Zhenjiang photography base

Speaking of ancient towns in the south of the Yangtze River, many people are familiar with the ancient towns in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. In Songjiang, a suburb of Shanghai, there is also a quiet and quaint thousand-year-old town-Sijing. This ancient town, which formed a village as early as the Song Dynasty, attracted a famous scholar Tao to live in seclusion at the end of Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of Ming Dynasty, and compiled a record of dropping out of farming in Nancun. Shi, the general manager of Shenbao in modern times, Ma, a famous educator and founder of Fudan University, all lived here.

Such a thousand-year-old town, with boats crossing the river, bridges crossing the river, streets facing the river and towns facing the river, not only preserves the complete street and river pattern and the traditional water town style, but also retains rich historical buildings. With the restoration of historical features, this ancient town is rejuvenating. Zhang Ye, a member of the Party Committee of Sijing Town, Songjiang District, recently said in a dialogue with the newspaper that "Sijing Ancient Town has a thousand years of history and humanities. In the subsequent transformation and utilization, we have been trying our best to avoid the homogenization of the ancient town, paying attention to the' vibrant ancient town', and introducing the format of the ancient town has always adhered to culture. Initially prepared to combine the relationship between stone, horse and Sijing to present media culture and education in depth, as well as the display of intangible cultural heritage. "

Located in the "root of Shanghai", the ancient town of Sijing in Songjiang has been known as "eighteen towns in the east of the county and the first town in Sijing" since ancient times. Entering the historical area of the ancient town, the restored old house remains the same, elegant and simple. Surprisingly, many ancient towns have no noisy bars and a large number of shops. In addition to intangible cultural heritage, the restoration of ancient buildings and the visual design of water towns are all displayed.

The restored Sijing three houses along the river

Zhang Ye (second from left) and others are at the scene of the "Ancient Architecture Wood Craft Exhibition" at Sun Shilin House in Sijing Ancient Town.

"The lake shadows into the peak, and the mat is full of water; The ghost machine is interesting, not in the crowd; The flowers on the shore shrug their hair, which seems to contain more twilight feeling; Bamboo can be planted in the autumn window, and it will cool when blown ... "This is a poem written by Tao, a beginner in the late Yuan and early Ming Dynasties, who lived in Sijing, Songjiang, Shanghai, and built a" Nancun Caotang "in the south of Surabaya.

The ancient town of Sijing, which once gave birth to Tao, a great scholar in the Yuan Dynasty, Ma, the founder of Fudan University in the Republic of China, and a huge newspaper history in Shanghai, once had a grand occasion of "numerous industries, prosperous registered permanent residence and criss-crossing streets and bridges". With the development of economy, the historical block of Sijing ancient town, which has lasted for thousands of years, seems to have been abandoned in a certain corner of history for a long time. At the beginning of 20 13, Xiatang village in Sijing was listed as one of the first batch of 646 villages with important protection value in China after being evaluated by six national ministries and commissions.

Sijing is the place where four rivers meet.

Sijing agricultural production

Stone slope protection of Sijing River Harbor

For more than ten years, the local government has been promoting the protection, renewal and utilization of Sijing ancient town, including the protection of the former residence of Shihema at that time. However, due to the objective conditions at that time, a lot of work has been done to protect historical buildings, and the subsequent activation and utilization have not been carried out in depth. 20 17 with the strong support of Songjiang district Committee and government, the cultural protection of Sijing ancient buildings has been further promoted. Located at the entrance of the ancient town, three ancient Ming and Qing houses, Cheng House, Guan House and Sun Shilin House, have been relocated, repaired and introduced. The newly renovated old house in the old street of Sijing Ancient Town is also named "Issey Miyake". In fact, they have become "model rooms" for the renewal and reuse of historical buildings in Sijing ancient town.

