[3][4] The writer Eileen Chang translated the book into Mandarin, published in two parts under the titles "海上花開" and "海上花落" (lit.
[6] Hu Shih, Lu Xun, and other Chinese literary figures critically acclaimed Shanghai Flowers.
[6] Hu Shih's thesis is that because the novel had such a strong usage of Wu, readers had difficulty understanding it.
Wang concluded that the language would not be the reason for the novel's continued unpopularity since Chang had written her Mandarin translation.
Instead, Wang argued that Han Bangqing's "matter-of-fact" way of describing things, which opposes opulent descriptions of events and food; and the general lack of sensationalism and "sentimental narcissism" contribute to "the fact that it does not read like the prostitute novel we generally know.