When it comes to "the city", one scene that emerged in front may well be high rolling, an occasional green space in the modern city, usually are deliberately set to the park or green belt, is like a Beach Park in Shanghai to "pastoral" and "wetland" for the tone, but obviously, visitors are not hard to see that it is a human-designed landscape. However, just not in ancient times, the garden is actually a very common sight in the city.
In 1909, France sinologist Victor segalen visited China for the first time, went to Xujiahui, 7 km away from downtown Shanghai, he described the scenery now seems unthinkable: "comfortable trams quickly through a smooth, glistening, extremely fertile fields. "(Letters, China Xie Ge LAN) but it is not just his personal perception, in fact," even in 1941, within three or four hours can still runs from the middle of the Bund to rural areas has not changed a bit. Village less than 10 miles apart; rice fields and villages, you can see clearly on any tall buildings in downtown. "(Luozi·Mofei of the modern China's key Shanghai--) urban shanty towns, farmlands are also common memories – zhabei squatters, 1930" outside here, except for a few huts, Jiangyin race around the field and fen hole, out the pitch, and the country is no different, "where even Heath, paddy and Taoyuan. As suburbs, pastoral countryside scene is even more unusual, from downtown Shanghai to Minhang is rolling all the way tall buildings, but 1950 a Soviet expert impression is, "when we're driving from the city centre, through the suburbs, houses becoming smaller and smaller, and in the end all is boundless, desolate shabby single-storey thatched House. Farmland vegetable growing, forest appeared from time to time. Fallow land have more than one. "(Mikhail Klochko of the a Soviet scientist in China.
Modern China's most prosperous city, Shanghai, like this, can imagine. Spring of 1863 visit to Beijing the United States American missionary j. Doolittle (Justus Doolittle) record, with 2 million people, Beijing is the world London, Edo tied for one of the three major cities, however, "from the wall overlooking the trees around the city such as TÜV Rheinland, a pastoral scene". This is not hyperbole, when people in the West in late Qing dynasty's account of Beijing so probably, such as Julie Bredon said: "we belong to the Chinese people on the right side of the city. Summer, when every family trees flourish in the courtyard when the city became like a big garden. Temple of heaven's Blue Dome stands in green foil, is like an elegant flowers. "Masaier·moniai 1895 French claims that Beijing" is at least one-third the waste land or wasteland, or more like a forest ". On idle land in the city of Beijing, the crops are planted in many places. Old Beijing still remember, such as sash alley behind (the oral history of the old Beijing Ding Yi-Zhuang), along the outskirts of longevity Hill, the old summer palace that is "green vine border, about thousand acres."
At of Beijing not like now such has "international most city" breath, Sweden sinology home siren (Osvald Siren) 1924 in Beijing of wall and Gates a book in the, will it depicting into a big village: "right Ann door and left Ann door big can called Beijing of ' village door ', because they where area, rarely and no city scene, this II door of moving of at, main not is they of building features, and is they by at of natural environment", to right Ann door middle " Must pass through a city of the old village, also through the oats and sorgo field ", and Zuo an men" North of the open field. Part fields planted with grain and vegetables, some covered with reeds. Here other than far can see outside the walls, there were few signs the city. There are a few in the world the ancient capital can provide the open building-free ground, can be seen so purely pastoral life in their city. "Lao old Beijing full of quiet pastoral atmosphere, in Peking, he wrote in an article:" Yes, city of Peking, and can have a lot of own production of flowers, vegetables, fruits, which bring people closer to nature. Out of it saying, it's not like factory chimneys in London; from the outside says, followed by gardening, vegetable garden, and rural areas. "It's not in the Qing dynasty, in fact, earlier when Beijing shichahai, jishuitan in the Ming dynasty and even the Lake rice field, to the Qing dynasty began to surface around the Lotus.