Inside the renovated Sijing old house

Zhang Ye, a member of the Party Committee of Sijing Town, Songjiang District, recently said in a dialogue with this newspaper that "retaining homesickness" is the initial intention of restoring the historical features of Sijing ancient town. "The renovation of cultural relics buildings has been fully launched. On the basis of the restoration of the former residence and Ma's former residence, the restoration of Sun Shilin's former residence, Cheng's former residence, Guan's former residence, Ma's former residence Phase II and Dingjiang Road's former residence has been completed, and four others have settled in. The planning exhibition hall of the ancient town has been basically completed, and the survey and design of all other cultural relics protection sites have been completed. The Party Congress of Sijing Town recently put forward the goal of "science and technology oasis, vibrant ancient town and livable new city". Ancient towns are the roots of culture. Repairing the old is only the first step. The vitality and activation of the ancient town is a great article. We hope to achieve' an ancient town with cultural vitality and a charming water town in Jing Ya'. "

Dialogue:

Paper: Sijing Xiatang Historic District was listed as one of the first batch of 646 villages with important protection value many years ago. What are the characteristics of its historic district?

Zhang Ye: The characteristics of Xiatang Historic District in Sijing are quite obvious in Shanghai. On the one hand, our historical and cultural buildings are relatively concentrated, mainly in the core area of Xiatang, including some surrounding areas. There are about 50 cultural protection buildings, including cultural protection units and cultural protection points.

On the other hand, the cultural background of Sijing is very profound. Sijing Ancient Town was built in the period of North Song Zhenzong, with a history of 1000 years. The Millennium ancient town is worthy of the name. Since the Northern Song Dynasty, the ancient town of Sijing has had two human peaks: one in the late Yuan and early Ming Dynasties, and the other in modern times.

Zhangye

At the end of Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of Ming Dynasty, Tao, who lived here at that time, was a very famous writer. A fable that we were familiar with when we were studying came from his "Record of Dropping Out of Farming in the South Village". There is also a well-known idiom "Perseverance", which is also an allusion from Tao Zongyi's "Leaves in Sijing South Village". In this allusion, Tao insisted on studying hard since he was a child, even when he was working in the field, he did not forget to read. There is no paper in the field. Whenever he thinks, sees and hears something, he immediately picks up the leaves and records them. After returning home, he stored them in a crock with a mouth and a belly, and buried them under the tree when the crock was full. In this way, day after day, year after year, more than a dozen cans of leaves were accumulated. Someone asked Tao Zongyi why he did this, and he said, "Keep learning."

In addition to the record of dropping out of farming in Nancun, Tao also wrote a very important book, The Book History Society, which systematically and detailedly catalogued the biographies of calligraphers from ancient times to Yuan Dynasty, with concise annotations, which should be said to be a very influential book in the history of calligraphy. Tao lived in seclusion in Nancun for decades, and had contacts with the famous literati of Huating at that time, such as Xia Tingzhi, Cao, Yang Weizhen, Qian Quanzhong, Chen Menggang, Yuan Kai, Shao Hengzhen and Sun. Tao Zongyi often drinks tea and writes poems and words with tea.

Ma He and Shi are famous Sijing people in modern times. Among them, Ma is a famous educator in China, the founder of Fudan University and the first president of Aurora University. Cai Yuanpei, an outstanding educator, and Yu Youren and Shao Lizi, veterans of the Kuomintang, were all his disciples. Ma was born in Danyang, Jiangsu. In the eighth year of Xianfeng in Qing Dynasty, the whole family moved from Zhenjiang to Shanghai to settle down. 1900 (August 26th year of Guangxu), Ma donated all his property-3,000 mu of land in Songjiang and Qingpu. , as the funds for the establishment of the "Chinese and Western University Hall", and the establishment of the "donation of production to promote learning", which stipulates that after the completion of the Chinese and Western University, the industry will be used as a student grant.

