In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

1 The Common People in Hong Kong History: Their Livelihood and Aspirations Until the 1930s David Faure Several theme s recu r frequentl y i n th e writin g o f Hon g Kong' s history . G. B . Endacot t bega n wit h governmen t policies , Jame s Haye s continue d with th e history o f th e people o f th e New Territories , Elizabet h Sin n an d Carl Smith described the elites, and now Ming K. Chan and Tsai Jungfan g have started on the history of the working classes.1 In this chapter, I would like t o blu r th e difference s an d loo k fo r a common experience ; on e tha t despite incom e difference s stretche d acros s class , an d despit e dialec t differences reache d beyond the ethnic identity. I am tempted to think that it might b e characterize d a s the experienc e o f urbanization , th e mov e fro m village to city an d the change in lifestyle an d worldview tha t such a move might imply . Fo r muc h o f Hon g Kong' s history , th e commo n peopl e o f Hong Kon g have been predominantly peopl e who moved int o the city, o r who were descended no more than a generation from people who had done so. Concentrating o n the 1880 s to the 1930s , I would like to sho w i n thi s chapter ho w i n th e time o f just ove r a generation, th e common peopl e o f Hong Kong came into their own and fostered a character that became very much recognized as part of Hong Kong itself. 10 DAVI D FAUR E Houses The Chadwick Report The Chadwick Report, 1882 , is a useful startin g point for its clear exposition of the layout o f Chinese houses in Hong Kong . It described suc h subject s as house construction an d drainage , formation o f streets , public sewer s o r drains, water supply, scavenging and the removal of nightsoil. It commented on the defects of existing arrangements, and it concluded with a short section on village houses in Kowloon.2 The house s wer e no t congeste d b y th e standard s tha t Hon g Kon g became used to. In four houses Osbert Chadwick went into in Taipingshan Street, h e counte d abou t 1 0 t o 1 1 peopl e i n eac h basemen t tha t wa s occupied, an d betwee n 1 4 and 2 0 people o n th e secon d floor. Wher e th e ground floor was not used as a shop, it housed up to 30 people. Chadwic k calculated ho w muc h spac e eac h perso n occupie d i n cubi c measures , an d he found that in these four houses, each person might have been given 300 to 400 cubic feet. If we assume that the ceiling was 10 feet, and a substantial amount o f spac e must b e subtracte d fro m th e overal l averag e t o make u p the corridors and the kitchens, the bedrooms occupied by these inhabitants would have conformed t o his description: In the house in Kai-ming Lane, like the great majority of dwelling-houses, the upper floor is divided off by board partitions into cabins about 9 feet long and 10 feet wide. Each of these forms the dwelling of an individual family. These cabins do not extend to the full heigh t of the storey. On the contrary they are but about 7 feet 8 inches high; for in order further to economise space a platform or floor, locally known as a "cockloft," is constructed abov e them. The cockloft i s almost universal in dwellings of the middle and poorer classes. In thi s hous e i n th e uppe r floor onl y ther e wer e fiv e familie s including 16 souls. There were here three cabins and a platform extending over them, and over the passage. Hence the total cubic space per head was 437-1/ 2 cubi c feet , an d thi s include s th e whol e domesti c accommodation, with the exception of...

Share