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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& X0 f) U8 w. p% U. h) s architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider 9 i" T' Q: I/ k. e+ O' RBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian" 3 n Z8 t& B2 q& H: i9 C Ocity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture. " M) B& n3 b1 U' @According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,) q3 t; a& D! G 3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of 8 m2 ]2 M! g6 |1 hManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.

Within3 Y# S% ~. z. _$ n' ]8 O hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among( U: B1 j* Y' B2 h! ~+ X each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera ! f5 G M/ |% D( N+ G4 C/ b+ ]and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is - |# Q/ Q) p2 y4 ~0 ?- G" g( [harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are4 Z7 B( N/ C! T9 R5 ^9 k descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and 1 D( [& u7 t7 `* R3 v7 E" dforms of culture emerged in hutong.

I4 H6 k$ v4 A' I5 u. ? C was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great& p+ T" O) [9 N7 T% } impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished, 3 O" A& Q v) {6 p+ Nand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong* A" |' s$ ~ L* v2 q has a history of more than 400 years!

Since 1999, the demolishment - n% y3 x) @ eof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that( i9 q- Y/ m8 K no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are 0 L) H. j+ `* v$ L1 C% honly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a( l, v2 `& A2 ]4 G sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government# q0 E; F- V! f+ w; m6 `7 V5 @; [) s want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move 8 z# z$ u2 s/ E9 s6 l3 U# }8 ~to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is! Q- Q1 y. u7 d "modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,0 F% K2 M' c4 B& |2 q this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are1 p/ w+ P. Y: w; C5 Y 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 to3 c! }. y& f1 U" A* M. @, f "progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make : l% Z7 I" ]( j- g w. f" Umoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was! C7 }; e3 E4 l+ n$ E# i3 q a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a* Z! R. C8 D5 f5 c D' g0 G/ n parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across: @7 e( Q" s! P. e. `$ ~1 [ 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 ; o3 D8 y9 x1 P: i% {importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for " p3 C% g% i: |3 Gdevelopment.

Hutongs( }0 x- N: x* `# X% E in the old days were residential area where people actually lived . j5 s. r# @/ _there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions" R$ [; p6 h/ G7 U- q4 H in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not 5 n0 T' I& }7 \& ~% b4 z5 ?% _0 Xhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you : r' k* M* ?# `2 R! Y% uwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs. . J1 `7 g4 _7 S2 T7 N9 MFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date3 g( n0 g$ A8 Z% T) |( j% T to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used 0 i ^, z: @; O0 l5 Fto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses& ^. f; b% `, U9 m& e support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically & u# x1 S3 h E/ _$ x/ zunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to ' k) R% `% Z7 B, a% P9 m5 [/ e Zlive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,/ g* I( q2 H- P5 |2 d8 {4 r. s2 k d hutong is only a tourist attraction.

The best way to find the 4 o$ N+ j$ V$ O/ x6 Z2 z7 e7 mbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the6 O6 n6 a- _& k project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be# W+ F: Z" q- s' h9 V8 X- X- P; Y renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong# H' h; N% x) v8 r1 A8 i5 X Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how" X: M* s2 g3 ^$ C/ Y1 U0 c people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be , c* ?8 m% E/ \' l; [& Itorn down or transformed into something else.

TwinkieDP:

I'm sorry that your cherished' f" s3 Z* k3 ?5 r* ]3 T memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress". % A5 U$ [" l0 y& zNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are J" [/ r6 O5 Y# J6 V. G* F3 haligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially7 T8 |( P6 M/ z4 I1 L% i4 O non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image . P$ ]8 K" G5 Z, w" K0 Aof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these . u. {* W/ I6 D# y: @3 A3 K) \3 RHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those / D; U* B* B$ Z4 `8 Z Jpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they7 p5 A) h3 b/ g6 \ may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some " }: m `0 k/ Z) o' e6 Pof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before # [+ o0 \" j& m5 y"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all+ |+ p/ }4 m4 u7 J# @9 G people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise 9 S$ s6 [" H! ~; M% Kapartments are the way to go? No. : v2 H/ s2 R/ Q, U I , h3 C# l1 g" U( P3 E2 I # N1 v5 e) X0 V! _" K: f

Howard Fu:

I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs.
But the - a+ R# s) z) k9 _$ jsituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this ) \/ a/ U1 b$ |'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make + w( `0 J$ K) f- m Pno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so6 A( f4 y4 M% F! v, N% m# o fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant 7 i- M$ u. H1 I* E7 f( oresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless & O! k, B1 q) t1 }0 HBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is4 W+ D2 ~1 f: B2 r. J0 Y3 }3 K 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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