102 HANCHAO LU nicknamed"husband and wife stores"(fugi laopo dian)(I-7), similar in meaning to America's"mom and pop stores No matter how obscure these businesses were, tobacco-paper stores enjoyed great popularity among Shanghai people. In the early 1930s, Shanghai had at least 1, 500 such stores(Shanghai fengtu 1932: 31), and"typically every entrance of a lilong has a tobacco-paper store"(Sbebui ribao, August 15, 1936). Their sundry goods were the small items needed by every household: tobacco, cigarettes, matches, needles thread, soap, incense(for religious worship), candles, mosquito coil incense, cooling ointment, envelopes, pencils, rubber erasers, pins, clips, batteries, hairpins, let paper, toothpaste, candies, cookies ry fruits ping-pong balls and paddles, toys, playing cards, kites, calendars, and Chinese New Year's pictures. In fact, the list could be doubled or tripled because many of these were found in these stores(1-7, I-11; Shanghai fengtu 1932 l a publ: n ah layed items had a few selections in each category. These commodities were neatly di on the congested store shelves inside the shop windows and on the walls currency exchange, postal service( stamps and postbox only),an one Tiger Stoves"(laobuzao)and Sesame-Cake Stores Most lilong houses did not have hot water facilities; either the household made hot water itself, using a kettle, or it bought hot water at what Shanghai people called the"tiger stove, "that is, a professional hot-water service that was one of the most common stores in Shanghais residential areas. The hot-water stores not only provided hot water but often became community centers for the neighborhood: they served as teahouses and bathhouses for the residents and were conveniently located next to a snack shop and sometimes a wineshop The laohuzao usually was a small store facing the street or an alleyway. Inside the store a hugh stove (the so-called"tiger stove") heated water twenty-four hours that never closed their doors year around. Every household in the neighborhood was their customer; especially in Shanghai's severe winter, cold weather drove people to the laohuzao and the evening often found a queue in front of the stores Since hot water was in constant supply at the store, placing a few tables and benches next to the"tiger stove, " could establish a simple but convenient teahouse In the evening, by stacking the tables and benches in the corner of the room and placing a few wooden bathtubs and a cotton curtain, the teahouse could be quickly turned into a crude but convenient bathhouse(I-6) Hot-water stores spread all over Shanghai and enjoyed increasing popularity in the Republican period. In 1912, there were 159 hot-water stores in Shanghai, by 1928, 1, 123 stores, and by 1936, well over 2,000(Sheng 1930; Shebui ribao, June 7, 1936). The stores were particularly common in the lilong neighborhoods. The Western-style houses of the city often had heating facilities at home, so the stores were less common in those neighborhoods. In straw-hut shantytowns, the ramshackle condition of the dwellings did not allow building tiger stove"facilities(Lu forthcoming) The teahouse service of these stores deserves some further discussion. The teahouse has long been associated with traditional Chinese urban life. Although the import
102 HANCHAO LU nicknamed "husband and wife stores" (fuqi laopo dian) (I-7), similar in meaning to America's "mom and pop stores." No matter how obscure these businesses were, tobacco-paper stores enjoyed great popularity among Shanghai people. In the eariy 1930s, Shanghai had at least 1,500 such stores (Shanghai fengtu 1932:31), and "typically every entrance of a lilong has a tobacco-paper store" (Shehui ribao, August 15, 1936). Their sundry goods were the small items needed by every household: tobacco, cigarettes, matches, needles, thread, soap, incense (for religious worship), candles, mosquito coil incense, cooling ointment, envelopes, pencils, rubber erasers, pins, paper clips, batteries, hairpins, string, shoelaces, toilet paper, toothpaste, candies, cookies, crackers, dry fruits, ping-pong balls and paddles, toys, playing cards, kites, calendars, and Chinese New Year's pictures. In fact, the list could be doubled or tripled because many of these items had a few selections in each category. These commodities were neatly displayed on the congested store shelves inside the shop windows and on the walls. In addition, currency exchange, postal service (stamps and postbox only), and a public telephone were found in these stores (1-7, I- 1 1; Shanghai fengtu 1932: 3 1). "Tiger Stoves" (Iaohuzao) and Sesame-Cake Stores Most lilong houses did not have hot water facilities; either the household made hot water itself, using a kettle, or it bought hot water at what Shanghai people called the "tiger stove," that is, a professional hot-water service that was one of