序言/ Preface胡同是老北京传统街巷的象征,是历史悠久的北京文化的代表,有着鲜明的地域文化色彩。不同的胡同有着不一样的故事,不同的名字赋予了每条胡同不同的意义。北京胡同不仅是城市的脉络,也是北京普通老百姓生活的场所,是北京历史文化发展演化的重要舞台。为了追寻民间文化,捕捉人文之美,我立足北京胡同,用自然朴素的拍摄风格,记录下北京的胡同影像。我是从1998 年开始拍摄北京胡同的。最初只是为了和北京电影学院的同学完成拍摄作业。没想到从此一发不可收拾,北京胡同成为我坚持拍摄的一个题材。北京胡同分布范围比较广,我拍摄比较多的有前门大栅栏一带、崇文门珠市口附近、什剎海周边、西四一带、宣武门北侧等地方。比较有特色的胡同有许多,例如:大栅栏地区胡同带已经有将近 600 年的历史了,这里如今依旧保存着大量原汁原味的老胡同和许多古老的建筑;烟袋斜街的明清风貌和京味文化十足,是北京较有名气的商业文化街;史家胡同位于东城区东南部,以当地史姓大户而得名,多为大宅院;北京最文艺的五道营胡同东起雍和宫大街,西止安定门内大街;杨梅竹斜街明代称“斜街”,因该街的走向自东北向西南倾斜故而得名,拥有浓郁的文化艺术底蕴;南锣鼓巷始建于元朝,是北京市重点保护的四合院街道,东西各有八条胡同整齐排列。胡同就是生活的缩影,掺杂着人情味和烟火气。在任何一条胡同中漫步,都能真切地感受到胡同里生活的平常和宁静。这里收录的图片,是我20 多年来拍摄北京胡同的精华之作。春夏秋冬,寒来暑往,这些作品既有地域的交叉,又有时间的跨越。随着时代的发展和城市的变迁,北京的胡同也在发生变化。许多胡同得到了很好地保护,并赋予了新的社区功能和街巷文化。希望人们通过这些影像,不仅能感受到北京胡同民居的魅力、北京百姓的市井生活,也能引发对于历史与现实的思考和总结。李强2023 年5 月Hutong is the epitome of the traditional alleys of old Beijing. It represents the time-honored Beijing culture that is featured with a distinct local disposition. Each hutong has its own story, and different names of hutong convey different meanings.Beijing hutong is the vein of the city, the locale where ordinary people live, and the important stage for Beijings historical and cultural development. For seeking the folk culture and capturing the beauty of humanities, I chose Beijing hutong as my subject, hoping to record their images in a natural photographic way.I started to shoot Beijing hutong in 1998. The purpose initially was merely to finish the photography assignment with my classmates at Beijing Film Academy. It turned out to be a theme I constantly work on afterward, which was totally unexpected. Beijing hutong is widely distributed. The areas I visited more often include Dashilan of Qianmen, Zhushikou of Chongwen Gateway, Shichahai, Xisi, and the north of Xuanwu Gateway, and so on. Many hutong in Beijing have respective merits. For example, hutong around Dashilan has a history of nearly six hundred years, which entails a great amount of authentic old hutong and buildings being kept there. The Yandaixie Street maintains an outlook of Ming and Qing dynasties with typical Beijing cultural ethos that makes it a long-standing well-known commercial street. Shijia Hutong is located in the east-south of Dongcheng District. It was named after a high-ranking local household’s family name. Housesin Shijia Hutong were built neatly. Many of them are big mansions. The most artistic hutong in Beijing should be Wudaoying Hutong. The Yangmeizhuxie Street was named in Qing Dynasty after its slanted shape that goes from the northeast to the southwest. It is a street full of artistic and cultural spirits. Nanluoguxiang was built in the Yuan Dynasty. It is an area under municipal priority conservation with eight hutong orderly lined by the east and the west side respectively. Hutong is the epitome of life, filled with people’s emotions and aroused by theirhustles and bustles. Wandering in any hutong, one can tangibly feel the everyday peaceful hutong life.The images collected in this book are curated from all of my works in the past twenty years dedicated to the photography of Beijing hutong. Space overlaps and time spans in these works. Riding on the waves of urban development and the transmission of ages, Beijing hutong has also changed a lot. Many hutong have been well-protected and endowed with new community functions and alley cultures. I hope the viewers of these images can feel the charms of these residencies in Beijing Hutong and the daily life of local people, as well as have the chance to reflect on both history and reality.Li QiangMay 2023