Title: The flavor of Quanzhou Old Town slowly disappears in the sound of demolition.
Recently, my son has been thinking about staying at his grandmother's house for a few more days. He said, "All of them have been evacuated to their previous tenants. In a few days, they may move to our house. If you don't stay, there will be no chance in the future. " We adults said, "Just tear down the old house. There are not only subsidies, but also new suites to live in. Why can't you bear it? " The son said, "I like living in that old house and that old street." Although there is a new house to live in after the demolition, it doesn't taste like this old house now. This old street will be even more tasteless if it is demolished again. "
God, a fart child knows the smell of old houses and old streets, and he likes the smell. I have lived in this city for a long time, but I can't smell the old city. Are we adults really bored by living in the "birdcage" of modern cities for a long time? I can't help but panic, slow down and have a good look at this once familiar old city. She is getting farther and farther away from us.
When I was as young as my son, I thought this city was very big. It took a long time to walk from street to street by pulling the skirts of adults. From home to school, I have to cross three alleys and one street, but I walk on my legs. I don't need adults to pick me up. Now I feel that the city is very small. No matter you go to work or school, you should take a bus, at least a battery car or a bike. Only a few lucky people, especially children, can walk within a few steps.
In the past, we could stop along various stalls on the road, jump around on the stone road in the alley, kick a few stones back and forth at will, and look at the house numbers of various streets and lanes, such as Lady Lane, Xianggong Lane, Jiadi Lane and Baigou Lane. We often guess that these names must have some origin, so we ask adults, read books, and then we like these streets. now
Buildings have been erected on both sides of the street, which are more energetic and lethal than high-rise buildings and grades. What luxury houses, Hua Ting and royal gardens are resplendent and magnificent, and what international, royal and noble means that the universe is not added. Once you live in it, you can rule the world. It's a pity that I pass by these buildings every day, and I always can't figure out the names and locations of many buildings. The name of the big house is so imposing that I really can't tell it apart. Behind these luxurious names are essentially decadent feudal emperors' thoughts, which are as disgusting as the housing prices in Gao Qi.
Mr. Wang Shu, the current dean of the School of Architecture of China Academy of Fine Arts and the first Pritzker Prize winner in China, said in "Expressing our cultural self-confidence to the world": "Architecture can influence people's thinking and make them' corrupt'." Seeing a high-cost house should be considered immoral. Your community belongs to' immoral community'. Excellent architectural design originated from China local culture is the core competitiveness of China's residential civilization. Its significance lies not only in the field of economy and people's livelihood, but also in expressing our ideas and values to the world, which is a manifestation of cultural self-confidence. True self-confidence is often expressed in a gentle way, not in an exaggerated and spectacular way. "
Due to the rapid expansion of modern cities, many residential quarters with centuries or even thousands of years of cultural accumulation and unique local characteristics have been razed to the ground and replaced by buildings that have risen from the ground. Most of these modern buildings are simple replicas or similar replicas, which are incompatible with the specific culture of a city. Architecture is a carrier of urban culture. "Popular life in a universal sense constitutes the foundation of culture" (Wang Shuyu). We have knocked down many residential buildings, only some outdated buildings on the surface, but in fact they are the fundamental carrier on which an urban culture depends. When we are complacent that this city is becoming more and more like some big cities, we lose the minimum self-confidence of a city and its unique charm.
The street where my son's grandmother lives now is called Jubao Street. At the end of the street, there used to be the ninth pier. It is known that there are the first, second and eighth docks from here to the estuary. Large and small passenger and cargo ships spread out from the first pier to the ninth pier, stretching for dozens of miles, imagining how lively and spectacular it is. Finally, all the goods are loaded and unloaded from here, and people gather and disperse in the park. Finally, they all poured into Quanzhou from the south gate hole in front of Tianhou Palace, which made the sound of rising sea here. This street used to be loaded with too many prosperous scenery and disdained the past and all kinds of people, so it was named "Jubao Street".
No matter how good things are, they should land here first. The rich life nourishes the petty bourgeoisie sentiment here, and dude and ladies wander in the center of the street, so there is a saying that "scattered immortals (young) are rich and precious, while overseas Chinese are young". People here don't forget to make a pot of tea when they get up in the morning and smoke a few mouthfuls before going to bed, even if their family circumstances are good. In the past, Wang's associations in this area were prolific, boxing, singing, drinking soju, hairdressing, killing pigs, selling plasters, making fish balls, carrying birdcages, playing monkeys and sticking paper men. Quanzhou proverb "Song of Boxing Soju" comes from here, and the old Quanzhou people call it outside the south gate. That's Quanzhou.
