双层巴士二层的赫本鞋（英文版） Hepburn Shoes on The Double-decker

改革开放使越来越多的人走进城市，成为新都市人。他们的命运，他们的生活，他们的变化都反映了近30年以来，尤其是进入新世纪以来中国所发生的社会巨变。新都市小说属于近年来中国文坛涌现出来的一个新流派，集中体现了中国都市年轻人的精神面貌和日常生活。 2009年，由上海市作协和上海市文联联合主办，《上海采风》杂志社具体承办，在全国范围内组织了一次当代中国新都市小说征稿评奖活动，引发了较大的社会反响，社会各界好评不断。本书搜集的19篇新都市小说就是从这次活动中脱颖而出的优秀作品，代表了中国当代新都市小说的*水平。

Preface
Interview
A Man Who Wears No Suit
Martha’s Choice
Hepburn Shoes on the Double-Decker
Spell of the Painting
Nirvana of Love
A Compulsory Course
As Bright As The Peach Blossom
Lychee Martini
Bygones of No Significance
To The Nevedand Far Beyond My Reach
Be Sure to Live Happily
Lonely Love
17th Floor A Tower
About Being on the Shelf
Charlotte’s Carpet
A False Turning of Love
Meeting Wichmann
White Moonlight
Epilogue 4o6

PrefaceWhen Shanghai Wave held a literary contest in the genre of “new urban fiction”, I thought seriously about what “new urban fiction” means. Why is it called “new”? How does it compare with traditional urban fiction? And how do we define “old urban fiction”?Hepburn Shoes on the Double Decker is a collection of urban fiction stories from 2008 and will be published in a book. Some of the stories have been printed by the magazine and have drawn critical reviews, quite favorably.Because I get every issue of Shanghai Wave, I have read some of these stories. To publish this book, I read them once again. Then, it dawned on me that the characters depicted in these stories are either Chinese returning from overseas studies or company employees or young entrepreneurs. These urban white-collars are pursuing their dreams of career, love, marriage and family life. They are individuals of a new century, well-educated, well-paid, living a fast-paced city life, and influenced by the clash of Eastern and Western cultures. Their values and morals differ from tradition and from those of ordinary youths.Reading these unique and vivid stories, we can feel that these office workers, no matter where they are, at home or in office, in a bar or a café, have inner conflict under a placid countenance. Their pains and struggle are beyond many people’s imagination and their pursuit of success and true love is not well understood and accepted.The life of urban white-collars is as colorful as is their inner world. This perhaps is the main feature of today’s city life. This collection of “new urban fiction” mirrors, in vivid imagery, their pursuit of success and love. A big city is not all about offices. It is a colorful, complex society where people at all levels play a role. Since China began its reform and opening in the late 1970s, the cities have witnessed the emergence of new social classes, new settings, new people and new things. For example, the working class now lives in the suburbs. A driver may go to work in his Santana and drives a limo for his billionaire boss. If you roam the street, a marketplace and a residential area any time of the day, you will find the unique urban atmosphere and daily dramas unfolding in the street or alley. This land is fertile for “new urban fiction”.I think “new urban fiction” should make city readers say: “hey, this is about my city. This is about my life.” It should also make those who haven’t been to a big city live its colorful life vicariously. Moreover, it should show the world that Chinese city life is fascinating, just as I was captivated by a novel describing Montevideo before I made a trip to Uruguay.I hope Shanghai Wave can find more and better “new urban fiction” stories that portray various characters in the city.Maybe I am demanding too much.(Ye Xin is the Vice Chairman of the Chinese Writers’ Association)