Ma (1840- 1939)

In the spring of the 31st year of Guangxu, with the support of celebrities such as Zhang Jian, Yan Fu and Yuan, Ma founded Fudan Public School (now Fudan University) in Jiangwan, which officially opened on the Mid-Autumn Festival (1September 905 13). Ma is the principal. During the Revolution of 1911, 70-year-old Ma was hired by Sun Yat-sen as the first mayor of Nanjing. Ma was 9 1 during the September 18th Incident. Deeply affected by the national disaster, he shouted for saving the country and published the book "On Japanese Disasters", which advocated "fighting against foreign aggression" and was recognized as "the glory of mankind" and "the light of the country"

Former residence of ma in sijing ancient town.

The other is Shanghai newspaper giant Shi. Shi is from Jiangning County. After the death of his 7-year-old mother, his father, Shi Chunfan, ran Shitai Hetang Pharmacy in Sijing Town and took him to Sijing. In the first year of the Republic of China, Shi and Zhang Jian made a joint venture and bought Shenbao for a huge sum of 654.38+200,000 yuan. Shi was appointed as the general manager. Three years later, Shi returned the shares of Zhang Jian and others and changed to a sole proprietorship.

Stone (1880- 1934)

In the operation and management of Shenbao, Shi hired Huang Yanpei, a patriotic Democrat, as the design minister of Shenbao, and hired a circulation library and a commercial cram school to preside over Shenbao. In order to change the face of Free Talk, Li Liewen, who returned from studying abroad, was hired as the host, abandoned the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School and talented women, and often published new literary works, such as Ba Jin's Sardinia, Mao Dun's Linjiabao and Lu Xun's essays. Not only that, Shen Bao often criticized the Kuomintang's behavior by innuendo. For example, Lu Xun's essays and Tao Xingzhi's articles, including "Wobandits Review", oppose Chiang Kai-shek's attack on the Red Army. Shi once said: "People have personality, report and report, state-owned national character, three grids do not exist, people will be inhuman, report and report, and the country will not be a country!" 1934, Shi was shot dead by Kuomintang agents on his way back to Shanghai from Hangzhou with his wife and children.

There is also a very famous person named Wen Wei, who may not be well known at ordinary times. Wenyou, together with Chen Yinque and Qian Zhongshu, are called the three great linguists in modern China. Here's an example. At that time, the secretary went to the National Southwest Associated University to teach. At that time, Chen Yinque said, "When the teacher came, I was dwarfed." Of course, there are factors of self-modesty, but it can also be seen that Chen Yinque is very much in favor of Wen Yi. This is the human history of Sijing.

In addition, the folk culture and intangible heritage of Sijing are also quite distinctive in Shanghai. Sijing has seven national, Shanghai and Songjiang intangible cultural heritages, especially the Ten Brocades and Seiko gongs and drums.

Paper: When did Sijing Xiatang Historic District begin to be protected, updated and utilized? What is the concept from the initial development to the present?

Zhang Ye: As early as 2007, Sijing Xiatang Historical and Cultural Scenic Area was listed as Shanghai Historical and Cultural Scenic Area. In 20 13, Xiatang Village was listed as a national historical and cultural village, which is only two in Shanghai. In terms of protection, renewal and utilization, in fact, the ancient town of Sijing started not too late, and it began in 2 1 century, including the protection of Shihema's former residence at that time. However, due to the objective conditions at that time, some work was only from the perspective of protecting historical buildings, and some contents of subsequent activation and utilization were not fully considered.

In 20 17, with the strong support of Songjiang district Committee and government, we started the cultural protection and renewal and utilization of Sijing, including relocation, renovation of ancient buildings and introduction of commercial formats. It can be said that today has shown a little appearance. For example, the "triple building" we live in today turned out to be three old buildings built in different periods from the Ming Dynasty to the Republic of China: Guan Jia, Cheng Jia and Sun Shilin Jia. The three buildings are all traditional wooden courtyard layout, with two floors, small blue tiles and double sloping roofs. The building faces south, facing the street in the south and facing the river in the north, which is typical of traditional residential buildings in Shanghai. Before the renovation, the three old buildings were seriously damaged, the roof leaked, the maintenance structure was damaged, some wooden beams had fire marks, and tiles and windows were incomplete.

