Shanghainese's "mashing paste"

In the jianghu of dialects, some words cannot be simply understood in the literal sense, but must be understood from the tone of voice, just as the saying goes, "listen to the sound, the gong and drum listen to the sound". The Shanghainese word for "mashing paste" is an example.

The word mash paste, after the Shanghainese people continue to polish in the secular language environment, its connotation is constantly enriched, the function is constantly strengthened, under the blessing of different tones, it can express a variety of meanings, and the versatility is getting stronger and stronger, just like the role of onion and ginger in meat dishes, it is a big mistake to put it in.

In the past, there were still many opportunities for paste to appear in the lives of ordinary people. I remember when I was a child, I saw housewives tie their own soles, and the adhesive soles of their shoes were made to use paste. Also, the family makes its own clothes, and the "hard lining" in the clothes, that is, the lining in the clothing, is inseparable from the paste.

In the past, household paste was prepared by itself, because the amount of paste was not much, and the so-called chemical paste that followed was generally not used. The ingredient of the paste is generally edible black flour, that is, standard flour. Place an old steel wok on the briquette stove, the wok is diluted with water flour, a long spoon is constantly pounded in the wok, the hotter the wok, the faster the pounding. If the paste is well pounded, it is necessary to achieve no foaming on the top, no block in the middle, and no stick bottom below, so that the paste is uniformly dense and viscous. Many families' mash paste is done by children, because it is fun, children are also happy to do it, but often play too much, obviously the paste has been pounded, the play is still there, continue to pound, the result is over the fire, the paste sticks to the bottom, then mash Yi, paste lumps, and then mash Yi, paste burned, in order to cover up the scorched paste, not to be found by adults at home, add some water and then mash Yi. It can be seen that the key to mashing paste is a "mash" word.

I used to dislike the word paste, because I felt that it was a "nonsense" that was not doing things properly, or shirking responsibility in case of things, and blurring right and wrong. Later, it was found that in the context of the Shanghainese, the meaning of this mash was constantly extending and changing, and under the original derogatory appearance, the connotation of positive meaning was actually made. For example, people who can coordinate things are called paste, and people who are good at coordinating affairs are naturally able people who make paste. Another example is to be good at playing rounds and eliminating the awkward atmosphere of social occasions, also known as tinkering, and the "old lady uncle" who is good at settling disputes and taking into account the interests of all parties as a master of mashing. In this way, the word mash is upgraded to an all-round word with both positive and negative meanings. But to understand the true meaning of its expression, you have to listen to the tone of voice, and even look at the facial expression when you speak. Just like a joke circulating on the Internet recently, "no one can kick the women's football team, and no one can kick the men's football team", the sentence is the same, the subtle change in tone, the meaning is completely different; and to distinguish what the "mash paste" out of the Shanghai population means, do not understand the secular cultural environment of Shanghai, even if you feel the change in tone, you may not be able to distinguish the inner meaning.

However, if you think about it, the mashing paste in the Shanghai population is principled, even if it is the so-called "old paste" who is particularly good at being a person, if there is no principled "blind tone", it will be looked down upon, and there will be no real friends.

There are no principles, no concept of right and wrong, and people who do not do things seriously, shanghainese call it "paste bucket".

In fact, from the widespread use of the word "paste" by Shanghainese people, we can also vaguely feel the habit of Shanghainese people in seeking peace in the world, following the square and pushing the boat along the water, not taking the sharp edge, wiping out things, saving face, seeing through it, wang Gu left and right, he is not non-committal, there is a little wisdom, a little kindness, or even a little cunning. In the eyes of many Shanghainese, many things are not black and white, there are middle ground, and sometimes it is good to have a little more redundancy. (Yang Lang)