[Phoenix PEN] Aqi: Beijing Chronicle

[Phoenix PEN] Aqi: Beijing Chronicle Phoenix City Aqi I am not a native Beijinger, but I have lived and worked in Beijing for decades, and this ancient...

Phoenix City Aqi

I am not a native of Beijing, but I have lived and worked in Beijing for decades, and have formed an indissoluble bond with this ancient and beautiful city. It is deeply engraved in my memory and life trajectory. The sixty years of changes in Beijing are like going through several dynasties in history.

Yearning In the early 1950s, I walked out of school and volunteered to go to the northwest. By chance, I was assigned to Beijing to participate in the standard preparation work for three months. Which young person would not go to the capital of the Republic and feel so excited and excited when he came to Beijing for the first time. I spent a holiday to enjoy the beautiful Summer Palace, the majestic Palace Museum, the majestic Badaling Great Wall, the beautiful White Pagoda reflected on the North Sea, the Nine Dragons dancing in the sunset, and the endless beauty of the North; I tasted the roast duck in Quanjude, the mutton-boiled soup in Laishun, and the donkey rolling at Longfu Temple, soybean juice and other Beijing snacks. Beijing is so quaint and elegant, with courtyards surrounded by ancient city walls and towers. The largest courtyard surrounded by a moat and a red wall on the central axis is the Forbidden City. Chang'an Street, Qianmen Street, Dongsi, and Xisi Streets all still retain the royal archways and Xiyan's ornate watches. Old-fashioned trams shuttle between the archways with the sound of nails clanking, and sometimes camel teams carrying goods are seen passing through Deshengmen in the north. That's Beijing, and only Beijing has such a style. In the 1950s, when Beijing was tilting toward the Soviet Union, Beijing's barbers changed men's hairstyles from small partings to "one-sided" hairstyles combed to one side. All work was carried out under the guidance of Soviet experts. We used a Soviet computer and based it on Soviet standards. A group of rectangular buildings with small Soviet-style windows (adapted to the cold climate) and a large Chinese-style roof became the landmark buildings of that era. There is also the Sino-Soviet Friendship Building decorated with golden spires and five stars. The Moscow Hall inside has become a fashion among young people. In the capital, I had the honor to meet the central leaders. Once I went to watch a Sino-Japanese volleyball match, I saw Premier Zhou Enlai and Chairman Mao Zedong watching the game with us. Although it is disgusting to see the plaster flag raised, it is always a privileged memory to watch the game with the leaders of the country. It was a prosperous period in Beijing.

Years of Struggle In 1964, after ten years of practical experience at the grassroots level, I was transferred to work in Beijing. It was a good time for me to use my expertise to contribute to the country. After experiencing the setbacks of the Great Leap Forward, the People's Communes, and the Soviet Union's withdrawal of all aid, Beijing was in difficulty at the time. Beijing's roads have been widened, and the ancient archways no longer exist. The ten newly built buildings along Chang'an Avenue, including the Great Hall of the People, Nationalities Culture Palace, History Museum, Military Museum, and Beijing Railway Station, have become new landmarks. However, living materials were very scarce. People said that all the food in China was used to pay off debts to the Soviet Union. The government distributes 28 kilograms of food stamps per person per month, half a kilogram of oil stamps, several feet of cloth stamps per year, and one kilogram of cotton stamps per person per month to maintain basic living. Due to the shortage of petroleum, public transport vehicles were equipped with gas packs on top and slowly drove weakly on the streets. At this time, unexpectedly, Beijing sounded the clarion call for class struggle and launched the nationwide Four Cleans-up movement. We were formed into a working group to go down and hunt down the capitalist authorities. Before we could figure out what the Four Clean-ups and Four Unclearnesses were, the stormy Cultural Revolution came upon us again. Large-character posters were plastered all over the streets and alleys. The Red Guards destroyed the Four Olds and smeared the prosperous Wangfujing into a "sea of ​​red" in one night. Beijing's culture and economy were being destroyed, and Beijing only lost its function as a political center. There were only eight model plays on television and radio, and the only stars in the cinema were Sihanouk and Princess Monica. Red Guards from across the country poured into the streets of Beijing, the Supreme Commander waved from the Tiananmen Gate Tower, and people marched on the streets day and night to support the Party Central Committee and the Central Cultural Revolution. Today I shout to knock down this one, and tomorrow I shout to knock down that one, and in the end everyone is knocked down as well. Three years later, Lin Biao issued the No. 1 order: Chairman Mao had the May 7th directive, requiring us all to go to the May 7th Cadre School to receive re-education from poor and lower-middle peasants. I went to the countryside to study pig farming for more than six years, which is equivalent to completing college and graduate courses. More than 10 years of real and illusory years passed in chaos. This struggle has completely wiped out the simple and honest folk customs of Beijingers. Everyone has learned to protect themselves and distrust each other. Lies, clichés and empty words have flooded the people. When children write their essays, they have to copy a paragraph from the People's Daily; when they go to the window to buy food, they have to say to each other "Serve the people" and "We must fight against private interests and approve revisions" before they can eat. Beijing has lost its former glory and is dragging its feet forward with heavy steps.

Big Change The world is changing rapidly. China and the Soviet Union were at odds with each other, and the United States and the Soviet Union were vying for hegemony. In 1972, when slogans of overthrowing American imperialism were ringing in Tiananmen Square, President Richard Nixon, the number one enemy of the Chinese people, visited Beijing, and China and the United States restored diplomatic relations. Foreigners with long noses and long hair appear on the streets of Beijing, often attracting crowds. When my son saw foreigners at the zoo for the first time, he actually asked me, "Why do they look like monkeys?" We have been isolated from the world for too long! Immediately afterwards, the Gang of Four fell, China carried out comprehensive reform and opening up, and returned to the primary stage of socialism. Beijing's market is becoming active again. There is an abundant supply of chicken, duck, fish, meat, and eggs. The custom of storing Chinese cabbage in the winter that has lasted for decades has been broken. A variety of fresh vegetables can be purchased every day. Beijingers took off their gray and blue khaki tunic and put on jeans and colorful clothes. Wages and prices have increased more than 20 times, and people have become rich quickly. Every family has a refrigerator and a color TV. Within ten years, the bicycles on the streets have been replaced by Audis and Toyotas, filling the streets and alleys of Beijing. A second ring road and subway were built at the location of the old city wall, and the third, fourth and fifth rings surrounding the capital were successively built. Beijing has realized its dream of hosting the Olympics and has developed at an astonishing speed into a truly world-class metropolis, with many tall buildings and Fortune 500 companies occupying a place here. Beijingers also began to go to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, as well as Europe and the United States, becoming the most money-spending tourists in the world. Along with economic development, a large number of borers have also emerged. Beijing, becoming the center of the world's attention, continues to move forward vigorously.

I wandered around the streets of Beijing, looking back at the changes over the past few decades, and looking at the old courtyard houses that still exist in Nanluogu Alley, where "China serves the West". I always felt that Beijing still lacked something, and I didn't know where Beijing would go.