Abstract: In a perspective of sociocultural history it is necessary to overcome an inclination of “fragmentization” and avoid some mistaken “authoritarian” ideas in studies on the 1950’s Shanghai, thus making certain achievements in transformations of knowledge and methodology. There should be a series of fresh issues about Shanghai in the 1950’s under the thesis of “new Shanghai in modern China’. It may be an effective way for exploring social culture in the 1950’s Shanghai to discover and restudy those grey memory materials hiding in social grassroots.

Key words: history of social culture, study on 1950&rsquo, s Shanghai, grey memory