Wǒmen céngjīng zǒuguò wùzhì kuìfá de niándài, nà shíhòu, dàjiā dōu yíyàng, dōu méiyǒu qián, yídàn shìchǎng shàng chūxiàn le jǐnqiàode shāngpǐn, dōu yào xiǎngfāngshèfǎ tuō shúrén nòng huílái.
Láizì shànghǎi de bāo ā'yí, yīrán jìdé 80 niándài chūqī, tā tuō shúrén nònglái le liǎngzhāng bīngxiāng piào, huā le 3000duō kuài qián mǎile 2 tái bīngxiāng. dāng bīngxiāng yùnhuì jiā de shíhòu, zhěnggè nòngtáng de rén dōu hōngdòng le, dōu wéi lái cānguān. shìshí shàng, tā bìng méiyǒu zìjǐ shǐyòng zhè liǎngtái láizhībúyì de bīngxiāng, érshì zuòwéi jiàzhuāng liúgěi liǎnggè nǚér de. tiān zhīdào, xiǎo nǚér dāngshí zhèngzài niàn gāozhōng, kěshì yì xiǎng dào bīngxiāng zhème nánmǎi, bāo ā'yí yá yìyǎo, yì hěnxīn, mǎi le!
Děngdào 90niándài zhōngqī, xiǎo nǚér cái jiéhūn, nà tái bīngxiāng ne?zìrán yǐjīng huài le, bú kěnéng zài zhìlěng le. bāo ā'yí shuō :“mǎide jiù shì gè miànzǐ, bú hòuhuǐ!”
chén xiānshēng shì shànghǎi zhèngfǔ de yíwèi gōngwùyuán, tā zhìjīn hái jìdé zìjǐ mǎi dìyītái shǒujī de qíngjǐng, nàshì zài 90niándài zhōngqī ——tā jiāoào de shuō :“wǒ men shànghǎi, bǐ nèidì de chàjù, nà dà de búshì yìbān de!”
Dàn tā mǎile dìyītái shǒujī shí, huāle tā jìn 1wànkuài, tā tiāntiān bié zài yāoshàng, yòngshàng hǎo de pítào zhuāng zhe, jīngcháng zuò chāyāo de dòngzuò, mùde jiùshì wèile xiǎnbǎi xiǎnbǎi zhèkuǎn dāngshí méi jǐgèrén yòngdeqǐ de shǒujī. biékàn tā bié zài yāoshàng, qíshí tā bìng méiyǒu kāijī, yīnwèi fèiyòng tài guì le, suǒyǐ BPjī háishì qǐ zuòyòng de.
Suízhe shídài de biànqiān, měigè niándài de “sāndàjiàn ”dōushì bùyíyàng de, dōu lái shuō shuō nǐ xīnzhōng de sāndàjiàn shì shénme ba !
 
我们曾经走过物质匮乏的年代,那时候,大家都一样,都没有钱,一旦市场上出现了紧俏的商品,都要想方设法拖熟人弄回来。
来自上海的包阿姨,依然记得80年代初期,她托熟人弄来了两张冰箱票,花了3000多块钱买了2台冰箱。当冰箱运会家的时候,整个弄堂的人都轰动了,都围来参观。事实上,她并没有自己使用这两台来之不易的冰箱,而是作为嫁妆留给两个女儿的。天知道,小女儿当时正在念高中,可是一想到冰箱这么难买,包阿姨牙一咬,一狠心,买了!
等到90年代中期,小女儿才结婚,那台冰箱呢?自然已经坏了,不可能再制冷了。包阿姨说:“买的就是个面子,不后悔!”
陈先生是上海政府的一位公务员,他至今还记得自己买第一台手机的情景,那是在90年代中期——他骄傲地说:“我们上海,比内地的差距,那大的不是一般的!”
但他买了第一台手机时,花了他近1万块,他天天别在腰上,用上好的皮套装着,经常做叉腰的动作,目的就是为了显摆显摆这款当时没几个人用得起的手机。别看他别在腰上,其实他并没有开机,因为费用太贵了,所以BP机还是起作用的。
随着时代的变迁,每个年代的“三大件”都是不一样的,都来说说你心中的三大件是什么吧!
 
In the 1970s, bicycles, sewing machines, and wristwatches weren’t just household necessities; they were the ultimate in Shanghai status symbols. They even had a specific term: sandajian (三大件 sāndàjiàn), literally “the three big things.” If you owned these, you made a point of showing them off.
Before couples married, they would save for half a year—maybe longer—to buy the sandajian, and at wedding ceremonies, newlyweds would proudly show off their “three big things.” But for a standard Shanghai government employee, six months of saved income would only buy one of these three items: a classy Phoenics bicycle for 180 RMB.
By the 1980s, Shanghaiers with the right government connections were being issued purchase vouchers for more expensive, electronic appliances. Vouchers were really hard to get, and if you were lucky enough to get yourself a refrigerator, TV or radio, you likely would show your dajian (大件 dàjiàn) off. If you didn’t have a voucher, you were out of luck. Supplies were very, very limited.
Auntie Bao, a 63-year-old retired middle school teacher, remembers begging a friend of hers to help her find refrigerators for her two daughters’ dowries. She was well-connected with the government, and, while purchasing one fridge was difficult in 1985, getting two was almost impossible. But she was determined; if a young woman had a refrigerator as a dowry, you could be sure she would find a good suitor!
When the two refrigerators were finally delivered, the whole neighborhood came to watch. All eyes were on Auntie Bao as she stood outside her home proudly. Though one refrigerator stopped working before her youngest daughter was married, Bao said that it was all worth it, if only for that first moment of pride.
In the ’90s, the economy in Shanghai really began transforming. You no longer needed government-issued vouchers; if you had the money you could get anything you wanted.
Chen Nan, a 45-year-old Shanghai government officer, said his first cell phone cost him about 10,000 RMB. That was in mid ’90s, and it took two years’ savings. After he bought the phone, he was so nervous he might break it that he wouldn’t even turn it on. But he didn’t need to use it, he just needed to show it off; it was a dajian. “Having a beeper and a cell phone were huge status symbols,” Chen said.
A lot has changed in the past 30 years. In the ’70s, if you had a bicycle, you had a dajian you could show off. In the ’90s, it was a cell phone. Today, there’s no single dajian, no universal standard of status. Cars? Houses?! The newest, shiniest cell phone money can buy!?! It seems like the sky is the limit.
New words:
冰箱bīng xiāng:refrigerator
手机shǒu jī :cellphone
嫁妆jià zhuāng:trouseau