The business of Sijing ancient town is depressed, and the arcade corridor is cut off by additional buildings.

The Old House in Sijing Ancient Town under Restoration

After the overall transformation, we introduced some formats. At present, Sun Shilin's former residence has become the teaching practice base of architectural heritage protection in Shanghai Jiaotong University. Relying on its scientific research background, the traditional wooden structure laboratory was established to carry out research projects, which became the base for testing and repairing the wooden components of local historical buildings.

At present, Sun Shilin's former residence has become the teaching practice base of architectural heritage protection in Shanghai Jiaotong University.

The scene of the "Practice Exhibition of Ancient Architecture Woodwork" planned by the International Research Center for Architectural Cultural Heritage Protection of Shanghai Jiaotong University in Sun Shilin's residence.

The first and second doors of Guanjia became the physical store of Xinhua Bookstore "Nancun", a new concept cultural bookstore polished by ancient houses, named after Nancun Caotang, the home of Tao, the ancestor of Sijing culture, and the study room of Mr. Sun, a bibliophile of Sijing.

Location of "Nancun Xue Ying" Bookstore

The interior decoration of Cheng's former residence mostly uses simple log furniture, which ensures the overall coordination. Besides the tea ceremony, the cooperative Yun Jian Caotang also displays some interesting artistic sketches from time to time. The second floor is a relatively private and quiet space in the house and a teaching space for Guqin Club. Through the introduction of these formats, our old building was rejuvenated, so it was named "Issey Miyake".

Therefore, the ancient town of Sijing is not only about restoring cultural relics and protecting buildings, but also paying attention to activation and utilization.

Zhang Ye: Yes, from the perspective of the future of Sijing ancient town, especially focusing on the utilization of Wenbao buildings, we have always insisted on the following points:

The first is the times. We don't think it's good to simply repair Wenbao Building as old as before. What is the purpose of repairing it? Is to activate and use. We now find that many ancient buildings, including the ancient town of Sijing, also exist, so we will do some internal visits after the restoration. I think this is a pity. How does wenbao architecture reflect the times? We need to inject new connotations and contents, such as our "Issey Miyake" as a characteristic site in the local civilization practice of the new era in Sijing.

Local location of Issey Miyake

The second is locality. The ancient town of Sijing belongs to Sijing. We don't build a studio or a photography base on the ground, but we want to keep homesickness, keep the original things and pass them on.

The third is culture. When introducing the forms of ancient towns, we should adhere to the cultural nature. Some cultural projects and formats, including cultural creation, even if they are commercial, should be well integrated with culture, so as not to make people feel low-end and noisy.

Exterior view of the old building in Sijing ancient town

Map of Architectural Heritage Protection Center of Shanghai Jiaotong University in Sijing Ancient Town

The fourth is public welfare. We don't want to turn the ancient town into a very pure commercial project or tourist project. We invite some universities or artists to participate, provide them with studios and let them do some exhibitions, forums and lectures. But what we ask of them must be made public. You can't become a closed, a few exhibitions a year, and visit and study internally, which is not in line with our position. Therefore, our "Issey Miyake", including some renovated new cultural buildings in the future, is completely open. We don't want to lock the gate, deep house compound, there is no lock.

Generally speaking, the idea of overall protection, renewal and utilization of Sijing is based on the functional orientation of "classicism, elegance, elegance and fashion", with the main line of protecting historical and cultural heritage, combing historical and cultural context, inheriting historical and cultural genes and empowering the high-quality development of Sijing in the new era, integrating innovative formats, and building Xiatang into a cultural tourism and leisure that reflects the historical and cultural characteristics of Sijing through measures such as cultural creation, wine-making workshops and folk homestays. This is also "an ancient town with cultural vitality and a charming water town in Jing Ya" proposed by our Party committee and government.

