On Hutong Culture

The preface of an article always has a fixed structure. Or describe, or discuss, or explain. Mr. Wang Zengqi's Hutong Culture, on the whole, is a preface with explanation as the main part. But after reading it, you will feel that there seems to be a trace of emotion and some kind of philosophy in the simple explanatory text.

Hutong Culture is the preface written by the author for the collection of photography art, The Absence of Hutong. But the author did not put pen to paper from the perspective of photography. The author neither explains the harmony between light and shadow, nor pays attention to the use of ideas, lines and colors. The idea of writing is to start with the object of the photo album-Hutong, and then lead to Hutong culture. Finally, go straight to the main idea of the full text: "Under the sweeping tide of commodity economy, hutong and hutong culture will disappear one day."

Hutong is probably the main form of residential buildings in old Beijing. Through keen and meticulous observation, the author introduces many characteristics of hutong: the square sense of architectural positioning, the street flavor of the origin of the name, the small and numerous hutongs that seem to be far away from the downtown area, the integration of hutong and quadrangle ... In short, all aspects and scenes related to hutong are vivid and interesting. This not only gives people knowledge, but also paves the way for explaining the hutong culture formed by hutong.

Hutong is material, not dead. On the other hand, Hutong culture is spiritual and vital. As a result, the writer's literary thoughts are more agile and his words are vivid. The various aspects of Beijing Hutong culture are vividly on the paper. Relocation, reluctant to "move", this is the performance of old-fashioned ideas in living; Everyone sweeps the snow in front of the door and doesn't care about other people's tiles, which is the result of the living environment of a single house; If you have a steamed bread, you are satisfied. A few drops of sesame oil from stinky tofu can cure aunt. This is a self-satisfied mentality ... the writer looks for the appearance characteristics of hutong culture from the subtleties of Beijingers. And from this appearance, I made a rational summary and judgment on the essence of hutong culture: "The essence of Beijing hutong culture is' forbearance'. Be quiet and obey yourself. "

"Endure" —— Hold your own position and submit to it. As a traditional psychological set and moral standard, there are probably many people who abide by this principle in China, especially Beijingers. Because Beijing was the capital of several feudal dynasties, feudal orthodoxy naturally became stronger, so that Beijing was like a big piece of tofu, square and four corners. This founder concept not only influenced the lives of Beijingers, but also influenced their thoughts, forming a closed hutong culture.

There is no doubt that Beijing Hutong culture is a tradition, and traditional things have their own reasons for survival and development. However, life tells us that not all traditional things will remain unchanged and will develop forever. Mr. Lu Xun said this as early as 80 years ago:

A friend of mine put it well: "If we want to preserve the quintessence of our country, it must also preserve us."

Preserving us is indeed the first meaning. Just ask him if he has preserved our strength and national quintessence. (Random Thoughts Thirty-five)

The closed and conservative hutong culture has obviously not adapted to the era of openness and enterprising, and its demise is a historical necessity. Nostalgia, sadness and helplessness can't stop this trend. Only with an open mind and enterprising spirit can the ancient Chinese nation stand tall in the world. Or Lu Xun said it well:

Dissatisfaction is an upward wheel, which can carry people who are not complacent and move towards humanity. ("Random thoughts, sixty-one dissatisfaction")

Mr. Wang Zengqi's ancestral home is Gaoyou, Jiangsu, but he has lived in Beijing for a long time, which is regarded as old Beijing. This preface shows the authentic Beijing flavor. The slow pace, tepid energy and passion peculiar to old Beijingers are appropriately expressed in their writings. In the use of language, it is vulgar and white, full of charm. Such as "can't sleep, don't be agitated, don't be anxious, squint." Beijingers, really have you! "This sentence, rich in emotional connotation, is really wonderful.

(Selected from Chinese Teaching in Middle Schools, No.7, 2000)