Not long ago, the city's Hongqiao District launched an electronic map to the public↓
(This figure can be stretched and enlarged clearly)
This is a special cultural map. It clearly marks the existing and disappeared cultural landmarks in Hongqiao District from the Song Dynasty to the 1,000 years after the founding of the People's Republic of China. The cultural relics protection units included in the list also include representative buildings and areas that have been demolished with great influence with urban reconstruction.
Although this is only the first batch, there are 47 cultural sites, 9 cultural radiation lines, and 9 cultural areas. But Hongqiao District has taken a small step and quietly set up a banner in the city, which feels unusual in significance for the following three reasons.
01
Reverence for history
The early spot in the northwest corner is very popular all over the Internet. There are famous commercial and business district landmarks such as Aqua City and Lujiazui Center.
Probably few people know that there was originally a Yan Hanlin Hutong in this vicinity, because Yan Xiu got its name. Yan Xiu was 23 years old in 1883, and later entered the Hanlin Academy of the Qing Dynasty. Yan Xiu once used a couplet to describe his home: "Four trees in the adjacent alley, seven miles of the family river." Yan Xiu's family has lived here for generations, and he and Zhang Boling have joined hands here to create a series of modern Nankai schools in private schools and old mansions, and have cultivated a large number of talents including Zhou Enlai and Mei Yiqi.
"Yan Hanlin Hutong is located 150 meters east of the current Lingdangge Middle School, and the east end of the Hutong is about 50 meters away from Xima Road." Li Tao, a researcher of Tianjin's history and culture, said that the gray brick houses (about 170 rooms) enclosed by the Powder Workshop Hutong, Zhennu Street, Xiaoshidao and Yan Hanlin Hutong were all owned by Yan Xiu's family. (Photo courtesy of Li Tao)
The author participated in a group interview with Hongqiao District, and looked at the whole area from the top floor of the Lujiazui office building in the northwest corner. When he looked at the Hongqiao District State Taxation Bureau and Mustard Garden Road in the northwest corner of the downstairs, he quietly pulled a reporter who graduated from Nankai University and pointed to him below and told him that this was once Yan Xiu's former residence. After the colleague understood, he was first shocked, and then sighed.
In the 90s of the last century, due to the opening of Mustard Garden Road, the main body of the Yan Mansion located in the road part of the Mustard Garden Road was demolished, and the current Hongqiao District State Taxation Bureau was originally part of the backyard of the Yan House. (Photo courtesy of Li Tao)
This year is the 120th anniversary of the founding of Nankai Middle School and the 105th anniversary of the founding of Nankai University. The map released by Hongqiao District, in the southeast part, is solemnly marked with "Yan Hanlin Hutong".
Tianjin is a famous historical and cultural city in China. The Sancha estuary area is the birthplace of Tianjin. From the earliest residential settlements to the Ming Dynasty's 1404 garrison and construction of the city, they are all near the mouth of the Sancha River. The Hongqiao district is an important part of it. The Yiyi Street here used to be the most prosperous and famous commercial first street in Tianjin; Three stone streets are the birthplace of Tianjin's machinery casting industry; The Danhua Match Factory in Xigu was once the first enterprise in China to produce matches on a large scale. In 1902, Peiyang University Hall was relocated to the Xigu Arsenal next to the Taohua Embankment, which opened the prelude to modern university education in China. Some historical sites have survived and are well preserved. But needless to say, due to the diversion of rivers, wars, urban changes, etc., there are also some historical landmarks and their spaces, which have been forever lost to the city, remaining in the hearts of professional history books and a very small number of professionals.
"History and culture are the soul of a city". Reverence for history is first of all to excavate and organize the complete history of the city, rather than allowing the incomplete or even joking fictional knowledge of the city history to spread around. To this end, Hongqiao District has set up a consultant database including historical and cultural experts, archivists, and folk culture enthusiasts. On the evening of the release of the map, an executive deputy head of Hongqiao District, who was transferred from Hexi District two years ago, sighed in the circle of friends: If you don't work in Hongqiao, it may be difficult to know that "Yan Xiu, the founder of Nankai", and "Zhao Tianlin, the principal of Peiyang University and the first principal of Yew Wah Middle School", are all natives of Hongqiao (not who studied in Hongqiao, but were born in Hongqiao, grew up in Hongqiao, and went from Hongqiao to the whole country and even the world). In this sense, the scope of Hongqiao's culture and inner spirit may far exceed that of Tianjin. It may be because of the slackness of our descendants, so that the historical and cultural inheritance of these red bridges has not been better recognized.
Reverence for history is to restore the complete urban historical narrative to the organic content of contemporary urban life, a new experience of cultural tourism exploration, and the cultural cognition of the public. Hongqiao District promises that the next step will be to set up cultural markers and "story benches" on the "source culture" points, and form a chain of beads to form a "traceability journey" citywalk route with rich cultural heritage.
02
Objective and truth-seeking
This year marks the 130th anniversary of the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War.
When it comes to the First Sino-Japanese War, most people will think of the First Sino-Japanese Naval Battle, the tragedy of Deng Shichang and the Zhiyuan ship, the national humiliation of Liugong Island in Weihai, and the Lushun massacre of the Japanese army. Probably few people know that north of the Xinhua Bookstore in the northeast corner today, part of Junheli was once the command center of this war. This is the long-term office residence of Li Hongzhang in the late Qing Dynasty - the Zhili Governor's Residence, which contains the humiliation of modern China and the tortuous process of modernization.
