Garden Ballroom.

The contradictory role image of singing girls and dancing girls with tragic destinies in ﬁlms also

resulted from the prevailing societal conditions during the Republican era. Simone de Beauvoir

deﬁned women as “formed” rather than “naturally” feminine (Beauvoir, 1949). This indicates that a

woman’s identity is not determined by herself, but rather shaped by society and is determined by

men who hold dominant positions (Ren, 2017). With the end of the feudal system, the emerging

Republican society opened up various job opportunities for women. Dancing girls, as the

emerging urban women in the Republican society, appeared with a new demeanour: (1) They

were no longer bound by traditional customs and ethics; (2) They obtained job opportunities

that granted them a certain level of economic independence and reduced their dependence

on men; (3) Compared to the feudal era, the social status of women was highly elevated. Within

ballroom dance culture, they formed a new gender relationship with men. They were seen as

modern women in the eyes of the public and were pursued by many gentlemen. As mentioned

earlier in the guidebook “Guide of Shanghai”, it states, “While in Chinese society, men are the ones

respected, it’s the women who are treated favourably in dance halls” (Wang, 1932). On the other

hand, during the Republican era, many left-wing ﬁlmmakers regarded singing girls and dancing

girls as victims of the modern consumer society. Their suffering received more sympathy in

ﬁlms. The ﬁlm The New Year’s Gift provides us with a good example. Jiang Xiuxia complained

to her friend, “The theatre audience is far from naive, always yearning for ‘provocative dancing’.

I’m tired of this kind of life, being looked down upon by others.” This indicates that singing girls or

dancing girls were a despised profession at that time; these societal biases subjected many of

them to unspoken hardships and sorrows. At the entrance of the theatre, the poster shows Jiang

Xiuxia wearing a revealing bikini, and even 6-year-old He Rongrong is not exempt (Figure 4-2).

The plight of the dancing girls was primarily due to the prevailing societal conditions of that time.

During the period of the Republican era, obtaining a decent job was a difﬁcult task, especially for

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women. While Republican-era society provided women with more educational opportunities and

a certain degree of liberation compared to feudal society, the number of women with access to

education was still limited, and there were insufﬁcient suitable job positions in cities for women.

In 1936, “Linglong” magazine stated, “Women now have the opportunity to make a living, but they

must choose between monotonous manual labour and alluring yet infamous professions like

being a dancing girl.” The magazine further stated, “Whether a dancing girl or a female labourer,

they are both victims of the wicked economic system and captives of malevolently inclined men”

(Field, 1999). In an economically advanced and gender-equal society, most women might be able

to lead the lives they want. However, during the Republican era, many girls were forced to make

a difﬁcult choice between their livelihood and personal dignity—either to maintain their chastity or

to succumb to the allure of money and material desires.

Figure 9. Posters featuring Jiang Xiuxia and He Rongrong. Source: ﬁlm The New Year’s Gift (1937)

In sum, the group of singing girls and dancing girls in the ﬁlms of Shanghai during the Republican

era constituted a unique entity with the dual attributes of both modern women of the new era

and commodiﬁed objects (Ren, 2017). On the one hand, they represented the emerging modern

woman of the new era who could ﬁnancially support themselves, symbolising a new way of life.

They were fashionable and modern, departing from the traditional image of docile and submissive

Chinese women. They were sought-after by numerous men, presenting a novel dynamic in

gender relations. They stood as central ﬁgures in Shanghai’s burgeoning commercial culture,

with their personas frequently appearing on the packaging or advertisements for commodities

like toothpaste, face creams, and soap- becoming carriers of the city’s material culture. As

representatives of Shanghai’s developed commodity economy and ﬂourishing entertainment

industry, they epitomised the city’s urban imagery. On the other hand, they still couldn’t escape

the inﬂuence of a patriarchal society. They were commodities in the eyes of men, victims of

the modern commodity economy. They ﬁnd themselves unable to control their own destinies,

swept along by the currents of the times. They exist within the collective urban imagination and

represent the urban image. As Chinese society transitioned towards modernisation, they guided

Shanghai residents and helped them adapt to modern ways of life and moral values.

