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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 ; p& _5 a: ]8 h( H7 marchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider ) i0 e" Q8 ~8 w7 j% U: V3 H0 _2 TBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"' [* t) `% {, M* ]2 Q) b% l city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.' [8 E) n; S- ?. t: ]+ P According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty, , R t0 N; N6 Q0 H/ w; q: M. I3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of M% r3 A5 O, c# C6 GManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.

Within . v2 P' D2 y- V& Z" L7 F' q: hhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among 6 s- ^# z/ [' t0 W* d9 Seach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera1 T! l* G) \' H* y$ f and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is 5 M- W9 N% j3 d9 o/ t/ {9 q! X) Aharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are . d' Y5 y5 Y$ Ddescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and 9 ~$ E' ~8 e$ z, u$ ^# N* C- \- Nforms of culture emerged in hutong.

I/ }! L& n6 U+ T9 D was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great - H, F7 F+ F% Simpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,7 e x( q" D1 _) o! x and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong 5 o' H4 E4 |( X8 i9 l# rhas a history of more than 400 years!

Since 1999, the demolishment T- i2 t$ Y' J+ `( x; ] of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that - }" ^ C1 e6 ?/ J0 h1 q) nno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are $ k* C2 W D3 fonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a3 B8 Z* m3 L* D+ z$ l; x9 L z sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government # m* |8 ^3 l2 Cwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move% U$ w' q+ Z! m- U" q7 ~ to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is& _) [1 }4 O. p5 l+ y* P "modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact, ! h/ C, d7 Z' }% j( n' F1 |- athis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are6 ^# b3 o7 i' |4 `/ s6 o& z- n5 t 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 , t/ B. {7 J y, [- [" D$ B"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make ) f, n5 Z |2 x6 L" ?money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was # z! {! q/ O" `' Ma beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a - ^' B5 d4 d4 f' ^parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across- O, D0 b u H( p( e; F 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- c; f" `- Z! _( Q& ?6 U8 I; H importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for9 D8 t* s3 r+ D& Y development.

Hutongs4 r! S; k% N) R7 \: c. s4 Z# r. n in the old days were residential area where people actually lived% \, ^% \' G1 U there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions. g+ p3 ?6 {3 I5 k( |0 z& ` in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not 7 R: b& Y; e* `. shave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you 9 c$ U7 _" ?0 R) Jwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs. ( j* k8 P5 l3 D) ?' ]& A( }" bFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date ; {/ x) @1 C) w' I. q2 k5 @8 c- eto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used7 R6 I: T3 m! J- u8 J* k to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses * M3 W6 Z0 R$ d5 }# S0 b" L( qsupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically 5 A2 n+ f% W) ]3 a% s& bunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to : [' t* t) L! ?7 B, U6 I- `/ t( \live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose, 3 {" k' q+ x/ {+ ~* Thutong is only a tourist attraction.

The best way to find the , O/ V1 O) b* E3 _, n; O7 z/ U4 Xbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the " d4 n/ d, y$ ]project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be 7 l9 p: W/ P* ~- m4 irenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong- i5 ]8 E% [1 d9 m. c) I% n8 J Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how ) O' F# M' }0 w# H( z# k* Bpeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be 2 d5 R' B, N; ]torn down or transformed into something else.

TwinkieDP:

I'm sorry that your cherished( a0 D6 O. G. F# p, ~- W, u memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".6 X% v( A6 Q |6 S3 E Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are' U) a1 u7 i7 y5 m. {9 o aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially # Z3 w$ c% m3 y* r; ~! |non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image . y' ]& r* T9 @0 H& r: i, Yof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these 7 _9 Q4 e9 w$ RHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those' r0 A6 v7 r; s people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they ; u) T+ T) }7 \( Amay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some, L, d2 ?4 l4 S/ r+ `1 d+ d of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before' m$ T5 j. D1 X7 {3 g, N* j "modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all " c5 w& b; Q: q; X: u* Q. Wpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise; ?7 X/ c; |9 s, c. H& H5 q apartments are the way to go? No.! ~1 p% j9 I! k( `& a/ |% n9 A! A1 j R/ l' j% {- A) f 3 ]# p+ {* q6 B, s

Howard Fu:

I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs.
But the - }, N& I3 v: L1 ~) I* i1 [* lsituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this1 n1 w6 O3 X ~. l8 V+ p 'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make & w& }. s9 v O. E& Lno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so , A' n: g' M( k& t4 W3 w* C) u* Xfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant: K8 i, h9 \. V. p resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless 6 j6 H- ~) V3 ]: GBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is 1 z$ w3 ^& \9 ~. ]5 J' Runlikely 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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