Abstract: Since 1949, the society in Shanghai has witnessed great revolutionary changes. However, the orientation of urban culture and taste in daily life hidden behind these changes have not gone completely. Observing some scenarios in the novels, i.e., WANG Cheng-zhi's The Alley of Tonghe, WANG An-yi's The Age of Enlightenment and JIN Yu-cheng's Blooming Flowers, from a perspective of historical study, we can find that there is not only rupture but also continuity between the old and the new ages. Even in the age of great unrest, the modernity in Shanghai tenaciously survived in a hidden way. Historical memories and cultural inertia coexist in drastic intergenerational replacement in Shanghai, which has formed the fundamental vitality and characteristic of Shanghai culture.

Key words: reconstruction of continuity, the age of unrest, modernity of Shanghai