Paper: At present, there are many famous tourist-oriented ancient towns in China, but it seems that many ancient towns are similar. How does Sijing avoid the homogenization of the ancient town in the process of transformation and activation?

Zhang Ye: In terms of ancient towns, I think Wuzhen has been very successful. Since the original edition, cultural themes such as business plus tourism, internet conferences and drama festivals have been blessed, which not only created a cultural IP, but also had its own characteristics and promoted tourism. Dali in Yunnan is different from Lijiang, mainly because of the combination of natural customs and ethnic customs. Compared with these places, Sijing ancient town has just started, but it can learn from the successful experience of some other ancient towns or avoid taking some detours.

Of course, Sijing ancient town will try to avoid the homogenization of the ancient town in the subsequent transformation and utilization. Because there are many ancient towns, people are prone to aesthetic fatigue.

Corner of Sijing ancient town

So where is the core competitiveness and recognition of Sijing Ancient Town? Judging from the historical features of Sijing, I think Sijing ancient town has all the Jiangnan culture, Shanghai culture and red culture proposed by Shanghai. For example, Shanghai culture, whether it is Shi, the person in charge of Shenbao, or Ma, the founder of Fudan University, shows the characteristics of Shanghai culture in modern times. Another example is red culture. Sijing's red culture has a deep connotation. Shi is a patriot. Dissatisfied with the reactionary rule at that time, he was assassinated by Chiang Kai-shek and buried in Longhua Martyrs Cemetery after his death. Horse is known as "the glory of mankind" and "the light of the country", which is highly recognized by both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. He is a master, a backbone and a very patriotic old man. He once wrote the famous saying "saving the country by reading, saving the country by reading".

Combining the advantages of the four scenes, we think we can consider presenting the history and present of the media. Through cooperation, after the opening of Shi's former residence, it will be ready to launch an exhibition related to Shenbao. Although Shenbao is gone now, and many newspapers in China are closed, the newspaper gene has not disappeared, but it has changed to a new carrier to continue its development. It used to be TV, radio and television or newspapers, but now it is mostly read by mobile terminals such as mobile phones and computers. And we also have this historical origin, which is unique among the ancient towns in China; Second, Sijing is an intangible heritage, including ten brocade fine gongs and drums, shadow play and so on. We connect related resources and display them in a centralized way, which is very attractive to ordinary people, but it is not a relatively low-end and generalized concept of snack commodities.

Food Packaging Design in Sijing Ancient Town

At present, it has cooperated with universities, bookstores, newspapers and other institutions and achieved certain results. Among them, Shi's former residence cooperated with the newspaper group. The renovation of the former residence can be basically completed after the Spring Festival, and it is estimated that it will be officially opened in the second half of the year, because there is still work to be done later. Ma's former residence is in cooperation with the planning team of Chen Wangdao's former residence of Fudan University, and now it has entered a relatively in-depth stage, including the subsequent introduction of some resources. In terms of design, we also cooperated with Shanghai Visual Arts School to make a "Sijing Silk Pattern", extracted some architectural elements of Sijing, and made some image recognition things, including cultural creation, posters, food packaging and so on. Of course, there are more considerations in some connotation mining in the future.

Cultural and Creative Products of Sijing Ancient Town

It is worth mentioning that, in terms of traffic location, apart from Qibao Ancient Town, Sijing Ancient Town is the closest to the center of Shanghai. Therefore, from these aspects, we think that Sijing ancient town is entirely possible to become a tourist and leisure destination in Shanghai and even the Yangtze River Delta region, that is, it is convenient for everyone to take several subway stations, invite friends over for tea and chat on weekends, or bring friends over for a holiday.

The recently held Party Congress of Sijing Town in Songjiang District put forward the goal of "technological oasis, vibrant ancient town and livable new city". The ancient town is the root of culture, and the old transformation is only the first step. The activation of the ancient town is a big article. By introducing cultural projects and injecting vitality, we hope to realize "an ancient town with cultural vitality and a charming water town in Jing Ya".

Proofreading: Luan Meng