Abstract: More than twenty thousand refugees were living in some deposits where coffins with corpses were kept during the period from October 1947 to May 1949 in Shanghai. That was called “Incident of Corpse Deposit”. The townsmen associations denounced refugees as “rogues”. They appealed Shanghai Municipal Government to protect their properties and expel the rogues. Refugees alleged that they were righteous people and asked Shanghai Municipal Government to ensure supplies for their life. Shanghai Municipal Government was in a dilemma. But the government had to pay close attention to the refugees’ livelihood.

Key words: refugee, corpse deposit, rogue, righteous people, modern government