5. Conclusion

Taking an architectural and urban perspective, this study primarily utilises old ﬁlms shot in

Shanghai in a particular historical period within the Republican era (1920s-1940s) as its main

research material. It deconstructs ballroom dance culture in Shanghai during the Republican

era (1920s-1940s) into two parts: the primary spatial locations where ballroom dance culture

occurs and the main participants in ballroom dance culture. Among them, the places where

dance culture occurred can be categorised into high-end dance halls, low-end dance halls, and

other venues, including upscale restaurants and luxurious villas. We can gain a very intuitive

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understanding of the external architecture, interior decorations, and spatial layouts through

on-location shooting in old ﬁlms. In addition, we analyse the etiquette norms that needed to

be observed within the space where ballroom dance culture occurred through analysis of the

ﬁlm’s plot. The main participants in ballroom dance culture include consumers and the workers

(singing girls and dancing girls). We analysed the role characteristics, attire, and character

portrayals of these individuals in the ﬁlms. In addition, we further delved into the underlying logic

behind the image construction of these individuals at the heart of ballroom dance culture in the

ﬁlms. This study sheds light on perceptions of ballroom dance culture in the Republican era and

dissects the social trends and ideologies of that time. It also utilises textual materials such as

historical documents, archival records, and oral history interviews as supplementary materials

to corroborate the perspectives analysed from the ﬁlms, ensuring the comprehensiveness,

accuracy, and objectivity of the research conclusions. Through this study, we explore Shanghai’s

urban historical memory and gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of ballroom dance

culture during the Republican era.

Figure 10. The image of old Shanghai cheongsam-wearing dancing girls appears on the packaging of

nostalgia-themed cultural products nowadays. Source: Author self-captured at a shop named ‘Morden

Lady’ on Nanluogu Lane, Dongcheng District, Beijing, in 2023

During the Republican era, society was undergoing a transformation, transitioning from

feudalism to modernity and from agrarian civilisation to industrial civilisation. Shanghai, as the

most open, international, and economically developed metropolis in China at that time, exuded a

unique charm through the interplay of traditional and modern elements, as well as the fusion of

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Shanghai’s own culture with Western foreign culture. Muramatsu Sho’ufu used the term ‘Magic

City’ to describe the unprecedented novelty and impact of Republican Shanghai brought to

him (Muramatsu, 1924). Shanghai’s ballroom dance culture was born in such an environment,

which not only represents a harmonious blend of local and global inﬂuences, but also showcases

Shanghai’s modernity. It serves as a cultural image of the city. One could say that Shanghai

is a grand ballroom dance hall, while the ballroom dance hall itself is a miniature version of

Shanghai (Ma, 2013). In the 21st century, Shanghai’s culture has once again attracted public

attention, with the “nostalgic trend” gaining momentum. Various cultural and creative districts,

as well as shops centred around nostalgia, have quietly emerged, becoming popular “internet-

famous” destinations for people to visit. They offer nostalgia-themed cultural products related

to old Shanghai, such as snowﬂake creams, face creams and perfumes featuring images of

cheongsam-wearing dancing girls (Figure 5-1). This indicates that the image of old Shanghai

dancing girls is embedded in the collective memory of people and symbolises Shanghai’s urban

identity. However, the mass appeal driven by the “nostalgic trend” may not necessarily grasp the

intricate fusion and diversity within this culture, which also reﬂects the somewhat faded soul of

Shanghai’s urban culture nowadays (Yang, 2006).

The ballroom dance culture that thrived in the past is no longer mainstream in today’s

Shanghai, as it has become a part of the city’s memory. As a unique local characteristic and

cultural heritage of Shanghai, it should not be forgotten by today’s people. This study explores

Shanghai’s urban historical memory through old ﬁlms. In order to enhance Shanghai’s urban

cultural identity and preserve its unique local characteristics, this study proposes the following

recommendations: (1) Shanghai has preserved many ballroom dance halls from the Republican

era, including the Paramount Hall. These remaining historical buildings serve as cultural heritage

sites in today’s Shanghai. These buildings should be restored and opened to the public, allowing

people to experience Shanghai’s rich historical atmosphere and cultural ambience. Moreover,

we can install ‘introduction QR codes’ near these old buildings. People can use their mobile

phones to scan the codes and learn about the stories behind these historical buildings through

text, audio guides, video playback, VR interactions, etc. These measures can deepen people’s

understanding of dance culture and allow them to experience the cultural charm of Shanghai.

