Why did Liang Qichao build an ice cream shop in Tianjin?
The ice-drinking room of Liang Qichao's former residence
The origin of the word "drinking ice": the word "drinking ice" comes from "Zhuangzi: The World": "Now I have been ordered to drink ice in the evening , I feel warm inside?" The original meaning is to metaphorize the worries in one's heart. At that time, Liang Qichao was ordered by Emperor Guangxu to carry out reforms and reform. He was ordered to do so at a critical moment. Facing the country's internal and external troubles, one can imagine Liang Qichao's inner anxiety. How to relieve his "internal heat"? The solution can only be found by "drinking ice". Therefore, he used the word "drinking ice" to express his inner worries and anxiety.
. As a famous historical and cultural city, Tianjin has many noteworthy buildings and former residences of famous people, among which Liang Qichao’s “Ice Drinking Room” should be considered a relatively representative one. For nearly a century, the Ice Drinking Room has miraculously been preserved intact after many twists and turns. This may be the fate between Liang Qichao, the "Ice Drinking Room" and the city of Tianjin.
On November 16, 1912, Liang Qichao, who had been exiled in Japan, finally returned to his homeland and arrived in Tianjin. The enthusiasm from Tianjin was beyond his expectation. When Feng Guozhang, the governor of Zhili, heard that Liang Qichao had arrived in Tianjin, he immediately sent people to welcome him. Liang Qichao later wrote in a letter to his daughter: "I went to the welcome banquet and speech of the Communist Party of China and the Democratic Party, and local officials invited banquets one after another. The entertainment was extremely difficult...the guests were not interrupted at all."
< p>The charm of a city lies in its culture. Urban culture is the accumulation of history and culture, and architectural style is the best carrier of urban culture. The characteristics of a city can often be appropriately reflected in its architecture. Tianjin's architectural styles have extremely high historical value, cultural value and tourism value, and are also the epitome of the city's historical evolution and cultural accumulation.Architecture is a valuable asset left to us by modern Tianjin.
On both sides of the Haihe River, there are many unique buildings - from shops to luxury houses to celebrity mansions. It seems that the "fashionable" Tianjin a hundred years ago was having a private space of its own here. Perhaps because of this, Liang Qichao created his "Ice Drinking Room" in Tianjin; dignitaries living in Tianjin can stay away from the intrigues of the officialdom and have a quiet time; businessmen and compradors took a fancy to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon here, which is where they do business. It is a treasure land of Feng Shui; scholars and politicians hide here, waiting for the opportunity to turn around. Because of these scripts, buildings are no longer as cold as they seem, and people are interested in digging into the stories behind them. Perhaps summarizing Tianjin's architecture in two articles, "Celebrity's Former Residences" and "Small Western-style Buildings," is too general, but we hope to give readers a glimpse and rekindle people's interest in Tianjin's old buildings.
In 1914, Liang Qichao purchased a piece of vacant land from the Zhou family on Xima Road (now Minzu Road) in the Italian Concession, totaling 3.895 acres, and planned to build an apartment and study. Interestingly, after the design drawings came out, the review by the Engineering Office of the Italian Ministry of Industry and Engineering was very strict, and its standards are still worth learning from today: new buildings have individuality and cannot be the same; they are in harmony with the surrounding landscape; they take into account both artistry and practicality sex.
The "Ice Drinking Room" study room was built in 1924. It is a two-story building with a brick and wood structure and a basement. It was designed by the Italian architect Belo Nino. There are three consecutive arches on the front of the building, and on both sides. Stone steps with a reservoir in the middle. The whole building has smooth lines, elegant and romantic. The first floor is equipped with a hall, study room, reference room, and reception room. The second floor is for living rooms, guest rooms, restaurants, etc. Liang Qichao's political activities and writings were conducted here in his later years. The design of this building is very different from the previously built Liang Qichao residence. Although it is an Italian-style building, its eclectic style is obvious and the design is full of personality, which is related to the popular design style in Europe at that time.
The establishment of this study means that Liang Qichao’s once virtual “ice-drinking room” cultural symbol finally has a physical basis. From 1919 to 1929, Liang Qichao bid farewell to officialdom and stayed away from politics in his later years. In addition to lecturing and carrying out some limited cultural activities at Nankai University, Tsinghua University and other prestigious universities, he spent most of his time writing books and commentaries in the Ice Drinking Room in Tianjin. , concentrating on thinking about the direction of Chinese society and exploring the integration of Chinese and foreign cultures. Different from the previous idea of introducing Western culture, he proposed during this period "to use Western civilization to expand my civilization, and to use my civilization to subsidize Western civilization, and let them combine to form a new civilization." proposition. Liang Qichao has lived in Tianjin for many years and "treats guests with humility and enthusiasm. During winter and summer vacations, the 'ice drinking room' turns into a tutorial school. Many students from Tsinghua University and Nankai University come here to seek knowledge."