My wife's grandfather was a cook and a local figure. The stove he made is beautiful and durable, and he is called "Master Qingjiang". Such a cook is full of petty bourgeoisie, wearing white trousers and a gentleman's hat, riding a horse neatly, living in a small attic, smoking imported cigars, marrying two wives, taking three or two apprentices, having strict etiquette rules, requiring the younger generation to sit and stand, eating and eating, being invited to cook a stove and playing big cards, and often being late.
The attic has lived for four generations and has a two-story structure, with a depth of 20 meters and a height of 34 meters. It is covered with red hexagonal floor tiles, which are warm in winter and cool in summer. The steep and narrow wooden stairs are a good place for children to play. All children like to climb up and down here, chasing and playing. The whole room was filled with their laughter. Grandma is sitting there squinting, her chin hanging down and laughing. Grandma is standing under the stairs, shouting nervously. Other adults chat over tea and occasionally turn around and shout. Most days, grandma always cooks a table of dishes for generations to eat around and talk about various topics. During the Chinese New Year, we always fry a lot of fish, meatballs and steam a lot of cakes to worship the ancestors of heaven and earth. The children shuttled back and forth between the adults, and the room was filled with boiling smoke.
Compared with now, the streets at that time were not really spacious, let alone luxurious, but adults and children could move freely on them, swagger and do small businesses without worrying about any traffic accidents, because there were few cars and people and cars did not have to compete for roads. Of course, they are much more relaxed and relaxed, and the streets are much wider psychologically. In this wide old street, neighbors' voices can be unconstrained. Call friends, no food, you can go to Jia Xi to grab something to eat. The Wangs killed a pig today, and all the neighbors got a piece. They can walk from street to street with their rice bowls, and they can order in any house. Nobody cares about you. When they go out, it doesn't matter if they leave their keys with their neighbors for a few days. On summer nights, everyone sits on the floor at home. Especially those snack bars, fruit and vegetable shops, the animals sold are not hormonal, the plants are not out of season, and they are absolutely original.
Every street in the old city has its own flavor, such as jiaozi with minced meat in East Street, batter in West Street, fish balls in Jubao Street, mung bean cake in Tianhou Palace, fried oysters in Qiaoguang Theater, radish acid in Goldfish Lane, dog meat and mutton in Shuimen Lane and noodles in Gongkou. These time-honored brands have long been the landmarks of the old city and are familiar with them. Throughout the year, there are always a group of people gathered at the gate of the old shop, just waiting for the tunnel. Nowadays, many old overseas Chinese have come back for that authentic taste. It's a pity that even the old streets and alleys have been demolished. Where is the authentic taste?
A few days ago, on the bus of Quanzhou Bridge, several young people pointed to shunji bridge, a hundred meters away, and said excitedly, that is the legendary shunji bridge. Shunji bridge is the only bridge from Jinjiang to Quanzhou in the past. It is famous for the stone lions on the fence of every bridge. It was washed away by the flood a few years ago and became a broken bridge. The rest hasn't been unpacked yet. It is estimated that it will become a broken bridge, but it is not as poetic as the remnant snow in the West Lake, nor as romantic as the White Snake in Xu Xian. I only heard that there are legends about Luojiang Bridge and Anping Bridge. Now even shunji bridge, which was washed away by floods, has become a legend in the eyes of younger generations, and it may even be a legend, which really surprises me. It's probably true that things are scarce. Things that are thousands of years old can be misplaced in China, and things that are hundreds of years old in the United States have entered museums. This old city, which grew up with our generation, has become a legend in the eyes of young people in a decade or two, which is too far away. So our generation got scared and started rummaging through closets, looking for old photos and so on. There is really nothing left. Then write some old memories like me. If you are not careful, these things may become collectibles and have cultural value, but that will add value. Ha ha!
Demolition, demolition, expansion, expansion. The old cities were torn down one by one, the new cities mushroomed, and the memories of the old cities fell off layer by layer. Architectural pattern can change the local customs of a city, and interpersonal communication will produce different sense of distance in different architectural spaces. My son, a 12-year-old child, grew up in a modern civilized city. He is reluctant to part with dilapidated old houses, has a special liking for a narrow old street, and cherishes a gloomy old city in every way.
Does he miss mottled earth walls or old furniture? No, what he misses is the kindness and warmth of this old house, this old street and this old city, and it is the smiling face of people living here. A porridge and a meal brought him the most relaxed and brilliant smile in his childhood. Perhaps, with the roar of the earth stacker day and night, he also realized that all this will soon be replaced by high-rise buildings and eventually become memories. He had to learn to collect memories and the taste of this ancient city when he was twelve years old.
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