Visiting Hu Shi’s former residence in Beijing

Hu Qingyu

I have been to Beijing many times. I have visited the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Summer Palace and other "big attractions". I will visit again this spring. When I came to Beijing, I wanted to go deep into the hutongs to visit the former residences of some famous people. Before the trip, I checked on the Internet and made a list: the former residences of cultural celebrities such as Lu Xun, Hu Shi, Lao She, and the Museum of Modern Chinese Literature established by Mr. Ba Jin, etc. I planned to take the time to visit them one by one, so as to get rid of the hidden dangers. A long-held wish in my heart. First, we walked around the Museum of Modern Chinese Literature and took a picture at the gate. The huge stone screen wall was engraved with Mr. Ba Jin’s famous saying: “What a rich treasure house of literature we have, they support us, encourage us, and make ourselves Become kinder, purer, and more useful to others.” Due to my hasty schedule, I could only find one former residence of Lu Xun and Hu Shi.

Mr. Hu Shi received his doctorate in the United States in 1917, and stayed in Beijing when he returned to China. He stayed in Beijing until he left the mainland in 1948. During these thirty-one years, in addition to traveling, recuperating, and moving south during the Anti-Japanese War, Hu Shi spent most of his time in Beijing. Spend part of the time in Beijing. But the world-famous man has never owned his own real estate and has been renting a house in Beijing. When he first arrived in Beijing, he lived in the faculty dormitory of Peking University. In addition, he lived in five former residences in Danku Hutong, Zhonggu Hutong, Zhishanmen Street, Miliangku Hutong and Dongchang Hutong. I only found Hu Shi’s former residence at No. 4 Miliangku Hutong, West Street, Di’anmen.

Beijing is too big and the roads are unfamiliar, so it took a lot of trouble to find this place. I asked pedestrians for directions, and several times they said they didn't know there was a rice grain warehouse alley. One man joked: "Are you going to buy grain?" It's true when you think about it. Beijing is an international metropolis with a huge migrant population. For some, It is normal that the names of old alleys and places are not well known. At the same time, I also feel vaguely that traditional culture and cultural celebrities are gradually being forgotten, and the cultural memory of the city is slowly disappearing. The streets are bustling with people, all working hard for survival and fame. Who is as obsessed with historical relics as I am?

At around 9pm, I finally found Miliangku Alley. There is a sign at the entrance of the alley that reads: Military Management Zone. I didn't dare to enter rashly, so I asked passers-by. An old man walking said: This is a military dormitory compound, but there is no harm in entering. Looking around, I felt a little disappointed. There was no sign indicating that a celebrity named Hu Shi once lived here. I checked the information and learned that in 1930, when Hu Shi was appointed dean of literature at Peking University, his family returned to Beijing from Shanghai and lived at No. 4 Miliangku. This was the apartment where he lived the longest in Beijing. At that time, the rice grain depot was an area for cultural people. Chen Yuan and Fu Sinian lived in No. 1, Liang Sicheng and Lin Weiyin lived in No. 3, and Hu Shi lived in No. 4. A writer once wrote: "One thousand gold buys a house, ten thousand gold buys a neighbor. With cultural celebrities like Chen Yuan and Fu Sinian as neighbors, Hu Shi is very lively and loves to make friends. In addition, these people all have similar traits. With their overseas study background and some similar interests, you can imagine how frequent, harmonious and fruitful the interactions between them will be. In this short alley, a group of "Beijing-style cultural people" has gradually formed. In the house, Hu Shi also received many friends, such as Xu Beihong, Xu Zhimo, Ding Wenjiang, etc., who lived here. He was truly a "confucian in talking and laughing" and "treat people without doubting them when in doubt." Therefore, Hu Shi's mentality won many people. Friend: "In learning, one must doubt where there is no doubt." With this attitude, Hu Shi became one of the most outstanding scholars in modern China. "More than seventy years have passed, and Miliangku Hutong is no longer what it was back then. It is now 4." The number was the previous No. 21, and the current No. 1 Miliang Depot is the original No. 4 courtyard, the former residence of Hu Shi.

I carefully walked into the alley and saw a young woman walking out of courtyard gate No. 4 with her child. I asked: Is this the courtyard where Mr. Hu Shi lived? The answer is: I don’t know, maybe. Walking in through the narrow doorway, there was light in the window, and there was a small courtyard at the end. There were several trees that were taller than the house. It was quiet. I took a few photos and stood there for a long time...

< p> I live in the same hometown as Mr. Hu Shi, and I have worked in his hometown, Shangzhuang Town, for many years. I have a close relationship with him. This is one of the reasons why I want to visit Hu Shi’s former residence in Beijing. In Hu Shi's hometown of Shangzhuang, there is a well-preserved "Hu Shi's former residence", which was built by Hu Shi's father Hu Chuan in 1887 (during the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty). It is now a "national key cultural relics protection unit". This Huizhou-style building is decorated in a simple, elegant, dignified and peaceful manner in accordance with Hu Chuan's aesthetic purpose of "applying slight carvings to preserve authenticity and simplicity".

The entrance is in front of the hall, which is an all-wooden structure. On the wall facing the hall is a landscape painting of a hall with a couplet that goes: "Looking at the moon and spring clouds, there is often a saying, the scenery of mountains and waters forms a picture of its own." A black plaque hangs above, with the four gilded characters "Hu Shi's Former Residence" (written by the famous calligrapher Sha Mengmenghai) dazzling. There are many orchid carving boards visible in the room, which were created by Hu Guobin, a master of Hui ink mold carving in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China. The carvings are exquisite and the pictures are generous, which can be said to be profound. I saw that the flowers and leaves were flowing and colorful, the flowers were changing, and the stamens were pretty and elegant, lifelike. "Orchid is the king, and the fragrance does not stand out from the crowd", the Qingjing and the homeowner's style of building the world are clearly reappeared. He grew up in a house full of orchids. In the long years since then, he has always been obsessed with orchids in his hometown, so he sang the beautiful poem "I came from the mountains, carrying orchids with me." The layout of the former residence is completely similar to Mr. Hu Shi's wise, restrained and peaceful character. From this, it can be seen that family education, family traditions, cultural traditions, customs and customs of his hometown have a profound impact on Hu Shi, a "foreign doctor" who "traveled thousands of miles and half of the world, and had a vision of no one in the world."