As for modern Nanjing, due to repeated experience of war, farmland and desert scenes of the city becomes more apparent. Victor segalen 1909 impression of it: "in Nanjing: the walls around the city: 38 kilometers in circumference of the wall, built on the wall have battlements, a big Gate; City, fields, rice paddies, farms, sand dunes, forts, roads, everything, except for one city. "In other words, Nanjing was in France in the eyes of scholars, not only like a city, nothing else. At that time in many people's perceptions can be confirmed, after few years visiting Rui Enshi records: "city the vast plain of Nanjing, in some places have been restored into rural areas, beside the vast fields along the road, miles is the farmhouse. "China at the 1912 Japanese wild mountain in Nanjing in the eyes of almost only a small piece of city:" today's Nanjing Street, occupying the southwest corner of the city, in addition to other sites have been abandoned and dilapidated, to field. "(The swim across the County-and za zu of Shu) to Nanking in 1917 Japan journalist Deffoux Su Feng noted that Nanjing Ming palace ruins around the city," now is gone, instead there is a piece of land. " 1921 Japan writer Ryunosuke Akutagawa see also with a dead poetic: "glow filled the city, mixed with Western-style buildings behind the House, you can see wheat, beans, and floating goose pond. …… To lead the Chinese people this question, said Nanjing city three-fifths place is dry land and wasteland. "(The travels of the Chinese) to the 1930 's, and experiencing a building boom has become the capital city of Nanjing, when accounts are still" more farmland than its residential and commercial area. " Until 1958, jiming Temple in downtown Nanjing now called, remains "an almost rural communities" (a Soviet scientist in China). This is because the war of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's destruction, but as early as in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom it would be a "Beijing" to time, scenes in the city may not be prosperous, French Callery et Yvan in Nanjing of the early Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Chronicle Chronicle 1853, "area of the city at least three times bigger than Paris, but in the deserted streets, with large pieces of cultivated land".
In Chengdu, Qing foreign visitors are often evaluated the city scenery, "the city is one of the most beautiful places in the city, naturally grown gardens and large tracts of forest are like suburban village" (and Chinese). Itself is Chengdu contemporary scholar once said that "the Chengdu flavor of the city retained a great deal of the country until the end of Qing dynasty in the city you can still see the pastoral scenes, which is rare in other cities", the first sentence is right, but it may not be the last. Even the heart of the three towns of Wuhan in late Qing dynasty, apart from the town of Hankou, Wuchang and Hanyang "Lakes and birds" are ubiquitous, United Kingdom Lord Earl of Eigin while walking in Wuchang city, even "in the center of the city caught a pair of pheasants", so he was taken aback. Even in buildings the highest density, urbanization probably was the highest in the city of Hankou in China (1912 survey population less than 1%), in his 1877 city map, urban built-up area also has many small gardens like OASIS dotted, and there is "quite a few city residents rely on livestock and fishing for their livelihood" (see the works of the Law, William Hankow).
A similar situation is common in the Chinese city, it can be said until two generations ago, almost all Chinese cities can see pastoral scene in the city. Perhaps the most surprising thing is: for a considerable amount of time, urban residents in China will not only grow vegetables in rice in the city, and also keeps pigs and chickens. 1930 there were some who said, "broadly speaking, every Chinese farmers, because, even in bustling cities like Guangzhou, with a population of 900,000, each in a chicken. "(The collection of Chinese culture) scholars Long Yusheng memories of children living in Nanjing in 1940 's, said that was" family more than 10 people living in Hankou road, Nanjing, Professor of the Central University building, yard is very large, in addition to several fruit trees and bushes bamboo, are used to grow a variety of vegetables. Basement of the House, feeding the pigs, there are more than 10 birds chickens and geese "– who would have thought in Nanjing University (or any domestic University) teacher dormitories or keeps pigs and chickens in the yard! But this is not just in Guangzhou and Nanjing, even on a busy street in Shanghai in the late 19th century are also common to livestock such as cows, lambs and pigs. Poet bei DAO recalled, as a child, he lived near Beijing Houhai, "60 of Beijing in the early, quiet like a large village, was able to hear the cock crow in the morning. Is a bow that according to local conditions, create a small private plots within the walls of the compound, in addition to the kinds of beans, also keeps a caged chickens. "(The gates open)
So that's who lived in China 42 years of United States missionary Arthur Henderson Smith has said in the rural society in China: "level in many parts of the city, capital of the County, is just a big village with a wall and the Government. "The 1930 's people pixian County of northern Jiangsu and found" like walking into the village, people are farming "(the Xu Hai Wu Shoupeng stay in rural economy of genera). This is reflected not only in the city of countryside, farmland, villages, and poultry and livestock feed, in terms of economic structure, too. In modern Shandong, for example, many residents of counties in the city did not trade for a living and still have their own land, even such businesses more developed city of Jining, 1910 up to one-sixth of city residents were farmers of arable land. In a typical case of rural urbanization in Shijiazhuang city, as reflected especially. It can be said that we are now familiar with the city "as of right" are buildings and there is no farmland, completely out of the public images of farming and raising livestock and poultry, generally only one or two generations ' time.