(2) We should promote cultural products related to the Shanghai-style culture, such as selling

lipsticks, perfumes, and other daily necessities featuring the old Shanghai ballroom dance

culture, or cheongsams labelled with “Shanghai women”. These cultural products can gradually

integrate the ballroom dance culture of old Shanghai into people’s daily lives, making the urban

memory of Shanghai a tangible and palpable part of life. (3) Art and cultural exhibitions related

to the ballroom dance culture of old Shanghai can be held in the remaining ballroom dance halls

built during the Republican era (Such as the Paramount Hall), or in museums, exhibition halls,

etc. These exhibitions can showcase and introduce the ballroom dance culture of old Shanghai

through ﬁlms, photographs, etc. We can also provide visitors with ballroom dance culture-related

souvenirs or cultural products, allowing people to rekindle their urban memory of Shanghai.

These initiatives can help Shanghai create its urban “Cultural IP”, preserve its distinctive local

characteristics and cultural charm in future development, enhance its soft power, and improve

international competitiveness. Furthermore, the prosperity of old Shanghai’s ballroom dance

culture in the last century was deeply intertwined with China’s relaxed social atmosphere

and ideological liberation movement of the Republican era, as well as the stimulation from the

developed capital and entertainment industry, collectively shaping the popularity and prosperity

of Shanghai’s ballroom dance culture. In the process of urban evolution, the continuity and unity

of culture are crucial. Shanghai set up a platform for the exchange of Eastern and Western

ideas very early on, gathering and embracing various emerging elements. Although the social

environment and ideological culture of Shanghai in the 21st century have changed compared to

the old Shanghai of the Republican era, the spirit of openness, freedom, international integration,

and inclusiveness remains unchanged. By continuing these qualities, we can still nurture our own

cultural charm in the present world.

Conﬂict of Interests

No potential conﬂict of interest was reported by the author(s).

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Biographical notes on authors

Qiyun Tan earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Trafﬁc Engineering from Beijing Jiaotong University

and his Master of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from Michigan State University. His

research interests focus on ﬁlm, urban culture and urban history. His current research utilises

ﬁlmic materials made in Republican Shanghai (1920s-1940s) to explore the ballroom dance

culture from an architectural and urban perspective.

Yiqiao Sun is a postdoctoral researcher in Architecture and Urban Planning at Zhejiang

University. She has recently received a PhD degree in Architecture from the University of

Cambridge. Her research interests focus on ﬁlm, spatial practice and everyday life. Her current

research explores ﬁlm as a new method to profoundly understand the lived spaces in urban

environments under certain cultures, for example, the Hutong community in the old city of

Beijing. She previously completed a BSc and an MSc (with Distinction) in Architecture and

Urban Planning at the University of Stuttgart, Germany.

Endnotes

1. Common Sense Newspaper, 1928 “There were over two hundred public and private ballroom

dance halls of various sizes throughout Shanghai, employing around two thousand dancing girls.

Nightly expenses for dancing in the entire city amounted to about forty to ﬁfty thousand yuan,

and on Saturday nights, the expense soared to as much as hundred thousand yuan. Every night,

the time spent on dancing exceeded ﬁfty thousand hours, with tens of thousands of customers

frequenting ballroom dance halls every night. The assets of all ballroom dance halls in Shanghai

totaled ﬁve to six million yuan.”

2. Jian Guang, “Novel Daily”, 1941: “Hunting grounds for romantic encounters and dens of pleasure.

Few attend the dance halls to actually dance; rather, it is a pretense to approach the dancing girls

and seek intimate connections.”

3. This paper has been presented at the SPACE International Conference 2023 on Cities,

Architecture and Cinema.

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