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, its2 G9 w! m0 Z) Z4 J
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider; n8 ~- t, I( Q# W8 f! a. b
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
2 ~. X/ V( E/ ?/ t# O) acity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.* d1 o. @ f7 S& K. m H
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
{# ^& s3 \' W% n+ X3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
- ?, a5 m9 X- X4 t. r, i& d6 v& vManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
2 |& F1 y- Z( g+ i0 @/ P* \0 Fhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
) f ~' m9 E6 @* u' c8 s: i+ y5 reach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
4 T& e, f& k! Dand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is: ?1 a4 M- \& j6 d0 u2 t" W7 f
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are" c: j& F* C% r2 N3 K
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and5 d5 h% s" B% |! ^* u
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
: s$ m9 b+ W; O' ?% N- _: F) o1 fwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
9 f; h; w: ^* ^6 b5 z$ Limpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,' J& t5 @' _" [2 M/ L* f3 t
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
, U p* F7 t5 f/ {+ }has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
9 ?$ U7 L/ L1 \* Rof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that. A: A8 ^' {+ k, t
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
+ ^# l& b( ^% ~7 e# x* K; Q: ?only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
6 D4 o" b2 y0 q& \3 t$ @sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government( L4 M- B7 z; g0 L" B- R( L @
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
5 h7 C, V Q3 N4 D; Uto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is. x: V, h3 }- w- n- @ @
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,2 d) m* _$ G- y! t$ h
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are. B7 h3 @" _8 x+ V! M
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 to6 [8 L* E# U% v y2 B- l/ m
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make* Q: r. H9 G+ E. l) L' g7 y
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was, C$ j0 d8 |. R) c9 h5 l }8 |
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
. o( j% T$ r$ s! V% F) |parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
+ L n( g; B3 M, i$ E5 |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( J9 m3 P1 \) l' E) I
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for+ C$ c* I9 [/ c
development.
Hutongs
" A/ r; R1 g. E1 r7 h4 t5 sin the old days were residential area where people actually lived
* u& O0 m% L6 e! \' Sthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
6 e/ }. B( _1 E! D" win hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
( f1 E! O1 D/ w$ Ihave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
( t4 q6 l/ N3 z. M) r4 U+ g& Vwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
+ u( y# f9 w8 e, A( U- u( `) dFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date, R8 o4 ~1 U: H) h- ^, c9 v
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used/ w, Y! w" H) w
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses( X8 G2 o8 r! Z" e+ ]
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically5 j4 n- Z8 T# ?$ `/ H% r
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
1 D. d) d1 ]6 y( ?- `1 Klive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,+ T! ?, I3 c, k3 D0 I' R; P ^
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the6 o/ m/ ]% e7 d
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
$ V! x+ h4 F- G1 u9 Z* Q' N8 d1 ^0 [project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be/ h+ @. |9 _* k3 ]9 f! t& z+ a
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
6 ]& h& B! s: _Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
3 \& b0 A5 L/ J' b, v# b6 M: H. x, Ppeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
+ ?( M1 e. |- T. Y0 Q, o, _5 [torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished( P6 ]+ [ ]1 F, P( P% E
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
- b- J- X1 [7 ~# F9 u# ]1 xNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are- \) m" i) w& S* ^: r8 l9 L/ k
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially7 a( I9 f# o* E9 e/ K
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image* q& B; I, {' C d! ^( s
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
1 n* B4 r8 w' d4 oHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
2 ?, K7 {$ [, e% t' |" F! ipeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they" s; W. Z/ X' c" \
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some \" P, u, Z4 f k/ d- Y
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
}' ]4 @8 F1 k( j: C) p"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all. A1 N, \8 ]1 v J
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise3 N! ?' r3 g# A! m! I8 n2 z
apartments are the way to go? No.
- w3 g" J( S- k) s( ~0 h ' H4 D/ r8 @3 q8 K
7 ^/ ? k. S3 e( E+ t" F* z
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the O# } X* c% ^5 J1 v- Y2 z1 c
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
! A# Y/ h9 R) z: Y'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make) H% y, i4 w; l, d0 P
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so% C, f( n1 }( K6 T; f3 N
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
6 @* u( E' ]8 @% {8 G4 b8 q& N; zresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless6 ^4 V9 x; g8 Q5 x4 A4 {
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is- N6 L! u: S" ]4 H- N
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
|
|