UID5538
帖子
阅读权限80
在线时间 小时
精华
威望
日志
相册
注册时间2006-2-27
最后登录1970-1-1
|
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
$ k6 Z3 E% {( ^9 r1 y4 \architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider; u( Z9 W3 ^2 O) \* \1 V
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
7 Y- A2 z" j& m5 s1 W% Zcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.5 H, {/ ?$ |0 B$ Y$ H2 r( _# \
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
0 Q9 K/ L# o/ o( U: q3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of: h9 V9 A! v7 h6 S3 O5 H; A8 g% L
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
! I3 v, ^1 w' _2 n6 ^hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
# Y. a( r9 u. ?8 J7 E! a' Jeach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
* F$ @ Y2 N% O8 m# r# pand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is- C5 V2 a0 m: b! B2 i
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
: `. @+ Z5 f/ Kdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and3 Y7 k) x* S% J
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
" k3 _" w# \, W7 w! X7 B2 s7 E; d3 xwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
3 }3 C( i3 B0 j0 r: J. p# L* X/ limpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,# w- j% G0 O* Q" O
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
+ X# \* \- x1 n$ Q& rhas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment- P- ~, m1 ?( A. _. @: y
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
. r, o8 L& c! ~, Y1 V: s1 }. Gno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
3 M# G% B( }$ X; E4 J3 l) H( M, [2 A. ?only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a% k* e% {# E, R* J* u
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government$ P9 C9 l) s; P7 }, A
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move) v$ d8 _( @" j6 o) e' H
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is3 p2 ^! _1 n* R* b, u/ @! }
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,* \- f0 R2 r; B$ Z
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are3 w/ w. J) B) v/ w9 K+ [
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
3 ?% l' \+ q# f9 k; W, G"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make7 w& o$ C0 s; Q/ t# g0 K
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was" w2 C# }' i8 U0 ^
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a% c/ z. l, ]2 w% Y5 [0 ?! d3 K
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
% [& j) H: B- @* Uthe 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
; r" y- Z( L3 m1 d7 W. _3 ]importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
# }6 P8 _+ K6 r& W% b$ A4 h1 ~development.
Hutongs5 ?( R+ M- L% {( Q
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived0 Q2 f0 T I' s- M- ^; ^3 {3 n, O
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
3 j; d+ k0 a! h5 I7 O+ din hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
# h. T' y3 L' p5 [7 f( X* Q( yhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you( B: |4 I1 o* K6 z9 k3 D' ^2 o" s
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.0 I y$ a! ?- ]! n0 u; p4 X! d7 c
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date" N* a: r. x- t% ]6 C: N
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used1 d) F! e0 ^$ _4 Q/ N: `% U
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses3 D0 J3 `0 f1 D) x2 ^ P% w
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
5 }) X2 d9 X* M; ]" T& zunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to: M; p" J! O3 h
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
' Q5 j& S6 P5 e3 d+ a* @8 t$ ]; uhutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
* S% U/ `0 K2 k* Ubalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
9 g* q" ~5 E5 A2 u/ a2 cproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
, K9 f* u5 D7 q; trenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
% L) A9 \& y8 K9 i7 X# {Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how1 o; A. m3 ], [! l' t- B- R% m Y
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be1 \) i# ~* d, x/ l$ C3 u
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished2 I9 ^% Y! Y2 D, I
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
5 H8 \$ c! w. g$ @* e: CNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are1 L% e6 J! ]8 Z; h- k7 B" ~ b
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially9 f' F( l( N" a1 l& t5 p
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image& @1 {" g5 h: L t
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
& O! u% U" \" t# R; |7 G/ ZHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
6 s, f5 X; [, e: I' m; y* W" H, {people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
% y, r& e% C% ?# ?$ Hmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
, Q+ x1 J- j% ]8 tof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before# F; L( b0 @ k1 g8 H* J9 [/ f4 }
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all' r3 [3 \" R" b0 T+ q' \
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise1 p) @+ r7 r4 Y
apartments are the way to go? No.
. z: p4 z8 [& C1 O% Y5 ]2 O1 R: d ! D0 Z6 H- z. @
, B2 N, p0 K! T% S
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
- d+ D1 l& r# R6 l& u8 t2 X; n! v' Xsituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
8 Z( h+ I# R/ H9 m0 `'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make9 S y+ l* M6 X5 L" e# E: U1 e
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so; z2 v: T2 ~6 O S- w9 e6 }5 X- T9 {
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant8 p6 i2 {* x+ f: e1 V) g
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
( }5 A2 J7 W/ u2 L: d! @# sBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
2 J7 a9 b4 y2 A$ A7 q- i; m0 Sunlikely to happen too. Sad!
|
|