94 HANCHAO LU Branch Alleyway Branch Alleyway Branch Alleyway Branch Alleyway 郾口 Branch Alleyway Branch Alleyway --l Sidewalk Figure 2. The general layout of a lilong compound in Shanghai influence and the relative irrelevance of modern political power in some important aspects of the life of ordinary peopl Stores in Living Rooms Shanghais small neighborhood stores were, first of all, related to a particular type of residential structure known as the lilong fangzi(literally, alleyway house)or simply as the lilong. This was the single most common type of house in Shanghai by 1949 almost three-quarters of Shanghai's residential dwellings were lilong houses (Shanghaishi tongjiju 1989: 437-38). From the late nineteenth century to the middle of this century"at least 70 to 80 percent of Shanghai people lived in lilong houses Jia You 1982: 285). The lilong neighborhoods, which spread over every corner of the city, are the setting of our discussion about small stores The history of the lilong can be traced back to the middle of the nineteenth ury when the Small Swords(xiaodaobui)Uprising(1853-55)and the Taipin Rebellion(1850-64)drove thousands of war refugees to the safety of Shanghai' foreign concessions. Only about 500 Chinese lived in Shanghais foreign concessions in 1853. This number jumped to 20,000 in 1854 when the Small Swords occupied Shanghai's Chinese City, which was immediately adjacent to the foreign concessions In 1862, with the Taiping army approaching the area, reportedly 500,000 refugees flooded into the city(Kuai Shixun 1980: 347-59) The tide of refugees provided a basis for speculation in real estate. A new desig94 HANCHAO LU Branch Alleyway Branch Alleyway Branch Alleyway Branch Alleyway Branch Alleyway Branch Alleyway Figure 2. The general layout of a lilong compound in Shanghai. influence and the relative irrelevance of modern political power in some important aspects of the life of ordinary people. Stores in Living Rooms Shanghai's small neighborhood stores were, first of all, related to a particular type of residential structure known as the lilong fangzi (literally, alleyway house) or simply as the lilong. This was the single most common type of house in Shanghai; by 1949 almost three-quarters of Shanghai's residential dwellings were lilong houses (Shanghaishi tongjiju 1989:437-38). From the late nineteenth century to the middle of this century "at least 70 to 80 percent of Shanghai people lived in lilong houses" (Jia You 1982:285). The lilong neighborhoods, which spread over every corner of the city, are the setting of our discussion about small stores. The history of the lilong can be traced back to the middle of the nineteenth century when the Small Swords (xiaodaohzli) Uprising (1853-55) and the Taiping Rebellion (1850-64) drove thousands of war refugees to the safety of Shanghai's foreign concessions. Only about 500 Chinese lived in Shanghai's foreign concessions in 1853. This number jumped to 20,000 in 1854 when the Small Swords occupied Shanghai's Chinese City, which was immediately adjacent to the foreign concessions. In 1862, with the Taiping army approaching the area, reportedly 500,000 refugees flooded into the city (Kuai Shixun 1980:347-59). The tide of refugees provided a basis for speculation in real estate. A new design, the lilong, was invented to meet the need for housing. An individual lilong house