服务器里的北京 - 老北京网

 找回密码
 注册老北京网
查看: 6481|回复: 1

A Hutong Discussion

[复制链接]
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/ F8 e3 x7 Z architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider4 O/ H# x' x& ?% ^ Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"7 d l# s5 v1 K H. G. C7 ^ city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.1 J5 ]9 i; n( m% m* M( A+ Q According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty, # S/ ?. E6 T2 ^8 V$ G2 U; C3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of8 y9 Q+ L5 X e( d Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.

Within/ B; f) ~5 B& u$ p# B hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among / \3 j" S! @; W3 e$ F" Teach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera8 ^4 O, V: Z$ T1 A; h+ S and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is ! w1 I4 F) c3 Dharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are! q- ~' x# C$ z0 c descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and ; Q) b( Z( B4 Y- W' Bforms of culture emerged in hutong.

I ' ?2 b5 _/ B* Ewas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great # m5 m; ~- O/ M& Q; Zimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished, - k" `2 r8 f+ |9 S: {! D. ~and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong; p7 H- W6 T0 q has a history of more than 400 years!

Since 1999, the demolishment $ K% R# x A) Z) B( {of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that $ G% j; c+ Z v( ~% Uno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are 1 t) u5 b4 x: konly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a9 T$ M6 M' `. z% J" l* g5 v( p sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government7 z2 [, Y# W! _& T o C want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move4 d7 w, S. s( q3 `: T* V to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is 0 S5 o$ [1 y6 z q1 w6 Z: z"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,8 j3 }% u7 K* l this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are) U3 q& X, M- m- z 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- `4 G+ U& p9 a$ y: c5 o- y/ Z "progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make 4 [9 W% E! `; S6 W8 c- m: F! Pmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was/ q+ |7 w4 @ w. B2 G7 f7 c7 b a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a8 N+ n- g0 r1 f7 J B parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across 6 G5 j3 y5 O/ Z2 f/ g/ x Bthe 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 cultural6 D, j3 q1 M# Q importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for 9 m# U2 ^: g5 L0 C6 P0 Bdevelopment.

Hutongs U: j5 g# Z# ]5 W9 o* Z% ` in the old days were residential area where people actually lived 4 d) p+ r. s) Fthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions 7 y) h% z+ s6 C. D! p& e+ m3 tin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not ( b+ `9 R. ]" W" Q: u) f; Bhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you, S n& A0 \+ t- F6 y& g/ _ will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs. " q7 {) E3 ?5 @3 ?; R% P0 D9 xFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date I2 H& A& t. w1 A to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used- U/ I |1 s. q7 t$ L' v" y to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses , a1 q1 B' Z4 N x( ssupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically& B1 M* r" r# W' Y- m unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to , @* J9 ~; o N; tlive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose, 9 I2 d3 [$ N o8 J7 q- ]hutong is only a tourist attraction.

The best way to find the# k: h2 u7 Q8 G U) U1 D. ^/ M3 `- ^ balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the 2 F( Z7 q# Z4 Sproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be U; W" e4 E& U7 }5 S renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong: _, k5 Y: a8 N i; v Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how & w, Z5 G$ K4 C! wpeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be 4 M) N- O) P3 H2 I7 B Z1 Ttorn down or transformed into something else.

TwinkieDP:

I'm sorry that your cherished- U8 \) u; a: t: j3 X memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress". % j) ^$ f, {' Q& \. k3 qNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are % o1 c2 B5 j+ X% T b* saligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially2 Q$ Q6 O3 y' ~1 Y9 S. H, ]& M' R non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image- g- f% v! L" m9 T of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these8 T1 B. o: O& L) Q0 r& Q Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those 3 n! _( j" r) \3 zpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they( J1 i! s9 _ P# x$ V$ O" a3 x8 M4 m may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some 4 t+ B9 y2 r X3 c! yof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before , K( c; O" i W0 J2 Z5 j9 y"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all O( W, F& A* d8 N7 ]1 t8 o people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise$ W7 U0 t5 q% U apartments are the way to go? No. ( G$ O* T; x7 t4 }. A! f3 e2 Z7 P $ |0 V. Y: m# f- `$ |9 L ' A- H3 J/ G4 ]& D; X

Howard Fu:

I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs.
But the ( u1 ^9 A6 p3 fsituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this ) r) l+ d; g: P1 X0 q* |1 ?" w'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make % i9 W. |7 w0 x- e3 _no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so 3 b9 q% z; b# W# C8 v, Lfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant 6 D1 D F* [( D4 V, f2 y: k$ F! cresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless* W7 a0 G3 V, U Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is/ l. o; ]! w& ^! y2 Z1 g1 _ 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!!
您需要登录后才可以回帖 登录 | 注册老北京网

本版积分规则

2000.11.1,老北京网自创办之日起,已经运行了 | 老北京网

GMT+8, 2026-1-17 11:24 , Processed in 0.133436 second(s), 17 queries .

道义 良知 责任 担当

CopyRight © 2000-2022 oldbeijing Inc. All Rights Reserved.

返回顶部