Caress Beijing: Contemporary Writers' Depictions of Beijing

Author: Zou Zhongzhi (Editor)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-05-01
Features: In 1992, the Sanlian Bookstore published "Beijing Hu—Beijing in the Writings of Modern Writers," edited by Jiang Deming. The two volumes seemed to encompass all the beautiful prose describing Beijing published between 1919 and 1949. Reading it, the changes in Beijing's urban landscape and social life over those three decades came to life vividly. Hong Kong writer Ouyang Yingji brought a stack of reference books with him when he traveled north, and one of them was "Beijing Hu." Ouyang said, "Turning through the pages, the two volumes of 'Beijing Hu' are the best reading material to understand the somewhat distant old Beijing." I read "Beijing Hu" in 2001. After finishing it, I suddenly thought, more than fifty years have passed since 1949, yet I haven't seen a similar prose collection to tell people about Beijing during this half-century. Coincidentally, my bookshelf and some books and magazines I've read contain articles on this topic, so I used them as a foundation and went to bookstores, immersed myself in libraries, collecting and selecting, until I finally had the book before you.
Introduction: As a continuation of "Beijing Hu—Beijing in the Writings of Modern Writers" (edited by Jiang Deming, Sanlian Bookstore, 1992), this book selects 42 pieces of prose and essays by 34 contemporary writers and scholars talking about Beijing. Divided into seven sections, it discusses the historical changes in Beijing's overall landscape, shares impressions and feelings about specific areas, laments the gradual disappearance of cultural landmarks like hutongs and temples, or portrays daily life in siheyuan and dachayuan. It reflects on the painful memories of hunger and the Cultural Revolution, or recounts the bitter, sweet, and sour experiences of traveling and eating in Beijing. It is both a reflection on the past and a commentary on the present, concerning the history and fate of a city, and reflecting the winds and vicissitudes of an era.