I was really fortunate. Ten years in Shanghai during World War II, and always blessed with a WC. Most households had to use chamber pots (see attached). In the morning hand-pushed carts came through the streets and this is where housewives or servants emptied the pots. They were then cleaned with bamboo brushes, the residue being poured into the gutter. The brushes created a very familiar sound.
The US Fourth Marines, stationed in Shanghai after the war, created a medal inscribed "Battle of the Honeycarts"!
On my last trip to Shanghai, a few years ago, I still saw a lot of the familiar pots.
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