旧上海道路照明的演进

Evolution of Road Illumination in the Old Shanghai

旧时的不夜城,似乎是上海的另一个名称。成为不夜城,是一个渐进的过程。在道路照明上,发生过两次比较大的变化:煤气灯替代油灯,电灯又替代煤气灯。前者的发生还算是比较顺利的,但是后一次变化的成功,却是用了近半个世纪,而且并不单单依靠纯市场化的竞争。一种新的能源照明,虽然具备不少优点,但有时会在初期因成本的原因而苦苦挣扎。最终的成功,即取决于自身多方面的改进,也需要在特殊时期得到扶持。电灯在道路照明上的发展和取代煤气灯是一个很好的例子。

Shanghai was once called ever-bright city in the past.But becoming such a city was a gradual process.Two big changes took place during the evolution of its road illumination:gas light replaced oil lamp and the former was later replaced by electric light.The first change was relatively smooth while it took nearly half a century for the success of the second one,which depended not only on the competition of pure marketization.Despite many advantages,a new kind of lighting sometimes has to struggle in its initial stage due to the cost.The final success lies with its improvements in various aspects and also needs support at particular times.The development of electric light and its replacing gas light is a good example of such.