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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' S: v% A9 Y. J& b architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider" u% a( V5 J) y6 ` Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian" 8 G6 z/ l1 m% m4 g: ?city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture. 1 P) @. w) l, h, s; A6 j1 r+ xAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty, : B4 D* q Y) |3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of& S8 h9 T! @7 c Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.

Within f- e7 J* M+ A- E) D hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among ' S$ d& r: i, k, i2 }" _each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera 7 n) d* [$ y2 ]( f/ p7 J; B; q& jand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is: b) v/ r5 X5 b3 H7 }& ^/ ]( z harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are # E1 ]& F- F4 B& ndescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and. ?4 ^ |/ S$ Q" L7 w$ ]2 D" C- m/ S forms of culture emerged in hutong.

I# q. \% c y$ ^% R3 ^6 G! X was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great" R/ b4 |; i9 _' s2 V/ b7 R: v& H/ C. C impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,+ B$ F8 I9 x5 w% L- ] a( j% u and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong % p" z: I3 T9 G, \! {3 a% J# {, u! Dhas a history of more than 400 years!

Since 1999, the demolishment5 D0 X! n6 V: [- M/ Z. @ of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that. y, y6 B u% J. q no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are ; s6 O0 L+ O3 D; Zonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a , F0 ?" m. u9 c. ~) esort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government ( h9 a( h9 \" K# `3 J# w5 U: gwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move4 V) P0 B) z" @0 Y7 [: G! U! b! A to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is) u* o! @; f& i "modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact, # h6 C/ y% N2 b4 G Lthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are; ]7 J( I: x" U% x5 Q 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 ( z0 C( h& j0 S: ?"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make : V5 X* U5 ?0 j: `' R' m. Bmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was ' H3 i1 T* y& }. M; Ea beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a. R. d a# {3 ^ @- b, I parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across ) a7 {' L: s/ @4 r9 w* 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 cultural* {4 y: ?- g' P' b importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for * h2 ~. I. g! K: k* e( m- _% adevelopment.

Hutongs 8 J% j; f/ n# Oin the old days were residential area where people actually lived : P& a* q8 A' H4 k& E& n2 athere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions3 h5 b- l k8 w0 z2 e: L in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not5 A) n- {/ {, q$ {8 w2 f- g have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you$ m' F p% K1 [ will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs. 9 u/ t5 R+ ^6 @/ y: ?7 _6 y4 v' UFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date; o6 L/ O7 H+ o4 Y. W to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used& }+ p1 F! C: I; c3 P3 M to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses) ]2 _, l. m* K. o/ J: k3 K support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically 0 a+ e! `1 A0 }. I6 w/ wunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to . @0 {) G1 ?- K Llive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,% w! n" F; Q$ B4 h% a% l hutong is only a tourist attraction.

The best way to find the $ k7 @- Q- z, w4 l E9 r$ N4 cbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the " [& |7 |5 i# V4 X" A" b6 I5 tproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be3 w* c0 m6 |- A0 V. s( ^4 v: Z) C renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong * P, _6 C( c: U# T xMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how6 @6 N# n; P) J! l! \$ g people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be & q) E+ y3 C: Q& @$ Y* t4 _" qtorn down or transformed into something else.

TwinkieDP:

I'm sorry that your cherished * c* w+ y; g+ k0 z9 Amemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress". , r1 V9 C# ]% J) _Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are % z& J3 c! o8 O5 V+ K( _aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially 7 d- u( h; k& i: \non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image ^+ D! d4 o$ ^& W, C, V& R9 K of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these* M0 E: p) F2 |/ O8 Y$ f6 { Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those " C$ @* ?# \! K$ Z, J; ppeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they " \- X' L, R8 j$ N& }may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some e4 A( R7 Z5 T: j( X5 d' {/ D9 mof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before ; H4 T" D5 y0 v Q/ X- T# p$ }. Z9 B"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all4 T- Q' o: y6 M) a/ ?; K* F9 { people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise- Q9 ~6 S1 ^3 W: ? apartments are the way to go? No. ; o0 `" _5 d/ l( n9 r # C. T% g3 n4 u. p: j7 G) M : N0 {0 y* h! ~2 G& a w5 u. m

Howard Fu:

I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs.
But the) h. c( m. a0 ?* y8 _) W: w situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this # m5 {2 ?" l; j* `' J9 `9 Z'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make Q8 z( W8 c7 j! E( Q/ u/ yno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so 6 ~" P/ ~5 S5 Y% `5 t. qfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant1 Y; {: X/ s' k5 e2 G4 y& I3 o* @ resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless " M& }4 \7 {3 K; R& bBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is( u4 s0 K9 [0 o 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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