"When we walk into Xia Yan's former residence today, on the armrest that Xia Yan touched, we caressed it the same way, as if we had a dialogue with historical figures through the same objects and the same movements. The buildings I see in my eyes, I hope that my children and grandchildren can also see and feel the same space, which is my wish as a historical building repairer. Yesterday afternoon, at the "Hui Lecture Hall" held in the former residence of Xia Yan in the courtyard of No. 178 South Urumqi Road, which was shaded by Wutong, Shen Xiaoming, the chief designer responsible for the restoration of the old residence and the founder of Shanghai Mingyue Architectural Design Office Co., Ltd., poured out the simple wish of a historic building repairer.
Photo: Statue of Xia Yan Courtesy of the organizer (the same below)
Relive the historic buildings
Xia Yan, a pioneer, organizer and leader of China's left-wing film movement, and a famous writer of literature, film and drama, literary critic, translator and social activist, spent nearly three decades of his life in Shanghai. Xia Yan's former residence is his last place of life, located at No. 2, No. 178 South Urumqi Road, adjacent to the Grass Baby Study And Hengfu Art Center, and the three buildings have very different architectural styles. Xia Yan's former residence is a fake three-storey brick and wood English garden house with a steep red-tile roof, a shed-style tiger window on the north and south sides, and a large chimney on the west and north sides.
In December 2018, the building restoration work was completed, and the ceiling at the entrance of the old residence was written a sentence taken from Xia Yan's work "Wild Grass": "The moment life begins, it brings the grass that comes from the struggle, it is the tough grass, and only this grass can proudly laugh at the potted flowers raised in the glass shed." In this building, you can not only read Xia Yan's magnificent life story, but also relive the warm bits and pieces of his work and life in Shanghai.
The first floor of the building is displayed as the theme, with the theme of "Xia Yan and Shanghai", combing Xia Yan's footprints in Shanghai, recalling his journey of joining the Communist Party of China in Shanghai and devoting himself to revolutionary work; preparing for the establishment of the Left League, founding the "Salvation Daily", participating in the work of our party's hidden front; translating "Women and Socialism" and "Mother" and other works, founding a left-wing drama club, creating a drama "Under the Eaves of Shanghai" and the movie "Children of the Wind and Clouds", organizing the "Guangming" publication, and publishing the reportage "Bonded Workers".
The second floor of the building is mainly displayed in its original form, and through the oral accounts of the family and the examination of the times, the historical style and spatial layout of xia yan's residence period are restored, and the original appearance of Xia Yan's life when he lived here is reproduced, which opens a door for tourists to understand Xia Yan's life experience, artistic pursuit, spiritual world and life outlook.
Pictured: Xia Yan's former residence
Revitalization of historic buildings
Xia Yan's son Shen Danhua came back to see it after the renovation of the old house, and when he looked out from the window on the second floor and saw a stout tree, the old man burst into tears in an instant: "That was planted by my father and me, it was just a small sapling at that time..."
First of all, the most important thing about historical buildings is the truth, and only when you walk into the restored historical buildings can you still feel the truth of history, which can be regarded as success and strength. Shen Xiaoming has a lot of experience in the revitalization and utilization of historical buildings, which can make people who once lived here feel as if they have returned to the past. Secondly, historical buildings should also be integrated into the natural environment. The large lawn facing Xia Yan's former residence is the same, but the trees have become a forest, witnessing time and years, and also wrapping up time and years. If the tree has an induction, it can also feel its owner coming to see it. Historical buildings in the natural environment must also become urban artistic and fashionable living spaces - this is why we can walk into this environment today and feel the cultural context, literature and drama of Xia Yan, as if they are still lingering in this space. If the citizens do not feel these atmospheres, the cultural, artistic, and social empathy and appeal of historical buildings will be reduced.
In December 2018, when Xia Yan's former residence entered the exhibition stage, 45 precious documentary exhibits such as Xia Yan's works and the orphan book of "Salvation Daily" successively entered the exhibition hall. The project team shipped the wooden furniture that Xia Yan had used from Beijing and gradually adapted it to the Shanghai climate. "For the repair of our own buildings, each repair is a learning."
Pictured: The interior of Xia Yan's former residence building
Read about historic buildings
In the painting of Huang Shi, another visitor to the "Hui Lecture Hall", all the streets of Shanghai are sunlight fluttering between the buildings and the shadows of the trees, warm and romantic, he said affectionately: "The bungalows are delicate and need to be maintained, and almost every detail in the villa is very elaborate and needs time to polish." ”
In Huangshi's speech, Wang Wei, secretary of the party group of the Shanghai Writers Association, found his intersection with him in interpersonal communication, and this is not the joy of urban life, "The composition of the urban landscape is architecture and people, we look at the city, the main thing we look at is the architecture, let the building itself speak." Read about the beauty of the building, read about what happened to the people who once lived in it, and read about the history that remains in the building – from the way single-family homes are lived to the hustle and bustle of 72 tenants. Reading architecture can not only read a single building, but read the things associated with it, 'reading' behind closed doors, opening is 'pleasing' reading. (Xinmin Evening News reporter Xu Yisheng)