Old times in nursery rhymes: city memories in Shanghai dialect children’s songs
Looking at this document called "Shanghai Dialect Children's Rhymes", those tones that are both familiar and distant seem to pop out of the paper at once.
One song is in the style of "there is a temple in the mountain". In the temple, there is a vat. This structure of thimbles and hemp is used to teach children in the simplest way to understand the levels of things and the relationships between them.
However, as the saying goes, "A break to cry, a break to laugh, two eyes firing cannons," almost every child in Shanghai has shed tears and been coaxed like this by his elders.
These sentences are catchy and catchy. They are not just a childhood game, but also the older generation, in the most vivid way, injecting the wisdom of life, city sceneries and human worldliness into the children's memories one by one.
They are like tiny keys that open the door to the life in the alleys of old Shanghai.
Language is a living museum, hiding the code of urban changes
If you listen carefully to these children's songs, you will find that they are like a "moving dialect museum".
For example, in "Calling", the unique system of kinship titles in Shanghai dialect is clearly and logically sorted out. Among them are "mother", "father", "grandpa" and "grandma". These titles themselves have a kind of intimacy and fireworks, which is completely different from the feeling of "mom, dad, grandma, grandma" in Mandarin.
There is also "Interesting Dish Names", which is simply a shopping guide for local vegetable markets packaged in nursery rhymes. Among them are "yellow sprouts", which is Chinese cabbage, and "fragrant bamboo shoots", which is lettuce, and "yam", which is potatoes, and "luosu", which is eggplant. Behind each name is a true portrayal of the daily life of Shanghai people.
What is particularly interesting is that the "Red-Headed Asan" (this is a name used by Shanghai for British Indian patrols in the past) and the "Patrol Line" mentioned in "The Little Mistress Pulling the Car" instantly drag people back to the streets of Shanghai at that specific historical stage.
These children's songs are like pieces of living fossils. The language has been completely preserved, the folk customs have been completely preserved, and the historical background has also been completely preserved.
Unbridled imagination is the best nourishment for childhood
The most indispensable thing in these children's songs is the unfettered imagination of a child.
The plot of "There Was a Tiger on the Mountain" is simply more exciting than the current nonsensical movies: the tiger has the behavior of eating people, is put in a cage, the cage is damaged, the tiger escapes to Nanjing to buy saccharin, and finally "dips in the water and plays the huqin".
This kind of illogical but extremely smooth association is the charm of children's thinking.
However, "Dudu Fei" uses a simple repetition method and action instructions, so that young children can recognize their own body parts and then imitate the shape of insects in situations such as "clap their hands" and "flap their wings".
In addition, the famous "Big head, big head, no worries when it rains, others have umbrellas, and I have big head" uses the simplest "barter exchange" logic to fully display a silly and cute cheerful spirit.
Those seemingly absurd sentences are precisely the best tools that can stimulate children's imagination and creativity.
The life lessons in nursery rhymes are simple yet profound
Be sure not to underestimate these hilarious jingles, which contain many simple ways of life and principles.
The work titled "Shake, Shake, Shake to Grandma's Bridge" almost describes the child's yearning for grandma's house and the beauty of family affection. However, then a naughty twist like "don't cook the head, burn the tail" appears, and is full of the interest of life and humor, allowing the children to feel the warmth of the family while laughing.
And that kind of game song called "Originally I Wanted to Hit Ten Thousands of Records", in the bargaining sound of "Just so-so and ten records", teaches children how to play the game within the rules and learn compromise and humor in the game.
Speaking of the sentence "Winter melon rind, watermelon rind, little girl shirtless and old face", it is the most relaxed way to sow the most basic sense of shame and behavioral norms in young minds.
These children's songs do not have the kind of blunt preaching. However, they pass on the common sense of life and the principles of life to children in a silent and moisturizing way.
From "fried soybeans" to "Shanghai snacks", the vivid imprint of regional culture
The description of life details in children's songs is the most vivid reflection of regional culture.
"Stir-fry, Stir-fry Soybeans" is not a simple game, it simulates the food preparation process, allowing children to learn about life while having fun.
The list titled "Shanghai Snacks" is like a condensed "Shanghai Breakfast Map". Flatbreads, fried dough sticks, steamed dumplings, salty paste, pot stickers, and rice cakes. As soon as these names appear, the steamy market atmosphere immediately rushes towards you.
Moreover, in "Three Character Song", "Today, Wednesday, a little bastard came to Shanghai", in a humorous and even self-deprecating tone, it depicts the image of a little unlucky urban man who likes to dress up, and is filled with the atmosphere of fireworks and human touch in the alley.
These children's songs have packaged and sealed Shanghai's food culture, packaged and sealed Shanghai's various street scenes, and also packaged and sealed Shanghai's linguistic characteristics.
These children's songs sung in Shanghainese dialect are about the memory of sound, the bond connecting emotions, and they constitute the cultural gene of a city.
They record the childhood of several generations of Shanghainese in the shortest and lightest way.
When those familiar tones echo again, what we hear is not just a few nursery rhymes, it is the wind echoing in the alley, the stove room of grandma's house, and the past years that can no longer be returned but are always full of warmth.
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