Old Street revived in a mind's eye
June 30, 2012, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
ZHANG Wenhua, who has lived almost all his life on Minhang Old Street, is preserving the past through 50 drawings of street scenes.
The 85-year-old has to draw on memories - some of them fading - because the old street as it once existed along the Huangpu River was wiped from the map by redevelopment in the last decade.
In 2010, an old friend of Zhang's told him he wanted to make a documentary about the old street but he was having trouble collecting enough material. Zhang, a former shop window designer, decided he would draw the street as he knew it over the decades.
"Minhang once was called 'Little Shanghai' in the 1930s and 40s," recalled Zhang. "From the nickname, you can imagine how prosperous it used to be. Unfortunately, there isn't any photo left of the whole street view."
The artwork didn't come easy at the beginning. Zhang hadn't drawn anything in 20 years and his hands had become clumsy and his neck sore with age. Failing eyesight didn't help either.
"In the early 1990s, I drew some street scenes for the commercial industry in Minhang," Zhang said. "At that time, I could remember every store name, location, layout and even owner. But my memory has been blurred by time."
Unfortunately, the original pictures were lost, and Zhang had to start all over again. He used water pens to bring the street back to life on paper. The whole painstaking process took more than 18 months.
"It was a bit of a race against time, or rather my failing memory," he said. "But I was prodded to continue because it was such a worthy project."
Zhang says he misses the old days. He remembers when Minhang was a big port, with ships crowding the banks, and passengers and crews disembarking to enjoy a night on the town.
"The old town then had only 10 main streets, and there were about 15 teahouses that did a brisk business," Zhang said. "And there were also row upon row of shops selling snacks, tobacco and gifts."
At the time, Zhang's favorite pastime was listening to pingtan - the iconic folk art of storytelling and ballad singing in the Suzhou dialect. He never tired of hearing their stories based on mythology and the tales of ancient Chinese swordsmen. He even learned to sing some of the ballads.
"I don't know when the biggest pingtan theater in Minhang, the Xinyuan Theater, first opened," he said. "When I started to watch the pingtan at the age of 12, it was already there. I went every evening, no matter what the weather, and I did that for 20 years." During the "culture revolution" (1966-76), pingtan disappeared.
"Theaters were burnt down and storytellers were thrown in jail because pingtan was regarded as vulgar old culture," Zhang recalled. "After 1979, pingtan performances were resumed, but I didn't bother going anymore. Everything as I had known and loved had changed."
In 1989, when his neighborhood was undergoing renovation work, all the residents were moved to other towns. Not willing to leave the place of his heart, Zhang gave the new apartment given to him by the government to his children and rented an apartment elsewhere on the old street.
But in 2000, massive redevelopment hit the street and Zhang was eventually forced to move.
"Almost all the old stores, temples and residences were gone, replaced by new commercial and residential buildings," he said. "Maybe the only old architecture left is the Liyuan Garden, former residence of Li Yingshi, one of the guards for Chiang Kai-shek."
Now the old neighbors have been scattered. Zhang and his wife have moved to the Jiangchuan area of Minhang.
"We still dine out sometimes with a few old friends," Zhang said. "But we are getting older, so it's getting harder."
Zhang said now he wishes only that memories of the old street be passed on to future generations. The Jiangchuan Culture Hall is working to fulfill his wish. The hall said a miniature replica of the old street will be made, based on Zhang's pictures. It's expected to be ready for public viewing at the Minhang Old Street Museum in late September.
The 85-year-old has to draw on memories - some of them fading - because the old street as it once existed along the Huangpu River was wiped from the map by redevelopment in the last decade.
In 2010, an old friend of Zhang's told him he wanted to make a documentary about the old street but he was having trouble collecting enough material. Zhang, a former shop window designer, decided he would draw the street as he knew it over the decades.
"Minhang once was called 'Little Shanghai' in the 1930s and 40s," recalled Zhang. "From the nickname, you can imagine how prosperous it used to be. Unfortunately, there isn't any photo left of the whole street view."
The artwork didn't come easy at the beginning. Zhang hadn't drawn anything in 20 years and his hands had become clumsy and his neck sore with age. Failing eyesight didn't help either.
"In the early 1990s, I drew some street scenes for the commercial industry in Minhang," Zhang said. "At that time, I could remember every store name, location, layout and even owner. But my memory has been blurred by time."
Unfortunately, the original pictures were lost, and Zhang had to start all over again. He used water pens to bring the street back to life on paper. The whole painstaking process took more than 18 months.
"It was a bit of a race against time, or rather my failing memory," he said. "But I was prodded to continue because it was such a worthy project."
Zhang says he misses the old days. He remembers when Minhang was a big port, with ships crowding the banks, and passengers and crews disembarking to enjoy a night on the town.
"The old town then had only 10 main streets, and there were about 15 teahouses that did a brisk business," Zhang said. "And there were also row upon row of shops selling snacks, tobacco and gifts."
At the time, Zhang's favorite pastime was listening to pingtan - the iconic folk art of storytelling and ballad singing in the Suzhou dialect. He never tired of hearing their stories based on mythology and the tales of ancient Chinese swordsmen. He even learned to sing some of the ballads.
"I don't know when the biggest pingtan theater in Minhang, the Xinyuan Theater, first opened," he said. "When I started to watch the pingtan at the age of 12, it was already there. I went every evening, no matter what the weather, and I did that for 20 years." During the "culture revolution" (1966-76), pingtan disappeared.
"Theaters were burnt down and storytellers were thrown in jail because pingtan was regarded as vulgar old culture," Zhang recalled. "After 1979, pingtan performances were resumed, but I didn't bother going anymore. Everything as I had known and loved had changed."
In 1989, when his neighborhood was undergoing renovation work, all the residents were moved to other towns. Not willing to leave the place of his heart, Zhang gave the new apartment given to him by the government to his children and rented an apartment elsewhere on the old street.
But in 2000, massive redevelopment hit the street and Zhang was eventually forced to move.
"Almost all the old stores, temples and residences were gone, replaced by new commercial and residential buildings," he said. "Maybe the only old architecture left is the Liyuan Garden, former residence of Li Yingshi, one of the guards for Chiang Kai-shek."
Now the old neighbors have been scattered. Zhang and his wife have moved to the Jiangchuan area of Minhang.
"We still dine out sometimes with a few old friends," Zhang said. "But we are getting older, so it's getting harder."
Zhang said now he wishes only that memories of the old street be passed on to future generations. The Jiangchuan Culture Hall is working to fulfill his wish. The hall said a miniature replica of the old street will be made, based on Zhang's pictures. It's expected to be ready for public viewing at the Minhang Old Street Museum in late September.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