The situation seemed at first glance do not meet our "cities", but in fact is the history of the norm. So-called "City", originally is "City" and "City" of combined, built soil for city, poly real for city, both in roots Shang completely is different from, former is military political center of fortress, and which is is material trading of market; like Japan around of Castle and city Xia-Cho is each other separation of, "City" in "City" outside, but China history Shang of practices is is "City" in "City" within. Our modern "City" understand, in fact probably is from the "municipal" (land of prosperity of industry and Commerce) imagination, but before modern, apart from the exception like Venice, hardly have what city do not coexist with pastoral scenes.
The reasons for this are not difficult to understand. Any city, even if its inhabitants are entirely non-agricultural economy for a living, but at least they always produce the food every day, need a continuous supply. Founded before the advent of modern technology in logistics transportation system, it is difficult to rely on long distance long distance transportation to meet the food needs of urban residents every day. In this sense, early big city itself reflects the local can provide sufficient agricultural surplus means farmers to meet their own needs, and can supply a large number of urban residents need for food.
So that's a rich agricultural country, is absolutely indispensable to the city, logistics and transport technology is backward, which gets more urgent needs. Therefore, Fei Xiaotong, the Chinese gentry had described in 1940 in Chinese cities: "usually there are some cultivated land in the city, even in big cities like Beijing and Nanjing, also has its agricultural area. These fields were the walls in the city, residents can supply the necessary difficult storage of vegetables and other agricultural products. According to the traditional view, the ideal ' city ' is a self-sufficient stronghold. "Luozi·Mofei even says," this city of 4 million people in Shanghai have been able to stand on, and the reason is because it is located in is actually a huge vegetable garden lot ". So not too exaggerated, in the ancient conditions, lack of agricultural environments such as grasslands, deserts, oases, to prop up a huge city, it is almost impossible.
In ancient times, this is all the more important, food supply must be obtained. Back in 81 BC, the Western Han dynasty's salt and iron meeting, someone to present this as an important issue. (On the salt and iron • Garden ":" three auxiliary looming mountains and rivers, small people, Quartet, and Pegasus, corn dishes can't support salary. ") Food supply logistics and transport, housing density, and even the availability of fuelwood are technically forming a limited, the first under the conditions of modern technology, there could be no 20th century population of megacities of over 5 million. Imagine if the 20,000 residents near a downtown vegetable market to supply food, may need at least 10 tons of food a day, and a day from the outskirts of twenty or thirty kilometres with cart pull, that way not only is time-consuming, and could not keep food fresh, shipping more expensive, of course, can also cause traffic jams.
Therefore, in the case of the logistics behind, even if to a certain degree of self-sufficiency, pre-modern cities also need to retain a certain degree of pastoral in the city. From and Northern and Southern dynasties to drop, this class case is more: Southern Song Shi, Minister Liu Yuanjing in South has dozens of acres garden, although only said is species has to home eat, but gardener sold dish had profit 20,000 money (song Shu volume 77 Liu Yuanjing biography), Liang Cai Zunren wuxing taishou Shi, in fast Qian since species white amaranth purple tomato (South history volume 29 Cai Kuo biography attached Sun Zunchuan). This phenomenon is very common, so volume 65 of the book of Jin Jiang Tong sighs: "since the Qin and Han dynasties, custom thinned out, Princes of honour, all fields of the colonial garden, receiving ordinary benefits, gradually Ran Xiangfang, not ashamed. "Not only southern, North Korea, too, of the Qi min Yao Shu • volume • different versions of the recommendation:" like the walls close, make various vegetables such as eggplant, and for home selling. "Even in the capital city of the Northern Wei Palace of livestock and vegetables (the book of southern Qi Lu biography, vol 57, Wei). Sui and Tang Changan residents South of the city is not much, the two capital workshop, Kao said, "from temple square to the South, Guo, there was no jiaqinghuangdi. When home, Fireworks is not connected, cultivation plant, connected to the terraced rice paddies. " In order to live, "from the Royal Palace in the Tang dynasty Executive Secretariat, magistrate and State Department are placed under the garden in order to enrich their lives eating needs.
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