One course, one world, one road, one life
Pictures and text: Backlit Fish
Do you still remember the song "Beijing's Gate"? The lyrics sing:
"There are so many doors in Beijing, criss-crossing them all.
Door to door in the courtyard, door to door in the commercial street.
Door to door to Fuxing. Jianguomen Chongwenmen faces Andingmen
Fuchengmen faces Chaoyangmen. The front door faces Zhengyangmen
Tiananmen, Di’anmen, Zuo’anmen, and You’anmen
…
As long as you pay attention, you can see the entrances of old houses everywhere in the streets and alleys of Beijing, whether it is the "Royal Gate" in the Forbidden City or the ones in the alleys. "Celebrity doors", or "merchants' doors" that ordinary people can't live without. Each door stands there quietly, telling its own past events, whether they are wonderful, ordinary or joyful. , or sad...
The construction of Beijing City is very particular. It not only has a rigorous layout, but also permeates the ideas of yin and yang balance and the harmonious unity of man and nature in traditional Chinese culture. It also combines the Feng Shui theory. The book "One Door, One World" is divided into five chapters based on the theory of the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth, telling readers about the Gate of Huangtian, the Gate of Lishu, the Gate of Merchants, and the Gate of Wenhan. The stories in the Gate and the Gate of Xiange take us on a "Journey to the Gate of Beijing"
丨Exploring the origin of the "Six Spineless Beasts"
Mentioning the city gate. Let's start with the archway. The archway, also known as the archway, evolved from the "que" and "table" in the pre-Qin period. It is the national building that best embodies the traditional Chinese characteristics. It is mostly installed in landmark public places in the capital. In front of ** buildings, such as palaces, palaces, temples, etc. Whenever I visit the Forbidden City, I can't help but look at the "ancient mythical beasts" on the archway. Who are they? What is the origin of the "five ridges and six beasts" in Northeastern dialect? Let me tell you slowly. "Five ridges" are composed of one main ridge and four vertical ridges on the roof, and "six beasts" refer to it. There are statues of immortals riding chickens and five beasts arranged along the ridge. The five beasts are Suan Ni, Bullfighting, Xiezhi, Feng and Xiyu. Don’t underestimate these five mythical beasts. In addition to having a prominent status, their existence is not only to satisfy the beauty of the house and show the majesty of the building, but their use value cannot be underestimated because they squat at the special position at the intersection of the two slopes of tiles and can play a strict role. It seals, prevents rainwater leakage, and also has the function of spraying water to extinguish fires. In addition, the mythical beasts look ferocious and ferocious, so people firmly believe that they can ward off evil spirits and control the house. Because of their appearance, the five spines and six beasts are often used to describe their faces in modern terms. A strange, bored person.
丨The celebrity who walked out of the hutong gate—Lin Yutang
Life is very different, and people’s life trajectories are different, but if you think about it carefully, from the hutong Many celebrities came out of the door, and Lin Yutang was one of them. When he was young, Lin Yutang, who had lived in the United States, would live in a Beijing hutong for a while when he returned to China. He once said in his work: "A. Even if the city has not yet reached perfection, people will still like it and miss the mountains and rivers next to it. Even if people seldom visit, ancient stories about those resorts keep the whole city alive. "He wrote his love for this city into literary works, allowing more people in the world to know this city and understand its rich cultural heritage. ...Swedish scholar Herenlong once said: " If we compare the city of Beijing to the body of a giant, the city gate is like the giant's mouth, through which his breathing and speech pass. The city gate is where the pulse of life in the whole city is concentrated... You can feel the whole city at the city gate. The pulse, and even the life and will of the whole city, flow through this narrow passage, giving Beijing, this extremely complex organism, the rhythm of life and movement. "Two masters from different eras and different fields have surprisingly similar views on the influence of ancient things on a city. From this, it is not difficult to see that times are changing, but there are still some things that have a certain weight in people's hearts. Never abated.
As the most distinctive part of my country’s traditional architecture, Beijing’s doors all embody the historical connotation of Chinese traditional culture. However, there are few remaining "living architectural objects" such as Zhengyang Gate and Desheng Gate that demonstrate the exquisite skills of skilled craftsmen in ancient times. Because of this, it is more and more worthy of modern people to cherish, explore and inherit. I was very lucky to come across "One Course, One World", a book that is very sophisticated from its binding to its content. By reading this book, we once again reunite with the various "doors" of the past, and have the opportunity to gain an in-depth understanding of its evolution and the stories behind it. I believe that when I "enter Beijing" again, I will shuttle