An Historic Hutong Map

By YA QI

Renovations to Beijing in the 1980s demolished its old city walls and many of its hutong (lanes). To native Beijinger Shu Liao, this was an emotional time, as he feared that nothing would remain of his beloved old city of Beijing. He felt compelled to stroll around the city hutong and imprint on his memory their layout and appearance.

He spent one day walking around the Yongkang Hutong on Dongzhimen Street, Dongcheng District, which consists of the Qianyongkang and Houyongkang Hutong. On reflecting on what he had seen that night, he could not recall the exact position of each section, and so turned to historical reference data. This was when he discovered that over the past few centuries, names of hutong have been modified with each dynasty, and that contemporary maps do not reflect these historical changes. For instance, today's Weiying (δӢ) Hutong has the same pronunciation as, but different characters from, the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) Weiying (ÎÀÓª) Hutong, meaning military establishment. It differs from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) Weiying (ιӥ) Hutong, that means feeding eagles, a pastime of the Manchu Eight Banner (military and economic unit) dandies. After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 Weiying Hutong was once more modified to Weiying (δӢ) meaning future hero.

"I wanted to draw a map showing the historical changes Beijing hutong have undergone.¡± Shu says, ¡°Should they disappear altogether, this map will at least provide an image of Beijing's original appearance and a record of its dynastic changes as apparent in the naming of hutong."

When Shu Liao began drawing his own hutong map he discovered by chance that five even steps measure exactly three meters, and so began to pace out hutong. According to historical data, this was the method used by the Yuan Dynasty (1206-1368) government to specify the width of all the avenues (24 steps), streets (12 steps), and hutong (6 steps) during the building of its capital Dadu. It was during the Yuan Dynasty that the Mongolian architectural term hutong, meaning thoroughfares formed between rows of houses in Dadu, originated.

Shu Liao's map gives a clear picture of various Beijing hutong, their locations, former and current names, and directions of how to get from one to another. In pacing out hutong, Shu noted the length and width of each entrance, made sketches, and also mentioning the house numbers of notables that lived there. The Zhushikou Theater, for example, was originally the Kaiming Theater, built in 1912 through the joint efforts of Chinese and Japanese merchants. At that time its European style concrete structure, terrazzo floors, and an oval arch made a huge impact. At its grand opening famous Chinese Peking Opera master Dr. Mei Lanfang performed Farewell My Concubine to celebrate the great event.

Shu Liao's map even gives the locations of ancient trees growing in hutong. It is an historical document with a practical function, or, as experts from the China Cartographic Publishing House agree, a work of art. Shu personally measured routes using the pacing out method, and incorporated details of hutong history and culture. Although not accurate to the nearest inch, the map provides a wealth of information and fascinating historical detail, as well as a travel guide.

After personally surveying a 90-square-kilometer area of residential blocks inside the Second Ring Road, Shu drew 40 volumes of sketches and took over 10,000 photographs. His hutong travels finished in 2002. He had no time to rest, however, as there was still more complicated work to do -- joining up his 40 volumes of sketches to make a complete Beijing Hutong History and Culture Map.