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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 9 ?7 G$ W o4 p! ]- d3 [architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider 1 N0 L6 o& Q; d0 y" i' K) k. ]Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"& G- R1 ~% E. a) [& Z1 e! } city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.+ R6 V- A8 S4 L$ g4 f1 p0 }( L According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,% I, ]$ U* T# u5 c! m- w% F/ e. H 3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of' e* \: d- x' X Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.

Within 7 b9 e! D3 [# Y6 O; Ghutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among4 w) G+ i: P0 H- O8 R each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera0 y; D, n f- H3 N2 L and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is ' ]- g. g+ W1 Q* T( Eharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are2 s1 v+ R( |* o/ E: N) Z+ r% s descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and $ u/ d9 Q' i! t) [! I% {) t8 I$ r5 Lforms of culture emerged in hutong.

I 4 q- X4 \) U- U3 _* c' |was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great ) q; Q! ~. T9 r% J/ n2 v b% timpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished, $ p0 I+ Y. r, u) q& Vand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong 8 H1 L# [4 [7 f# M6 F l/ `has a history of more than 400 years!

Since 1999, the demolishment4 G ~9 D9 B7 i& O( a of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that& P' a' n9 ^1 z: v0 S no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are 9 h' p0 J- D5 c4 F: W7 p& Uonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a$ O2 d; U1 L9 L3 P% K sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government 0 }& Q G& f& Qwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move - y3 L$ b$ p3 i0 s6 i, l' Oto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is# s& C" G" {) x% q "modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,1 A4 O! i/ p( g( r3 Y this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are 4 n) z+ W0 m1 z6 i$ H3 g& E8 Fstill 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' B1 z3 ~/ [. t' n0 b3 w "progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make6 \0 P' f7 q* Y6 P: z: x money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was P @# k0 F; g! D- d) V* p5 N& _ a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a- e; S6 `) C+ L* h0 z" X3 R/ g parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across ' l+ J" P$ G: r. w7 U- n! J& rthe 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; ~! G' |6 e `7 s importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for & U( o/ I8 X6 _* fdevelopment.

Hutongs9 b, W- }( l/ m$ r in the old days were residential area where people actually lived G" @* U ~- b# P- ~ there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions " W' Q' `0 {; f% Rin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not 8 s: f! z0 Q/ |have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you: \; w6 C5 y# s1 O$ A( W& a will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs. + P% D$ F- a, rFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date 3 J8 ?* p0 M$ `5 ` ?" @to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used 3 n: }% p; w+ m- s9 I9 oto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses ; X# i: I; u/ b) s( K- Y+ R O. N( k Csupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically& l3 \, ~0 F' ]2 T7 U, b. p unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to 1 X) m" K8 ]( \, v4 Nlive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose, 2 s7 U1 F9 t! o8 S5 y( B" rhutong is only a tourist attraction.

The best way to find the! W0 w7 l/ M% W7 v balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the ' z2 t T' ^. E- Uproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be% R2 }7 S$ H$ t( Z v; N5 P renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong . Z' K4 F% c( Z Y) RMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how ! S7 W1 Y. ]" V2 r+ m3 ^; F2 Qpeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be 8 ~. Z% G1 O$ P2 W3 W1 btorn down or transformed into something else.

TwinkieDP:

I'm sorry that your cherished e: R% B ]; Y9 e- M6 b1 c memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress". % Q, L- G# e. g' p- D2 U C7 {) sNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are6 ]! L9 @# S) Y aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially8 U1 {+ k9 v2 K6 B6 P# g4 N- _1 w non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image ; k% h! {6 U# y+ f- i. m1 t4 pof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these U& v+ {, H7 [# \" O Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those . Y# r H' l3 x* X/ d; O( w6 mpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they 1 R9 @* \- z, q9 ^+ Emay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some2 x* L0 N; i' I/ [/ x0 U2 C of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before + c" f% s4 z+ x- b1 N! O2 J"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all / |8 Y8 q4 U9 Q1 B0 Fpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise! r2 ]3 i' x, H8 H/ F' R" Y apartments are the way to go? No. X I1 u! n) H0 ~6 O4 g * p, p3 J% F S2 s W8 G% r : R1 k* `" G' ^; p( G

Howard Fu:

I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs.
But the & J; n, u- b- D& e; n$ I7 Csituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this % G5 P4 P. L& U, h) }: N) ]( H% `'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make- T6 H( l9 ?6 r# ]) Z5 B$ r no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so' }9 S5 Q! G9 o* f- ~ fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant1 t1 L& \# E8 u resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless * d4 h; q- G4 y: bBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is( a. B0 G( V" ^3 {+ q9 }5 u* M 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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