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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! Y" B; L% T: w4 o architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider / ^/ h+ w, h& lBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"' ~3 U8 d5 v9 o7 o. `* J5 R city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.' A* q8 \9 q- U! x According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,( s0 l: ]+ v3 x- T 3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of; L0 C9 e) |2 e3 u* l Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.

Within6 E! O- W" S' s" z* o# F hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among- f. p0 N4 `/ \+ b' } each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera 7 f! G5 T2 l/ Y5 v9 w5 N# s$ wand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is! ^1 [0 I a6 j" x. ^3 D5 L harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are w" e a0 p+ }0 G# Bdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and# x. T+ c0 X( d$ f forms of culture emerged in hutong.

I 4 a& s/ M1 n3 u# [was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great ( S$ [6 y+ D9 d0 X# Y% h6 z' p/ Zimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,5 ^6 X, o8 m( B9 ^0 u3 J and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong/ i* u% Y8 Y0 I has a history of more than 400 years!

Since 1999, the demolishment . a9 R& [" z! n% S3 J! `1 uof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that5 W) K0 _ c$ X/ Q1 c* ?. N/ R9 S no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are 0 l/ @$ F6 S/ k8 d2 P @only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a' z- X1 C4 |9 O sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government ) d0 }" ?7 @; E2 kwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move0 w$ X g* n, f& H( P ?& k to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is5 @5 H, T" S- }8 N% y/ C "modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact, " ~6 d8 ^0 Q9 P& k# T# x- T- |this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are ' ]0 W4 F+ L( J6 w. astill 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 + g$ ~( C/ V+ w- M0 N) U$ u7 M# \"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make ) H8 A4 A' \$ a; W: u$ r$ |( G5 b% w' Wmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was, G9 J* t# B8 {" B) r a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a ( q$ y9 u4 o; kparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across # o' Y1 t2 w+ u! \/ Y A9 J! g3 Tthe 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* N4 F @+ M$ e( C3 |9 x importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for 9 j3 [! m- X3 l$ W3 ?development.

Hutongs: k% h. J) R4 ?" J% [# n in the old days were residential area where people actually lived 0 g6 H, x' T1 o1 Q$ m; z: Othere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions9 d6 v1 B X, U8 l8 S2 F7 A in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not0 y0 I/ T& @7 N& l- R1 d: \- j have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you 9 ]5 W8 n. p. S. B/ c7 Bwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.$ Y F- }$ s% L: @- Z' V2 | Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date5 M- t0 Y" L- \" e to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used ' |0 m9 U: y, l. g9 t y+ l/ o. vto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses" t- ^0 \, _5 L support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically * k, x* C# o" ^, B5 munfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to# P2 j0 s6 z( ]7 |1 i% G( m9 G live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose, 8 }+ g- i/ A- P# n3 G1 bhutong is only a tourist attraction.

The best way to find the ! I1 t, @. }: _+ ~! u wbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the " m2 r, r% L+ s& C% E. }1 b+ w4 l9 Qproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be$ {3 Z* R! H3 U* u* H& o renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong ! Y( @, P) x! W T4 b: i6 S7 bMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how4 V- B) |/ J3 K9 Y people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be 2 a7 n( O) j( ~' ?8 s- o1 b3 n) U' ztorn down or transformed into something else.

TwinkieDP:

I'm sorry that your cherished ) a3 r- S$ X" p$ s: I& rmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress". . f9 |! M4 Z8 T) ~Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are, c& j; {8 f4 X) f/ Y1 n, D% k aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially ) ~9 y: X5 D( U$ Rnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image - ~9 c8 m" `# ]5 Hof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these 2 @' H1 |9 G! ~Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those 5 r4 ]; L m! @& Rpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they0 @3 ^7 z+ V3 J; N may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some2 l" L* \# E0 ~, O' f% U& l of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before 9 a' ~3 V; O2 ~"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all + z. P# v9 F3 K$ v1 a f" qpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise: m* J, @2 B: k3 p apartments are the way to go? No.$ v" O; X3 e- q8 `+ E+ ~ ' b; s( j# |1 X; w' ^/ \% U 3 m- l2 c: V5 ?+ ~

Howard Fu:

I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs.
But the ! _& ^1 {! @* z6 ]5 J4 c0 Ssituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this : [2 @" x- I' F$ k- `" N'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make 1 ~! v( J) c1 H7 T+ b Ono money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so7 h/ u0 L$ W K; }9 h# O" t fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant9 R0 `+ X, ?7 N; p d- v! h resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless# R) g3 X: E- S0 a7 u1 s) Q9 \ Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is) T% f4 l) f; j! J unlikely 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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