the most common stores in Shanghai's residential areas. The hot-water stores not only provided hot water but often became community centers for the neighborhood: they served as teahouses and bathhouses for the residents and were conveniently located next to a snack shop and sometimes a wineshop. The laohuzao usually was a small store facing the street or an alleyway. Inside the store a hugh stove (the so-called "tiger stove") heated water twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Perhaps the laohuzao were the only stores in Shanghai that never closed their doors year around. Every household in the neighborhood was their customer; especially in Shanghai's severe winter, cold weather drove people to the laohuzao and the evening often found a queue in front of the stores. Since hot water was in constant supply at the store, placing a few tables and benches next to the "tiger stove," could establish a simple but convenient teahouse. In the evening, by stacking the tables and benches in the corner of the room and placing a few wooden bathtubs and a cotton curtain, the teahouse could be quickly turned into a crude but convenient bathhouse (1-6). Hot-water stores spread all over Shanghai and enjoyed increasing popularity in the Republican period. In 1912, there were 159 hot-water stores in Shanghai, by 1928, 1,123 stores, and by 1936, well over 2,000 (Sheng 1930; Shehui ribao, June 27, 1936). The stores were particularly common in the lilong neighborhoods. The Western-style houses of the city often had heating facilities at home, so the stores were less common in those neighborhoods. In straw-hut shantytowns, the ramshackle condition of the dwellings did not allow building "tiger stove" facilities (Lu forthcoming). The teahouse service of these stores deserves some further discussion. The teahouse has long been associated with traditional Chinese urban life. Although the importance
STORES AND NEIGHBORHOODS IN MODERN SHANGHAI 103 of teahouses varied by location and social group or class, the teahouse is,without doubt, one of the most characteristic features of Chinese culture. In Jiangnan, for example, it is not unusual for a medium-size town with a few thousand households to have close to a hundred teahouses(Fan 1990: 279-83). But in Shanghai, it has long been thought that teahouses were in decline in favor of a great variety of staurants, wineshops, bars, and what might be called refreshment stores with a major restaurants, but uses barely five lines to list teahouses, most of whichhai's national reputation. A 1933 Shanghai guidebook provides a 14-page list of Shanghai's located in Shanghai,s old Chinese city and the downtown areas. According to the editors, "Teahouses in Shanghai are not flourishing"(Shen and Chen 1933: 137) But did teahouses gradually vanish in Shanghai? Was the city thoroughly modernized or"westernized"so that this traditional form of business for refreshment and social contact was discarded? The laohuzao story tells us that the answer is no The teahouse not only survived but, to some extent, enjoyed a special revival. Indeed om the 1940s on, the types of teahouses in Shanghai were increasing, and among them, as one report indicated, were"laohuzao teahouses on small streets, with one or two tables, and their patrons were the working people in the neighborhood (Yang 1991: 237). Up until the 1960s, it was still not difficult to find the laohuzao- teahouse combination in Shanghai's narrow streets and alley ways(I-6, I-9) Another reason for the popularity of hot-water stores was that they were al ways located next to a snack store commonly called a"sesame-cake store"(daibing dian These stores had long service hours daily, usually from 4 A.M. to midnight, and some were open twenty-four hours a day. The major business of the store was to serve breakfast both "sit-in"and"take-out. "The food served in these stores included sesame cakes, fried dough sticks, steam bread, fried bread, glutinous rice cakes noodle soup, wonton(du soup, and soybean milk. All were popular breakfast foods in Shanghai (I-1; Shebui ribao, November 13, 1936). Like other neighborhood stores, each sesame-cake store was originally one or, at the most, two connected living rooms. Although there were tables for customers to sit and eat, most customers felt more comfortable taking the food back home to eat; their homes were usually just a few yards away Everyday from 6A. M. to 8A.M. was the"rush hour"for these stores. Often working people queued up in front of the store, awaiting their turn to buy a fast- food breakfast before rushing off to work. Housewives came and bought sesame cakes, fried sticks, and soybean milk-the three most popular types of breakfast Dod-for their families. In these morning hours the sesame-cake stores were certainly the most crowded stores in the cI d early afternoon were slow times, but from 3 