UID5538
帖子
阅读权限80
在线时间 小时
精华
威望
日志
相册
注册时间2006-2-27
最后登录1970-1-1
|
The following is a hutong discussion promoted by me on a Chinese history oriented forum:
Me:
As Beijing has been the capital of China for more than 800 years, its1 `( ]3 I& Q% K+ g6 q
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
* C: H; ^( D* h3 c: r7 BBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
$ r6 e1 U; ?4 J* Zcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.# T- r0 q% B+ v) t
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,6 F, Q7 q4 Q* c( Z% [) C# r( r: T
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
* p2 c4 \+ Y3 c- E9 r5 UManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
: J4 D) L1 Z1 m2 E3 u2 R$ b; p4 ]hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
' D4 H a( h( ]' |each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera0 J4 a1 j5 F$ x1 O+ F- _2 i) U- z: r
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is- v7 b( T$ b, X" N2 n
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
: |! M& f, C2 Jdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
$ }8 s% p% E$ @5 m7 i7 W xforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
& g$ w6 X1 S0 O$ X# I" j. |was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great, y$ `, s+ T* w; V
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,5 e9 Z" ^: B- Q: H
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong& c& V0 M0 w! O$ k. M/ f9 y
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
4 ~# v! k1 O3 q0 bof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
$ a" }, n# z) L( x- Q; ?no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are# m( g( S; h2 `1 M6 ?$ p5 T+ ?4 D
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
' Y4 K+ w, B6 r4 [/ k/ Xsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government# O, r/ C, [+ y) j0 o
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
# _7 J' q! m- s$ c/ e4 Gto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
! _$ ?2 Y* G9 W# g, H"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
0 ]$ B @( L0 P) F( athis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are( `0 ^$ m. g1 r% W6 f: b
still living in compact apartment cells, Olympic Games will still be held in Beijing if four-combinations still stand.
Kimchee:
I think it's ashame how historical sights are destroyed due to
& k V, y' t! X/ W"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
& o* R; a4 M0 D" |7 Nmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was3 H; J6 u, g# J3 S2 m& o" @
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
0 e8 \+ Q2 V; I Tparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across4 T6 C) A' ~2 z$ P; K
the street is still there, but I thought it was a crime to do this.
Ashura:
While I do agree and support the perservation of properties of cultural( R, K- B9 C! M( `2 t" [* J
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for1 `1 R: Z2 L, m) l9 I2 N
development.
Hutongs
2 b8 f! v \# g5 u: min the old days were residential area where people actually lived
% ~: ^6 U t2 ~, A# W& O ]3 Pthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
+ o/ k2 }# N1 e; e0 y A0 W1 J3 Oin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
0 |2 e$ N) F9 b! z9 i% F& v7 Yhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you+ q5 I1 f' A' s
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.. m' P5 R* w2 a) b1 a8 j9 m9 Y
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date( P x2 N1 Q3 V/ X3 ?. g# p$ z
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
* `0 f5 ?2 C _/ I9 f9 Vto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
/ F. B' v/ {/ g2 D& F$ m6 ]support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically8 ]2 I3 E% _$ w; I, ]
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
9 R" z+ |. E3 L/ Dlive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
- g& [: N( P z' f7 ^hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the9 E* ]: G/ d- l% i' q: N
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
* y! \- r: x( G1 i, S; b7 f+ o4 pproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
- m0 b- R/ v6 c8 `' k$ n- yrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
6 ?3 X% t6 G* N. dMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
0 o0 P6 q1 G l+ V/ S4 N; W' Vpeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be6 @. C+ a; R: m' F2 b, A
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
% f0 \# j w; d" d' Z1 lmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".% Y& R* c( [, h5 P
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
' n4 r, _! p7 valigned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
' D( \& z; m$ ?! g2 S3 m7 Q9 Q/ cnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image2 E( _: p, ] D+ }0 L
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
! t2 O: Q# {; z7 YHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those" s+ J- |+ q& W0 i1 p" U
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
2 E: Z' K; S0 T8 U2 y. O- hmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some0 C' t& m* B- d0 z9 W
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
6 ?0 C& K0 u$ q* F( p/ Z, n"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all- f4 a* H& Y. R" ~' W5 R
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise3 j# I9 I$ d" `2 L
apartments are the way to go? No.5 b$ z* u _( H
: [) _7 { n' s% f/ e. o3 \8 `
% T0 i: V/ u$ s! Z4 |8 r
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the* ~, `9 ^# f) Q( {! o# W% S
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
& O1 _ v4 X2 u# S* T8 J'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
! K! D0 G: [3 n' R `' S% C! a0 u8 ]no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
- Z2 Q& S& Q( afast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
) k" y* D8 d* [$ o6 N' O) Cresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless; Q8 L7 t) f L9 d% s
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is5 j8 ^0 O! x2 Z+ b' W) j
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
|
|