圖書標籤: 老照片 老北京 雜文 曆史 北京啊北京。 北京
发表于2024-11-11
老北京 pdf epub mobi txt 電子書 下載 2024
Foreword
In the past my books have been published only in text form.
Occasionally I have used a few photos for supplementary
purposes. But, at the request of the Jiangsu Art Publishing
House, I have recently completed this book, Old Beijing, which
contains both text and pictures. The commissioning editor of
the publishing house told me that the theme and style would
have no limits set by them. So I decided that the book should be
composed of three parts. The first part would be written in chronological order. It would be a history of Beijing from the "Ji"
period of three thousand years before to the late Qing dynasty
( 1644-191 1 ) and the early Republic of China (191 1-1949) in the
early 20th century. The second part would be a description of
life in Beijing during the late Qing and early Republic period.
And the third part would concentrate on the characteristics of
Beijing and its people in the past. After hearing these ideas, the
commissioning editor, while praising them as "rather ambitious" ,
expressed his concern that it would be impossible to get any
good photos to illustrate the first part.
Without much thinking, I wrote the first part in one stretch.
But when I reread it, my own brows began to knit. Where on
earth can we find photos for the Liao, Jin, Yuan and Ming
dynasties, not to say the period of Ji? Before the publishing
house made any further comments, I gave this direction up. I
had to start all over again. For a couple of days, I took pains to
work out a new plan, but that would not do; then another, but
that would not work either. I had never had such experiences
in writing in the past. Helpless, I faced my bookcases and
began scanning books. Suddenly my eyes fell on a book en-
titled Is This Beijing? , compiled by Jiang Mingde. It is a col-
lection of articles about the city written by some elderly lite-
rati residing in Beijing. The articles were published between
1919t0 1949.
I opened the book and began to read the Editor's Note. Mr.
Jiang described what he had seen when he first entered Beijing:
"The train drove straight into the Qianmen Gate Railway
Station. When I got off, I looked up at Jian Lou (Arrow Tower)
for quite some time. Then I had a bowl of bean curd at a little
food stall. Suddenly several little beggars, dressed in tatters,
came up to me, stretching out their hands for help." Great! My
book could start by following Mr. Jiang into Beijing. Among
several hundred photos collected by the publishing house
from many sources, I was able to find a photo of the Arrow
Tower in a sleet storm. The photo had been taken from an
upward angle. Nearby there was a food stall with an awning
over it. Perfect! It was just my day.
In recent years, I have made a study of both Peking opera
and well-known commercial establishments, and from this, my
interest has grown to all aspects of local culture in Beijing. I
have published more than thirty books about this subject. As
for this particular book, my first plan for it was not realizable.
[t was the format that included a combination of both words
and pictures that forced me to blaze a new trail. I have also
come to recognize that pictures and words supplement each
other in a publication, and that is why books of this sort are so
popular today. Readers love the smooth and easy reading of
such books. As life rhythm quickens, many persons have no
time for profound reading. This poses a new challenge to
both writers and their literary works. It hampers writers from
going into the depths of their subject, not to mention the fact
that it does not allow them to let out all that is in their minds.
Shortly after completing the book, the editor posted the
galley proofs to me. When I read them, I was pleasantly sur-
prised to find that the book had become more interesting after
the commissioning editor added "branches and leaves" through
illustrations. Though a book with illustrations might limit a
writer to a certain extent, you must admit that it becomes more
readable. No wonder the commissioning editor assured me
that this book would arouse great interest among publishers
and the reading public. Perhaps they have both a theoretical
and a practical basis. I, too, wish them success.
Xu Chengbei
Beijing, September 1998
曆史越真實就越醜陋
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評分曆史越真實就越醜陋
評分曆史越真實就越醜陋
評分曆史越真實就越醜陋
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老北京 pdf epub mobi txt 電子書 下載 2024