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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 2 N& g' e! {& n& W/ karchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider . q6 e" x* |& tBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"7 [1 j( F- @. X7 s" j city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture. , w4 s+ n9 X9 ?: \- n( ?1 CAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,5 v) d& g* E- |. L 3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of) y5 M! i& ~; x Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.

Within + g3 G- ^" Z# {7 f8 w* Lhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among6 h/ B% X8 T; u5 p each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera 9 K0 F1 ]0 J E8 @8 o* nand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is( m y+ q, y) E2 V2 L harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are( u3 o; W/ r! T descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and+ {; I! _/ G% K; \ V/ ] forms of culture emerged in hutong.

I & S5 S* }9 [; r/ R/ y$ t1 owas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great " u; {" U1 k6 U- R4 m+ |impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished, % `: b' V7 [7 ~- h& S* land we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong # D$ M, D3 K7 lhas a history of more than 400 years!

Since 1999, the demolishment 7 P' i. \& m2 Bof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that& K; D' i! D' }$ J no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are( M( r' w: ~8 _! S only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a& P6 R) W4 A6 j: e5 @! ` J! { ` sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government * D1 Q1 k! H5 w+ z1 e% N. j( ~want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move u) w: r+ ?1 g! G5 F( Z. C ? to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is' O& o3 P& ~% C( o& ~ "modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,% _* _4 i* i/ m% O& E C this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are & x2 ^9 a( \" P! ~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% m6 n6 r* r1 A) f- S& r2 L "progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make2 @% r1 K% }2 m/ C, Q+ B. ]& k money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was. U0 D! L7 S! y0 H7 g0 z1 G a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a 7 u6 [' {: ?. ]7 i$ Yparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across " N( z( g9 q; ]4 b0 ?' Gthe 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+ P$ R7 D w- n3 U% S1 B! r importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for 2 ], a+ n* s- L7 y% K2 s/ z [development.

Hutongs " k: j2 d( ]" z. ^in the old days were residential area where people actually lived `2 s+ ~; B# J7 [, W there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions : O+ }" X7 q" n. U# z( V2 Yin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not3 P' s2 i+ h+ A have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you( P$ Z# l* n. p2 K; [4 {0 Q. m will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs. : ^( l1 |$ s$ m4 R4 ^Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date " b/ ^) f3 r, I3 D/ ?to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used : P" u" B# X' q' X5 N8 u3 rto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses ( t& `- i: v3 U0 B/ S' ?support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically 0 \- l: r5 _$ I- [unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to 5 ]8 U; A$ G# Vlive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,. D& \' d' G5 d: A. R4 F. I" q: d hutong is only a tourist attraction.

The best way to find the) c+ V! k5 m- z+ v! K3 r/ I- S balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the# I L$ f+ ~3 ? project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be2 x5 o8 g% \, }2 k; F renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong- w4 `8 G. w& t. n+ p5 g T Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how' r. c# m5 J, d1 ]9 N7 r people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be 9 r( t. J( o6 m- {0 c4 g* C9 etorn down or transformed into something else.

TwinkieDP:

I'm sorry that your cherished7 F' l9 ^; P7 w- Z; \2 B* l! J memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".4 `4 `6 z8 H$ e# ]+ V5 v( R" Y% d+ Z Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are # `5 t1 [2 O R# [4 M) H) X5 haligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially) N& j: C h0 Y7 |0 {: Y3 l6 c1 t. o non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image6 |" Z2 |% J5 z: x! R# p: \$ f of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these; Z! C( ]. u& r+ d6 K Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those ! Q6 ~0 S) I' Tpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they 3 w; [" [- F- p* Amay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some , g9 d. U* H1 \+ O7 S' K% O7 Iof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before; g- _$ ~. W0 _( \( r* w "modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all ! n' O( g9 z" dpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise5 i1 D2 w* ?/ V+ I% F0 [1 i T9 F apartments are the way to go? No. + t5 R: U+ r1 ^) b" E! T% K : t" f, {/ a- G. I& J2 E / |# p- M. j- z. Z9 U

Howard Fu:

I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs.
But the/ d; J: I ^1 w" X7 Q8 f/ t. k situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this ; h$ u2 j; u2 j1 o. F$ C8 i'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make 7 w5 T5 W; [! r9 V3 f! b/ Jno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so" |+ v& `; N- w6 a% u fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant # b5 j- L3 i1 O8 q! E2 j/ Xresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless ( k) Q0 X) v. `4 }( G' P2 M: W7 v3 XBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is! d6 ]4 a. n# h, {! T0 x. [ 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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