>Voluntary rescuer of Beijing Gate Tower Culture - Lu Baohua

Volunteer rescuer of Beijing Gate Tower Culture - Lu Baohua Alberta Times Lu Baohua, close enough to say he is the father of the owner of Blue Sky Restaurant in Phoenix, far enough away to say he is a former Chinese cultural...

Beijing Gate Tower Culture Voluntary Rescuer - Lu Baohua, Alberta Times Lu Baohua, closer to say he is the father of the owner of the Blue Sky Restaurant in Phoenix, and far more to say he is a veteran cadre of the former Ministry of Culture of China. Mr. Lu has many hobbies and titles, such as a member of the Photographers Association, a member of the Collectors Association, a member of the Chinese Folk Artists Association, etc. I originally thought that his business card would be filled with enviable titles, but when I actually saw his business card, I discovered that it was an unexpected title - Beijing Gate Tower Cultural Voluntary Rescuer. Then I discovered that there was something different about this old man who came to Phoenix for vacation. On April 15, the reporter interviewed Mr. Lu exclusively at the Blue Sky Restaurant in Phoenix. Mr. Lu has been engaged in the cultural industry all his life, so our topic starts with writing articles. Mr. Lu's articles in the "Alberta Times" have hundreds of thousands of words and are very popular. He said that when writing articles, you must first pay attention to the readers. You must know what the readers want to see, so that you can be targeted and write good articles that everyone will like. When he first arrived in Phoenix in 2000, he also had doubts. Because he had less time and opportunities to interact with Chinese readers, he didn't know what overseas Chinese wanted to know. Later he discovered that "change": changes in the times and changes in the country should be of interest to everyone, and these changes must have the characteristics of the times. In 2000, China's development and construction were very prosperous. Because of the massive demolition and construction, the people called for the rescue of traditional culture. At that time, Mr. Lu devoted himself to collecting ancient Chinese oil lamps and recording the architectural culture of Beijing's residential buildings. Using the camera his son gave him in 1997, he rode a bicycle around old Beijing, collecting, taking photos, doing research and summarizing. He has conducted very detailed research on the couplets, brick carvings, stone carvings and paving capital of old Beijing. When asked why Mr. Lu insists on doing research on these ancient cultures, Mr. Lu gave an example. In the past few years of protecting the architectural culture of Beijing's residential buildings, as an old Beijinger, I have learned more about courtyard houses. Siheyuan is a traditional residential form in Beijing. It first took shape in the Liao Dynasty. It was gradually improved through the Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, and eventually became the most distinctive residential form in Beijing. The so-called Sihe, "four" refers to the four sides of east, west, south and north. The houses on the four sides are surrounded together to form a "kou" shape. After hundreds of years of construction, Beijing's courtyard houses have formed the capital's unique Beijing style from their floor plan to internal structure and detailed decoration. The courtyard is a closed space. Looking from the outside in, the internal space cannot be seen. It provides concealment and safety. Looking from the inside out, you can see everything at a glance. There will be many trees and flowers planted in the courtyard. Corridors will then be used to connect the internal areas, with great emphasis on comfort and beauty. Many courtyards are from the Qing Dynasty, which can be seen from the couplets at the entrance of the courtyards. At that time, every household was based on reading and maintaining traditional family concepts. Many couplets advocated these ideas, such as "Loyalty will last forever, reading will last forever" and so on. Some of the wood carvings and stone carvings in the courtyard have many patterns such as bats, gourds, and peonies, because these patterns were symbols of fortune, wealth, longevity, happiness, and wealth in those days, and they all wished the family peace and happiness. Mr. Lu said that he can enjoy the fun of archaeology from the protection of the courtyard. From the etiquette of clothing, food, housing and transportation, we can find the culture of many eras. We can also use this information to return to our current actual life and think about the characteristics of the current era. At the same time, you can also lay a solid foundation for your own culture, learn about embroidery, New Year pictures, paper-cutting, shadow puppets, local operas and other aspects, see the characteristics and development trends of folk art at that time, and predict the form and direction of the development and inheritance of folk culture in the future. Mr. Lu said that the camera is his weapon and books are his magnifying glass. He reads millions of words of books every year, systematically organizes them, and records the tens of thousands of photos he takes. He does so many things not to gain anything, but to enjoy the learning process himself, and to allow future people to obtain the lost information more quickly and systematically. Because many of the Beijing houses he photographed are no longer visible, and now we can only have photos to tell everyone about these cultural features. It is really a pity. This is why he calls himself a voluntary rescuer of Beijing Gate Tower Culture on his business card. Mr. Lu has retired, but instead of being idle, he seems to be busier. He spends more time and energy on the things he likes. This may be another way to enjoy his old age. Please continue to pay attention to Mr. Lu's articles in the "Alberta Times" and continue to listen to the stories written by Mr. Lu.