Question

Who were the petty urbanites? What were the problems faced by them?​

Answer 1

THE FOCUS ON PETTY URBANITES’ EVERYDAY LIVES
Liu Shi and his colleagues regularly collected and published petty urbanites’ writings. One of the collections they published in 1936 contained autobiographical writings by urban laborers of various professions. The table of contents displays this variety:
Table of Contents
Everyday lives of factory workers:
  How difficult it was to get this job “fixing damaged cloth”! Qiao Ying (1)
  My first experience being a female factory worker. Qin Xian (7)
   “Next time, you should use a thick stick to beat her!” Gao Xingfang (13)
  The last day I was paid for work. Zhuang Xiaojing (15)
Everyday lives of peasants:
  The everyday life of a temporary peasant worker. Qiao Daqiu (21)
  I fled from the countryside but cannot survive in the city. Kun Yuan (26)
Everyday lives of soldiers:
  My first day in the army. Wang Xie (33)
Everyday lives of street vendors:
  Sitting at ease by my newspaper stand. Wang Rentan (47)
  This is how I learned to read. Anonymous writer (54)
  The autobiography of an assistant debt collector. (60)
  The everyday life of a street vendor. (66)
Everyday lives of boatmen:
  A boatman. A Fu (73)
Everyday lives of shop clerks, apprentices, and interns:
  The autobiography of a female telephone operator. Qian Hua (79)
  From a shop apprentice to an unemployed worker. Li Zhaoyi (87)
  Inside a pawnshop. Jin Manhui (92)
  An apprentice of three shops. Manhui (101)
  The consequences of being a pharmacy assistant for three years. Yuling (108)
  An intern at an electricity company. Kui (117)
Everyday lives of editor-translators, proofreaders, schoolteachers, and students:
  No sunlight [shines] in a proofreader’s life! Wu Mengshu (125)
  The unknown life of an editor and translator. Wen Xuan