Uncle XP's Recollections of his childhood home:
在俞家族群中目前我是最有「能力」談此故居之人，故居座落在上海蘆灣區（以前屬法租界）瑞金二路上，解放前叫金神父路，租界內許多街道被列強改名，其中最有名的就是霞飛路（法國霞飛將軍）解放後金神父路又被重新命名為瑞金路（瑞金在江西，是共産黨革命根據地，着名的「長征」由此開始）
I am in the best position to tell the story about our old home. It is located in LuWan district – the old French concession. Many streets bore French names such as the famous Joffre Blvd. Our street was Route Pere Robert, which later, after communist revolution, changed to the current name ReiJin Road (ReiJin is the place where the original communist military base located and where they started the so called Long March). The house is in MingDe Village on ReiJin Road.
我們住在瑞金二路的明德邨，上海的民宅多呈小社區型，通常以「坊」、「里」或「邨」、「公寓」稱之，各類坊里多半有着相近的文化和層次人齊聚一起，明德邨屬中等小資産等級（有的如會樂里是私娼大本營，而愛麗絲公寓則以金屋藏嬌聞名）坊里內通常有數十家甚至上百家連棟式西式洋樓（獨棟洋樓則通常以某公館尊稱之，多半不在坊里圈內）形成數排住宅，有點像台灣的眷村格局，但比眷村気派寬敞，上海人稱之為弄堂，弄堂文化和弄堂文學及弄堂藝術由此産生（與北京的四合院文化南北相輝映）
Most residential areas in Shanghai are grouped into small communities variably called “estate”, “district”, “village”, or “apartment” etc. Each community flocked by people of similar socio-eco-backgrounds. MingDe Village was a middle class community. Most of those communities contains dozens or hundreds western style row-houses. The super riches have their villas away from such communities. The alley ways formed by the row-housed are called “NongTong or alley court”. Numerous sub-cultures of literatures and arts have their roots in these alley courts. They echo Beijing’s “quadrant courts”.
我家住在明德邨314號三樓，一樓是房東姓王，主人是軍醫在安徽服務，平日由女主人帶着三個孩子，二樓姓施的大老婆帶着小老婆兒子，外婆和一樓不來往，卻和二樓十分熱絡，同是天涯「失婚」人。
We lived on the third floor of # 314, in MingDe Village. The first floor was the landlord. The man of the house was a military doctor stationed out of town. Mostly we only saw the woman with three children. The second floor lived a woman with her husband’s 2nd wife’s son. My mother have little contact with the first floor family but get along well with the second-floor family – comradeship of failed marriages.
上海房子多是南北向，大門朝南通常不開，進出都從朝北的後門，照片中就是後門的弄堂，淘米摘菜、説閒話和偷情就在此孳生。我和小阿姊在此住了十四、五年，我初二，她高一離開。兩岸開放後我首先回去訪故居，一二樓都換了人住，隔壁依舊是老隣居，我曾發想把整棟買下來（當時便宜且那些人响往去住新社區，而我小學同學正在蘆灣區房管中心服務）但老哥那時不得意、小阿姐沈醉在幸福中，老姐罵我發痴，我一個人能力尚不足買全樓，作罷（還有一重要原因，當時不可有産權只有五十年居住權，近年改了，真遺憾）若真買了，近一二十年，老哥不用在上海置產，老姐和小阿姐可養老及歡聚，且老房子行情看俏，我們都發了！
Most houses in Shanghai are north-south oriented. Front doors facing south but usually not used and daily in-and-out are using the north faced back doors. What you saw in the picture (the red door) is the back door of the house. Alley ways are where house wives prepare meals, chats, gossips, and even hanky-panky stuff. Xiao-A-Ji (Jean) and I lived in that house for about 14-15 years. I was in seventh grade and she was in 10th grade when we left.I went back visited the house as soon as China opened the door. The first and second floors had different people live there but the next-door neighbor was still the same folks. I had the idea to to buy the whole building. It was really cheap and I had good connection. Unfortunately, my older brother was not in a best condition, my little sister was happily in America, and my older sister thought I was out of my mind, and I didn't have enough money to buy it by myself. Had I bought it than we would be very rich today and that we would have an ideal place for our old ages.
順便回答凱瑩和KK問題：中國人安土重遷，除非發了大財或遇到天災人禍，否則不喜歡搬家他居，只因為大陸曾發生過房産公有重新配發、文革及知青下鄉等運動，所以住戶有了變化，而最後的合照中間那位叫彩琴去世了，兩旁是慈雲和彩銀夫婦尚健在，前陣子還和老媽聯絡，縂而言之，這故居對小阿姐和我有着深濃的情感，這三四年我曾寫過「少年上海」雜文三篇以慰她思鄉之情，但她已不能和我一同回去尋訪了！
To answer Christina and KK’s question, Chinese people traditionally do not move easily unless when become very rich or encountered major disasters. Communists redistributed all the lands and real estates under slew of “movements” have totally shuffled people’s traditional dwellings and where-they-belong.
By the way, the women in the middle of the last picture had passed away. The two couples sit beside her are still around. They recently made contact with older sister (YiMa).
This old house means a lot to me and Xiao-A-Ji. I recently wrote a few articles under the title “My Youth at Shanghai” sharing our memories. So sad she will not go visit the past with me.