Just as its name implies, Pudong is the area to the east of the Huangpu River. But its size and importance has varied over the years depending on the political machinations of the time.
Back in the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the districts on either side of the river were under different jurisdictions. According to county annals, the east side was administered by Shanghai County and the west by Jiading County.
The demarcation line of the Huangpu River endowed the two districts with the names they still have today: the eastern side is Pudong and the western, Puxi.
The vividness of both names made it easy for them to be inscribed in locals' minds and memories. And they remained in use even though the once extremely vast area was divided into many small sub-counties in later years.
Nanhui and Baoshan counties took the lead in 1725 to depart from their mother county -- Shanghai County -- and Chuansha followed suit in 1805. But their secession and independent administration did not make them prosperous. On the contrary, it led to a serious disparity in economic development.
Shanghai's Puxi area became the leading economic zone and this also assisted Pudong's position. The other three counties were not that lucky and were left far behind.
Residents living in Pudong became rather proud of their affluent life and started to look down upon those who came from the other three counties. In order to better differentiate themselves from others, they styled themselves as the "Native Shanghainese".
But actually, the true origin of native Shanghainese could be traced back even further and few realized this until the 1930s when the Pudong District of Shanghai County was facing a new round of sub-divisions.
Eight districts, including Yangsi District and Sanlintang District, were then established with the latter being the largest and richest.
According to folklore, a man named Lin Legeng originally established the Sanlintang District during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). Lin was said to have been trying to flee the vengeance of some enemies when he arrived in Shanghai.
Deeply enchanted by the charming environment, he decided to settle down for good. As Lin's offspring multiplied over the years, two groups of clan members moved away from the main manor and set up their farms nearby and created the name of a new township called Sanlintang. "San" means three in Chinese and "Lin" is the family name, while "Tang" stands for the small bay near the small town.
Ever since, residents living in the Sanlintang area have been regarded as "Native Shanghainese" and have enjoyed high respect.
The horse beans produced there are called "Native Horsebeans" and sell for more than "non-native" ones.
(Shanghai Star June 13, 2003)