Spell of the PaintingEssay by Wang XiaoyunTranslation by Jiayan LinEarly in the morning, Tian Xiaoyu, director of the management committee of a creative industry park was lounging in the arm-chair in the balcony, when his eye was caught by a piece of news in the morning paper. The news report appeared in an important column of the paper and was in conspicuous bold type. It read like this:In the morning of a certain day, an Indian businessman prepared himself to fly back to his country after participating in the Shanghai International Jewelry Exhibition. He walked out of the hotel and got into the Iveco bound for Pudong International Airport. There he went through the customs and brought a packet of cigarettes in the store of the erminal. At that moment, he found himself surrounded by several foreigners, one of which quickly spilt the milk in hand over his clothes. He put down his suitcase on the floor to clean himself. It was just then that his suitcase disappeared into thin air!Tian stopped reading and laughed. He thought to himself, how intriguing the plots are! The report is as dramatic as a peace of fiction. Can it possibly be a real story? Nowadays news reports and novels are so intertwined that you cannot tell the difference. He guessed the paragraph is probably an introduction of a certain film.After all, the story was rather remote from his life. On this quiet and warm morning with the sun shining brilliantly, those painters accustomed to a late bedtime must be still in a profound sleep.Every morning Tian would drink some tea and take a scroll in this newly opened creative park. He would give a cheerful greeting, if he came across friends on the way. Two years ago, Tian, then as a Sunday painter as well as an artist agent, wrote to a government official in charge of the cultural development in Shanghai. He suggested in the letter that a municipal-level creative industry park should be built on the south side of Suzhou River, because it was most representative of the customs and history of old Shanghai. In fact, what he suggested was to provide some low-rent houses for those random talented artists who were prejudiced against the whole world. The houses were not only places of shelter but also a platform for the exhibition and trade of paintings. He asked to make use of the disused buildings in Shanghai, say, to turn old factories into studios for some avant-garde painters and artists.In truth, it is not an entirely good thing. Those now abandoned factory buildings in the downtown area were vacant for quite a long time. The monolithic rough architectures stood above the surrounding living quarters which were urbanized but worn out with the passage of time. Only these plain buildings retained traces of something that fell out of contact with the urban civilization; they were, so to speak, something new and fresh. In this way Tian became the “director” of a so-called creative industry park. He was so addressed by others while in his own heart he was happy with it.Tian was humming a tune while walking. He nearly ran into someone when he walked to the gate. He looked up and saw a policeman, much to his surprise. The policeman shows an ID in the same manner as police officers do in gangster films.As they were standing quite close to each other, the ID almost poked Tian in the face, which made him sullen. He cried aloud, “What’s the matter with you?”In the same time, he stood back a little and stroked his almost-injured right cheek with his left palm. He knitted his eyebrows and considered the person to be extremely rude.Unexpectedly, the policeman opposite him did not soften. He held high his ID the card and repeated, “Police”. Then he continued, “You must be Tian, director of the management office of this park. The Dutch painter Billy in your park is involved in a robbery of jewels.”Tian nearly sprang to his feet.But he could do nothing but go to the office and let the policeman take notes. He calmed himself down and looked at the policeman. He found that the police officer had a boil on his face which made his face extremely animate. If the face was to be painted, it would make a fine portrait, he thought. After the investigation, Tian was in low spirits. He folded and unfolded that piece of newspaper unconsciously and found the sequential part of the same news item. He hadn’t noticed the following words in the first place: At that moment, the foreigners around him including that guy who spilt milk on him disappeared altogether. He ran to seek help, but at the store gate he was given the wrong direction by several foreigners who were the pals of he jewel thief. Later, he called the police, reporting that the stolen suitcase contained invaluable jewels worthy of around 190,000 dollars.Such was the case that the policeman discussed with Tian.The creative industry park was undergoing a reform recently. Many artists were unwilling to submit to the park a 10% royalty of their sold paintings. Tian repeated in both English and Chinese, “The fact is that the park needs money to make your works highly publicized. Besides, the park provides you with a place for exhibition at the minimum price. Without the park, what would you do to exhibit your works? Is it that you want to make your way into the first-class gallery downtown? Do galleries have such kind of atmosphere? Can you sell your works there?” The very last sentence he uttered stirred up a nest of hornets. Artists hate those who look down upon their works. Our works don’t sell? Tian, can you sell your works? Let’s see whose works are better…