P.M. on, the stores were busy again(I-1, I-12) While sesame-cake stores were busy all year around, the laohuzao had a sle season. But the business of the laohuzao always seemed to match the needs of its customers. Song Aling, a native of Ningbo who had run a laohuzao business for forty years, explained that in summer, when hot water was less in demand, the store was busy with bathhouse business. Part of the store was now turned into a ular bathroom. Behind the"tiger stove"of Songs store was a small room that could scarcely accommodate six wooden bathtubs at the same time. But Song said this was fine with his customers, who were drawn by the cheap price and the onvenience the store provided. Customers paid only six cents for a bath, while the For example, Skinner(1964-65)showed that the peasants of Chengdu(Si to chat in teahouses while Huang(1985: 220-22)found that the teahouse was irrelevant to common peasants on the North China plain
of teahouses varied by location and social group or class,* the teahouse is, without doubt, one of the most characteristic features of Chinese culture. In Jiangnan, for example, it is not unusual for a medium-size town with a few thousand households to have close to a hundred teahouses (Fan 1990:279-83). But in Shanghai, it has long been thought that teahouses were in decline in favor of a great variety of restaurants, wineshops, bars, and what might be called refreshment stores with a national reputation. A 1933 Shanghai guidebook provides a 14-page list of Shanghai's major restaurants, but uses barely five lines to list teahouses, most of which were located in Shanghai's old Chinese city and the downtown areas. According to the editors, "Teahouses in Shanghai are not flourishing" (Shen and Chen 1933: 137). But did teahouses gradually vanish in Shanghai? Was the city thoroughly modernized or "westernized" so that this traditional form of business for refreshment and social contact was discarded? The laohuzao story tells us that the answer is no. The teahouse not only survived but, to some extent, enjoyed a special revival. Indeed, from the 1940s on, the types of teahouses in Shanghai were increasing, and among them, as one report indicated, were "laohuzao teahouses on small streets, with one or two tables, and their patrons were the working people in the neighborhood" (Yang 1991:237). Up until the 1960s, it was still not difficult to find the laohuzaoteahouse combination in Shanghai's narrow streets and alleyways (1-6, 1-9). Another reason for the popularity of hot-water stores was that they were always located next to a snack store commonly called a "sesame-cake store" (daibing didn). These stores had long service hours daily, usually from 4 A.M. to midnight, and some were open twenty-four hours a day. The major business of the store was to serve breakfast, both "sit-in" and "take-out." The food served in these stores included sesame cakes, fried dough sticks, steam bread, fried bread, glutinous rice cakes, noodle soup, wonton (dumpling) soup, and soybean milk. All were popular breakfast foods in Shanghai (1-1; Shehzli ribao, November 13, 1936). Like other neighborhood stores, each sesame-cake store was originally one or, at the most, two connected living rooms. Although there were tables for customers to sit and eat, most customers felt more comfortable taking the food back home to eat; their homes were usually just a few yards away. Everyday from 6 A.M. to 8 A.M. was the "rush hour" for these stores. Often working people queued up in front of the store, awaiting their turn to buy a fastfood breakfast before rushing off to work. Housewives came and bought sesame cakes, fried sticks, and soybean milk-the three most popular types of breakfast food-for their families. In these morning hours the sesame-cake stores were certainly the most crowded stores in the city. Late morning and early afternoon were slow times, but from 3 P.M. on, the stores were busy again (1-1, 1-12). While sesame-cake stores were busy all year around, the laohuzao had a slow season. But the business of the laohuzao always seemed to match the needs of its customers. Song Aling, a native of Ningbo who had run a laohuzao business for forty years, explained that in summer, when hot water was less in demand, the store was busy with bathhouse business. Part of the store was now turned into a popular bathroom. Behind the "tiger stove" of Song's store was a small room that could scarcely accommodate six wooden bathtubs at the same time. But Song said this was fine with his customers, who were drawn by the cheap price and the convenience the store provided. Customers paid only six cents for a bath, while the 4 For example, Skinner (1964-65) showed that the peasants of Chengdu (Sichuan) liked to chat in teahouses while Huang (1985:220-22) found that the teahouse was irrelevant to common peasants on the North China plain