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A Hutong Discussion

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发表于 2007-4-24 05:08:00 | 显示全部楼层 |阅读模式
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, its, s8 i4 R) g. g3 W2 X architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider : ^! }* I! {6 T/ u: `' ]( j. |Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian" : |5 V0 k. e* x8 I7 G1 ]) {6 @city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.& ~# W+ S+ h2 J: a% M1 k According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty," |# p" o1 U7 N$ u9 C2 [2 E9 l: |1 X5 i 3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of. Q8 f) A4 a) r! X/ |% Q+ P Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.

Within 1 Y6 D6 ^9 ]+ L3 e% h: h2 \hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among1 l4 a2 J' ]. z9 o# ?( _' @, q; y each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera / R" A8 G+ A d* u" mand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is - y3 `$ Z9 {: [' mharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are" J) q6 Z5 n. S; x descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and# P, X% `% u9 o0 C5 Z% w forms of culture emerged in hutong.

I 2 U. {; Q- k @# Kwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great- p4 H' y2 C m0 ] impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished, 8 T* S8 X" a; }6 g" eand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong& W6 e2 @4 ?, t" {6 ~ has a history of more than 400 years!

Since 1999, the demolishment. w+ b; Z* G5 m- ?9 X2 s4 P; W' i: M of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that ]4 ?% j: x# O1 c6 w: {9 sno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are" y( h3 z0 i G1 | a2 l only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a7 T7 B. E; n0 l& t4 t$ G sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government * |) {% ?! C4 xwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move" w" U* G% ?* Y: c to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is * z0 ]' {+ T g"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact, 7 f3 e& R) ^, k8 |3 K6 gthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are & B. i6 Q" D9 W9 {- E" H' F( Ustill 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 ' Z0 ]% Z" S& Q"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make + b. d9 H, [* r U) P* C1 l7 b) umoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was 0 V8 h& S. R2 U9 l: ^, d% Ia beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a 1 O8 z* a' W# t- H9 J& A4 [parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across 6 v! [ ]0 X0 w% O' T3 i& Kthe 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 ; W+ B* K h# Z0 \$ K4 Z. _importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for4 A: i/ \5 u4 p+ x development.

Hutongs+ G9 g& {0 H7 y in the old days were residential area where people actually lived 6 P( r+ u. M0 X; u3 r; Dthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions) q, [0 T; }- Y in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not. {$ {0 e! q9 r/ s( ]3 Y' w have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you 8 y9 n8 |7 b' s w' pwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs. # W$ [1 Z% V! r9 i, X) Y H7 qFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date* b% l4 f* c4 Z& E to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used; B9 ^# k/ d2 b6 e to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses 9 E3 S- c# ~ G y8 [5 isupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically+ W7 t" q0 ]3 A: N9 G" L* k" f/ S unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to: v& ~" E, [: K7 h live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,6 ]" h3 l3 k) f6 Q' K! s+ S9 q hutong is only a tourist attraction.

The best way to find the 7 }* k3 n7 }" d$ ?2 P0 Y4 p2 d Ebalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the$ g4 n) o0 V) Y3 v) ~ project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be $ f" g- n! s( I5 nrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong3 K2 C) ~/ A, Q O4 u( A1 _ Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how# E6 P4 _% N4 F `& ]5 ^ people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be * I9 m! }* b$ Ntorn down or transformed into something else.

TwinkieDP:

I'm sorry that your cherished, N" e h2 O$ e$ k3 M" } memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress". / u+ L M( G, y. d9 d' jNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are * ?6 p+ A0 |, `' I8 Daligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially. j3 [6 i" {7 x# X' P- `- V: [( k non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image, b% V# N1 u8 k: }% x7 Y4 R of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these( m% e& L/ ^6 D4 p! i. f+ e) b% l Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those j- i6 P: B, N4 s. ]people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they : W# [2 a/ I& D5 \! g5 d' X* ~may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some, w" f e6 a! R% a, J: R& } of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before, f: y3 Y3 r. I "modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all 3 l `+ S0 H6 g' f# b# w" }7 r* Tpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise: X4 D- C) h$ L. a6 }, K x1 k; ? apartments are the way to go? No.% x$ F6 Q& R7 A+ _3 ?/ L1 r6 M ; {2 X, H7 y% {2 x ' M B7 q; E6 j' v% A+ G/ R& V3 \

Howard Fu:

I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs.
But the$ V! r3 r2 ^1 P* F5 t/ I situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this- b8 S' M% T/ l; ^3 L 'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make2 C0 b8 N4 l& G$ j/ ]2 Q! A no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so ) X4 T: \5 D1 Hfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant. w6 H; e6 k4 N) s8 g: @4 p resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless, _; l: M* O! B c Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is ( i- q! ?5 X1 N: Funlikely to happen too. Sad!
发表于 2007-5-22 20:37:00 | 显示全部楼层
Excuse me. May I use ur discussion in my dissertation about Beijing Conservation?
Thx a lot!!
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