A coffee machine with an ancient and mottled appearance once ground coffee beans for literary giant George Bernard Shaw, who stayed at the Richard Hotel (now the China Securities Museum) in February 1933, leaving behind a literary aroma that spans a hundred years. At the reader service center across from the Shanghai Literature Museum, the reporter saw this "Westinghouse Coffee Grinder" with a story to tell. At present, the "Literary Pearl Flash mob" is being held here and will continue until the end of September.
▲ Reader Service Center
▲ Westinghouse coffee grinder
Entering the reader service center, there is a strong literary atmosphere everywhere. The design of the entire space echoes the five permanent exhibition areas of "Time · Shanghai, Left Wing · Shanghai, City · Shanghai, Light and Shadow · Shanghai, and World · Shanghai" in the Shanghai Literature Museum, using celebrity portraits, literary quotes, old objects and artifacts, hand drawn maps, and art window stickers as display carriers. The five major scenes are arranged in sequence along the route, and visitors can move step by step to experience the immersive spatiotemporal tour of "Shanghai Literature".
▲ "Literary Pearl Flash mob event"
The most visually perceptible changes of the times are the old objects related to writing and reading in the "Time Shanghai" exhibition area. In the era without laptops and smartphones, how could writers and literati work and write anytime, anywhere? A mobile writing desk from the 1930s may tell you the answer. Open the top cover, prop up the tilted writing board, turn on the built-in light, everything is ready – you can write at your desk or read lightly.
▲ Mobile Writing Desk
How did people in the past keep books? Unlike us who often use bookshelves now, we used to use book boxes which were smaller and more portable. The three book boxes displayed here are different from each other, including the "Big Boss" with Art Deco style cabinet doors, the "Second Brother" with a switchable front cover, and the ingeniously designed and most suitable "Third Brother". It is worth mentioning that Mr. Lu Xun also designed a bookshelf, and it was very ingenious. He once said to his friends, "These bookshelves are all wooden boxes. When filled with books, they become book boxes. When opened, they become bookshelves that can be loaded into cars and transported away at any time." This kind of book box design is also related to Mr. Lu Xun's travels throughout his life. But no matter where you go, you have to carry a book, which shows the love of intellectuals for reading at that time.
Mr. Lu Xun's Bookstore
In the urban Shanghai exhibition area, three cultural maps are displayed on the walls. The background wall of the bar displays the "World Literature Award Distribution Map" drawn in Art Deco style, and the bookshelf area displays the hand drawn "Lu Xun Trail Map" and "Bajin Hongkou and Surrounding Walking Routes". Readers can follow the footsteps of two literary masters and check in at Hongkou.
There is a "Westinghouse coffee grinder" displayed in front of the bar, as well as coffee related utensils from over a hundred years ago, including coffee spoons, bean storage cans, etc. In the spring of 1933, 77 year old George Bernard Shaw visited Shanghai and drank coffee from the coffee beans ground by this coffee machine at the Richard's Hotel. It carries the scars of time and endless stories.
▲ Coffee utensils from the past
After visiting the Shanghai Literature Museum
Why don't you come to the reader service center and take a seat and rest
See how the 'old ones' read and write
Dialogue with literary masters from afar
Still accompanied by literature!
Reporter: Ge Minmin
Image: Ge Minmin
Editor: Ge Minmin