The site of the Salt Courtyard Office that was abandoned at the end of the Qing Dynasty
The east wall of the former Zhili Governor's Mansion is being demolished and the door is being changed
It was the earliest Ming Dynasty to supervise the Liao salary, and during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, it became the "Yamen of the Inspectorate of the Changlu Salt Class", and the people called it the "Salt Courtyard". After the Second Opium War, the official office here was changed to "Yamen, Minister of Commerce and Commerce". On November 20, 1870, Li Hongzhang began to step onto a higher political stage as the governor of Zhili and the minister of Beiyang. Because the Zhili Governor's Mansion at that time was still working in Baoding Mansion, only temporarily went to Tianjin to act in the navigation season, and still returned to Baoding Governor's Mansion after the Haihe River was closed and suspended in winter, Tianjin's yamen can only be called a hotel.
After the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War in 1894, Li Hongzhang had been here and in Lutai to follow the instructions of the Qing court, commanding the Beiyang Navy and the Huai Army as an army. It was here that he also promoted the "self-improvement" Westernization movement: the Kaiping Coal Mine, the Tangxu Railway and other beginnings of modernization, many of China's first capitals were related here, and many famous diplomatic activities and historical events were also staged here. These are intertwined with Li Hongzhang's misguided and traitorous behavior and the signing of treaties that humiliate the country, forming the complexity of modern historical figures and the diversity of Tianjin's history. The electronic map shows the location of the Governor's Mansion of Zhili, which is to break the state of aphasia, return the objective truth of history, and let more people feel the historical space of "seeing Tianjin in the modern century" with a clear attitude of true historical materialism.
"Through dialogue with history, we can better understand the past, grasp the present, and face the future", the vanished Dadong Hotel marked on the map was once an important activity base for the Tianjin Party organization.
The former site of the Great Eastern Hostel (no longer exists), currently known as Tahrir Square
At 4 p.m. on New Year's Day in 1926, the Tianjin Federation of Trade Unions was established here and held a grand flag-raising ceremony. There were more than 17,900 trade union members in Tianjin at that time, and the number grew to more than 32,200 that year, and more than 100,000 workers were contacted, accounting for more than 50% of the total number of workers in the city. The headquarters of the Tianjin Prefectural Committee of the Communist Party of China and some revolutionary groups also have offices in the Dadong Hotel. Those who often appear in Dadong Hotel include Zhao Shiyan, Li Jida, Yu Fangzhou, Jiang Hao, Guo Longzhen and others. Yu Fangzhou, Li Jida, Jiang Zhenhuan and others also lived here.
Majiadian, Shuixizhuang, Tianjin General Chamber of Commerce, Tianjin-Pudong Railway, Xiyingmen Breakthrough of Tianjin Campaign, etc., all carry many major historical events in modern China and Tianjin. Immerse yourself in the scene, understand the dramatic story, and experience the process and inevitable logic of the complex evolution of society. Open up the present and feel the cultural characteristics and spiritual temperament of Tianjin.
03
Take responsibility
During the Golden Week in October, Tianjin is full of tourists.
Today (October 14), the "Chinese Bridge" World Chinese Competition for Primary and Secondary School Students kicked off in Tianjin, with teenagers, children and parents from more than 100 countries coming to Tianjin.
On October 20, the Tianjin Marathon fired a gun, involving 30,000 runners inside and outside Tianjin.
They all feel the joys and sorrows of a city in different ways, as well as its history and culture.
Feng Jicai said that only by truly understanding the cultural character of a region can we arouse the brilliance and life of the society and the city. Over the years, the relevant departments have made efforts to protect and make good use of historical relics and red resources through the protection of cultural relics at all levels, the protective planning of historical buildings and historical and cultural blocks, and the publication of the "List of Red Resources of Tianjin". Hebei District is about to renovate the former site of the Beiyang School of Law and Politics auditorium, where Li Dazhao, one of the founders of the Open Party, studied for six years.
For the disappeared historical and cultural landmarks, Hongqiao District has taken the practice of marking cultural and historical electronic maps, showing its responsibility. Of course, the information improvement, technical support, and user experience of the electronic map should be further improved. The implementation of visible signs should also be accelerated. Complete and detailed electronic map of history and culture, with little investment, far-reaching significance, can be learned, done and copied. This is an innovative measure to implement the important requirements of General Secretary Xi Jinping when he inspected Tianjin to promote the development of cultural inheritance.
Marking historical and cultural landmarks that have been demolished, especially in recent decades, may spark some discussion, but the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. From the perspective of building the modern civilization of the Chinese nation, we expect the relevant departments to take responsibility like Hongqiao District and call for the emergence of similar electronic maps in the city. First, it can enhance the public's awareness and comprehensive understanding of history and culture. Second, it can build consensus, promote the study of local culture and history, and stimulate the enthusiasm of citizens to inherit and develop culture. Third, it can attract and facilitate self-driving self-help tourists and deeply experience the changes in urban cultural life.
In this sense, the electronic historical and cultural map of Hongqiao District was quietly born, which is a treasure of civilization and a priceless treasure.